Dear Mr. Schwartz:

I'm writing to urge you to protect the Los Padres National Forest from the impacts of fracking and oil drilling. Fracking has been proven to pollute groundwater irrevocably.  The Forest Service should prepare a full Environmental Impact Statement, and no fracking should be approved.

Fracking has come under increasing scrutiny from scientists, regulators, and the public due to concerns with groundwater contamination, surface water pollution, water consumption, and public health. It is not acceptable to approve any more fracking in such an environmentally sensitive area until the potential impacts are fully known, and until measures are put into place to protect our forest and our water supplies from environmental harm.

I also urge you to take all measures to protect sources of drinking water for humans, animals, and farmland.  Please protect endangered California condors and steelhead from the impacts of oil development. The only way to safely ensure that spills of oil and other hazardous chemicals do not enter Sespe Creek or its tributaries is to BAN fracking completely.

Again, I urge the Forest Service to prepare a full Environmental Impact Statement before approving any fracking operations in Los Padres National Forest. Thank you for your efforts to protect our forest and surrounding communities.


Laura Baldwin

Santa Ynez, CA 93460