California · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Willis Ridge
BLM found a natural system, a wildlife resource, a cultural value, a natural process, a historic value, a fish resource and a natural hazard here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 1 right of way inside the line today, and two grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 3,188 acres and was designated November 6, 2024, in the Northwest California Integrated Plan.
One of the 1,120 places the Bureau of Land Management has designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. This page shows its line, what BLM found there and what sits inside it.
The line
The rights of way
1 right of way sits inside the line. BLM files 1 under non-energy facilities.
- PRESTON RANCH PARTNERSHIP1right of way
Grazing allotments
2 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Willis Ridge4,123acres
- Pepper Gap462acres
The nearest areas
- Eden ValleyCalifornia · 10,814 acres · 1 right of way11miles
- North Fork EelCalifornia · 500 acres · nothing placed inside33miles
- Lost ValleyCalifornia · 39 acres · nothing placed inside36miles
- Upper MattoleCalifornia · 459 acres · nothing placed inside44miles
- StornettaCalifornia · 885 acres · 1 right of way, 2 grazing allotments covering part of it48miles
More from BLM's California office
Every area BLM's California office holdsThe proposed rule
A proposed rule, RIN 1004-AF53, would change how BLM drafts every land use plan, and how it designates ACECs like Willis Ridge. The comment window hasn't opened: the proposed rule wasn't in the Federal Register at our last check. The Watch sends one email the day it prints.
The rule's abstract
The purpose of this rulemaking is to establish in regulations an updated process for the approval of the development, revision, amendment, and maintenance of land use plans, as provided for by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, for public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Additionally, this rulemaking will provide clarification of the process the BLM uses for designating Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.Unified Agenda entry for RIN 1004-AF53, Publication ID 2026, reginfo.gov (OMB OIRA), read Oct 18, 2026