Preserve Our Marine Sanctuary

Brand New Threat – Deep Sea Mining aka Critical Minerals new Page

Stop Offshore Oil drilling Part 3 starts feb 27

The comment link is here. This will be a 30 day period.

BOEM Announces Intent to Prepare Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Potential Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing in California

Link to surfrider template letter

My first try at a letter draft:

3/1/26 Suggestions for Comments from 350 Humboldt

• “California’s coastal economy supports roughly 511,000 jobs and generates over $51.3 billion in GDP from marine-economy activities — largely in tourism and recreation — meaning that new offshore drilling could jeopardize the livelihoods of thousands of working families.” [From Legislators’ letter to BOEM.] The PEIS must quantify this.
• The PEIS must also quantify and then assess the social cost of carbon and social cost of methane emissions from offshore oil.
• You can also point to the risk of oil spells like to past oil spills like the significant 1969 spill in Santa Barbara, CA.

Part 2 in this Effort started Jan 27 with the final day Feb 26

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Details of Part 1 now here

2/24/26 More scary info online today. We understand that this would happen before drilling started as there have not been any recent surveys.

There is also the issue of seismic testing, which uses airguns that fire powerful blasts of compressed air every 10 to 15 seconds, sometimes for weeks at a time. These blasts can exceed 200 decibels underwater, comparable to a jet engine at takeoff, creating a near-constant barrage of sound in an ocean where whales and dolphins rely on hearing to navigate, feed and communicate.

Shaun Burns is a father, husband, and surfer who works with Save The Waves and O’Neill Wetsuits.

2/10/26 SJR 12, as introduced, Laird. Proposed 2026–2031 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program: opposition.

This measure would request that the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management hold public hearings in California on the proposed 2026–2031 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program and prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement to accompany the program. The measure would strongly and unequivocally oppose any new offshore drilling and declare unequivocal support for the current federal prohibition on new oil or gas drilling in federal waters offshore of the Pacific coast.

2/10/26 Lookout Op Ed “Offshore oil threatens Santa Cruz County’s coastal economy — we must act now”

Update Jan 28, 2026

GOOD NEWS – 270,223 Comments received before the Jan 23rd deadline – well done everyone!!

BAD NEWS – Unfortunately, as of Monday, January 26, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management BOEM) has now invited “nominations” (usually requested later in the process from oil companies about where they want to drill) for the Southern and Central California Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Planning Areas and initiated a 30 day comment period.  The petroleum industry, based on prior seabed surveys  “nominates” tracts where they want to lease.  

The heavily shaded area in these maps are the National Marine Sanctuaries. Whether the drill sites are inside or outside the sanctuaries the westerly winds will put oil spills in the deep sea, the kelpforests and on our beaches. (Ed)

The state, localities, and the public are invited, at the same time, to identify any and all offshore geographic areas where conflicts of various kinds would make offshore drilling inadvisable, and these expressions are called “negative nominations”.

As we continue to build our record of opposition, it is important that localities and community members submit comments and use the phrase “negative nominations” in identifying their new set of comments.  In solidarity with communities in Southern California, it would also be helpful to submit comments separately for BOTH the Southern and Central OCS Planning Areas, since offshore drilling impacts are obviously regionwide and even statewide.

Comments for Central California leases can be submitted HERE and comments for Southern California can be submitted HERE.  The comment period closes at 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time on Feb. 26, 2026.

More info here savemycoast.org including a sample letter.

Here is another sample letter:

Drilling off the coast of California warrants extreme negative nomination for all tracts. The inevitable oil spills will cause damage in the deep ocean, the kelp forests and along our beaches, impacting coastal economies, fishing, wildlife etc. The marine sanctuaries have legal protections from oil/gas exploration and drilling. There is no credible justification for offshore drilling since the US currently exports oil. We also need to drastically reduce the use of fossil fuels to minimize further heating of the planet with all the consequences that we are already experiencing – and paying for! Think increased insurance premiums, health care costs, food prices, repairs of and rebuilding damaged homes, etc.
Please do not proceed with these leases.

Experts recommend using the phrase “I/we wish to submit negative nominations for all tracts” and then copying your earlier letter used for part 1 ending jan 23, 2026 or copying and pasting the sample letter above.

