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Take action: Stop new oil and gas drilling in Los Padres National Forest!

The Forest Service is readying its final plan for new oil and gas leasing in Los Padres National Forest, expected as soon as September. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-24) is the only Congress member in the area who has not publicly opposed the Forest Service proposal. Because his district includes the areas of the forest proposed for oil development, including many roadless areas proposed for wilderness designation, it is very important that he oppose the plan.

The House of Representatives will be on recess through the month of August, spending much of that time in their home districts. If you (or anyone you know) live in Rep. Gallegly's district (Ventura County, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, and much of Santa Barbara County), now is the perfect time to let him know you oppose oil and gas drilling in the beloved Los Padres, home to the critically endangered California condor and many other threatened plants and animals.

There are several ways to help:

1) Call Rep. Gallegly's local office and find out whether he has any townhall meetings or other public events scheduled -- then go, and ask him to oppose new drilling. Bring friends!

Representative Gallegly's Thousand Oaks office can be reached at (800) 423-0023.

2) Write a letter to the editors of the newspapers in his district -- it's particularly effective to identify yourself as a Republican voter if you are one.

Email your letters to:
Santa Barbara News-Press at voices@newspress.com
Ventura County Star at letters@insidevc.com
Los Angeles Times at letters@latimes.com

3) Finally, a sign-on letter is being circulated among scientists, civic and religious leaders, and business owners asking Rep. Gallegly to oppose new leasing. If you (or anyone you know) fall into one of these categories, please contact Erin Duffy of the California Wild Heritage Campaign at:

calwild_sb@yahoo.com

and she will send you the text of the letter and you can sign on.

Thanks for helping save the wild Los Padres!