California leaders urge public opposition to Trump's offshore drilling plan

Chaewon Chung, The Sacramento Bee on Jan 6, 2026

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Members of the California State Legislature and environmental advocates blasted the Trump administration on Tuesday over proposed offshore drilling expansion plans off the California coast, urging residents to oppose the proposal before the Jan. 23 deadline for public comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

The condemnation came after the federal government proposed to open six offshore lease sales in federal waters off the California coast, a move that continues to face strong opposition by California leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“Over 90 marine mammals make their home along California coast. Over 500 fish, untold sea life, remarkable ecosystems, including our giant kelp ecosystem, (are) at risk,” California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said during Tuesday’s conference, reiterating Newsom’s position that the proposal needs to be “dead on arrival.”

The leaders and advocates dismissed Trump’s claims of economic benefits of offshore drilling expansion, emphasizing that California’s coastal and ocean sectors generate over $51 billion in gross state product and employ more than half a million people.

Tourism and recreation alone account for 47% of the economic output — almost 10 times the economic benefit of offshore oil drilling, Assemblymember Dawn Addis, D-Morro Bay, said.

“The truth is that we, for the first time in 40 years, have a president who is pushing to not contract, but expand oil drilling off our shores — and it’s a threat to the industries that sustain us, while providing minimal economic benefit for the people, as well as disastrous consequences for public health and vulnerable marine habitats,” Addis said.

Building stronger ocean protections

California suffered from the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, a catastrophe that devastated coastal ecosystems and marine life.

State leaders opposing the proposal have repeatedly emphasized that where you drill, you spill, since President Trump eyed offshore expansion during his first term. That voice continued to echo during Tuesday’s meeting as environmental advocates are moving to strengthen the Marine Protected Area network and coastlines.

Irene Gutierrez, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, emphasized that offshore drilling expansion “threatens the fisheries and businesses that depend on those ecosystems, and interferes with our right to a healthy environment,” in an email to The Bee on Tuesday.

“Our ocean is for marine life, not oil rigs,” Laura Deehan, state director for Environment California, agreed. “As California wisely considers new proposals to strengthen and expand our network it would be foolish to expand drilling off our coast.”

Environmental California and the Natural Resources Defense Council are among groups that have submitted petitions seeking stronger protections and possible expansions as state officials prepare to release their analysis in spring. If approved, advocates are forecasting roughly 2% more of California’s coastline to be listed as fully or highly protected marine areas.

Addis, while noting that she has not yet seen the report on the proposed MPA expansions, emphasized that she has been “very supportive in the past in marine protected areas.”

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