Working to protect the Los Padres National Forest, the Carrizo Plain National Monument, and other wild places in our region.

Los Padres ForestWatch is the only nonprofit organization dedicated solely to protecting wildlife habitat and wilderness landscapes in the Los Padres National Forest. Founded in 2004, ForestWatch has safeguarded more than 88,000 acres of these public lands along California’s Central Coast, from the backcountry of Ojai and Santa Barbara to the Santa Lucia Mountains, the Carrizo Plain, the famed Big Sur coastline, and beyond. We have also organized more than two dozen habitat restoration projects, improving the health of our region’s largest open spaces and the farms, businesses, and communities that depend on them.

In five short years, ForestWatch has become one of our region’s premier conservation forces, combining education, advocacy, and science skills with innovative strategy and field work. With a solid track record of success, we work tirelessly on behalf of our region’s wild forests, free-flowing rivers, untrammeled chaparral, and the creatures that inhabit these spectacular places.

The Ojai Valley has a deep-rooted connection to the Los Padres National Forest, serving as a gateway community to these treasured lands. Join us as we continue to build upon our region’s long history of everyday people working to preserve the wilderness landscapes that surround our communities.

Visit our website, sign up for our e-newsletter, or become a volunteer, member, or donor. And perhaps we’ll see you at our Ojai Wild! creekside benefit barbeque, held each spring at The Thacher School’s Diamond Hitch Camp along the foothills of the Los Padres National Forest in Ojai.

We look forward to working with you to protect our region’s wild places and wildlife!