For more information and updates visit https://saveourshores.org/drilling/ and savemycoast.org 

Note If we don’t stop this completely the next step by the oil companies will be surveying with seismic air guns which was last done around 60 years ago. The newer methods of surveying are even more dangerous to fish and marine mammals – and has a grave impact on our fisheries! More info here.

Please spread the word and get everybody in your circles to speak up as well. By doing so, we are building and strengthening our case, as this matter will most likely come before the courts.

Good update letter from Save Our Shores

Write in to stop offshore drilling plans

More than 300,000 public comments were logged by the Friday, Jan. 23 deadline in response to the latest step in the Donald Trump administration’s offshore oil plan, formally known as the 11th National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program authorized by a presidential executive order.

The overwhelming response was a great achievement, thanks to the hard work of many, many people across the country who care about ocean health.

But sadly, just three days later on Tuesday, Jan. 27, the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management jumped right into the phase known as the Call for Information and Nominations, in which the oil industry is asked to “nominate” the areas it is feels could have potential for oil and gas development within the Southern California (San Diego through San Luis Obispo counties) and Central California (Monterey through Sonoma counties) planning areas. Notably California’s five national marine sanctuaries — Greater Farallones, Cordell Bank, Monterey Bay, Chumash Heritage and Channel Islands — are in these two regions.

The administration has not ruled out all areas with National Marine Sanctuary status despite the fact that it carries a statutory ban on offshore oil and gas development under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act.

Normally, this phase would occur much later in the process, but the bureau argues that time is of the essence. Lease sales are scheduled for federal waters off Southern and Central California in 2027 — next year.

It’s an accelerated plan, and that’s not a good thing for our ocean and coast. For example, the oil industry will need to conduct seismic surveys to determine with more precision where the most promising areas are for oil extraction.

If you made comments in the last phase, we thank you. Now that we find ourselves in the Call for Information and Nomination phase, you can also participate in this phase by providing a “negative nomination” of the either the entire Central or Southern California planning areas, or both.

Negative nominations can make the case that the Central and Southern California planning areas should be precluded from oil and gas leasing due to conflicts with human uses and ecological and cultural resources.Comments can highlight

• impacts on recreation, boating, fishing, science or 
• the military, or 
• sensitive areas such as marine protected areas or national marine sanctuaries.

They can include

• socioeconomic information such as economic benefits or 
• the value of fishing grounds, environmental or biological information, or archaeological resources.

These areas would receive negative nominations on account of the harm it could cause through oil spills, coastal industrialization, the acceleration of climate change, and conflicts with other uses.

Comments can be made by 8:59 PM Pacific Standard Time on Feb. 26, 2026. Online, go to regulations.gov; for Central California search BOEM-2025-0583, or for Southern California search BOEM-2025-0582. Then, click “Submit Comment.” By mail, you can send your comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Pacific Region, Office of Strategic Resources, 760 Paseo Camarillo (CM 102), Camarillo, California 93010 in an envelope clearly labeled “Comments on the Call for Information and Nominations for the (Southern or Central) California Planning Area Lease Sales.”

For more information, go to saveourshores.org/drilling/ or savemycoast.org.

It’s your ocean, and coast.

Katie Thompson is current and Dan Haifley is a former director of Save Our Shores.

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City council agenda item for 11/18/25

Approval of County of Santa Cruz Memorandum of Understanding and Save Our Shores Professional Services Agreement to Coordinate on Strengthening Opposition to Offshore Drilling and Seabed Mining (CM) LOCATION: Citywide

Motion to: 1) Approve a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the County of Santa Cruz specifying the City of Santa Cruz’ contribution in the amount of $29,000 and the activities for coordinating funding and administration of the Offshore Oil Coalition Coordination Effort (OOCCE); and 2) Authorize City Manager to execute a Professional Services Agreement with Save Our Shores in a form approved by the City Attorney in the amount of $25,000 to update and strengthen the City of Santa Cruz’s ordinances and related policies opposing offshore oil and gas development and onshore facilities for seabed mining, and to coordinate regional collaboration on coastal protection and policy consistency.