MENDOCINO, CO., 9/27/26 – For Liz Helenchild, the fight against offshore oil drilling isn’t abstract policy. It’s personal.
“This is deeply, deeply my home, and it is clear to me that I have to go to the mat to protect and maintain the territory, protect and maintain the food supply, protect and maintain the scenic beauty,” said Helenchild, who has lived on the Mendocino Coast since 1970 after moving from Texas. “Our economy here absolutely depends upon it.”
Helenchild was one of hundreds who turned out at Big River Beach in Mendocino on Saturday for “Hands Across the Sand,” a demonstration against offshore oil drilling from noon to 2 p.m. The event was organized locally by the Sierra Club Redwood Chapter. Other California chapters set protests all along the state’s coast.
With posters in hand, participants posed for a group photo in front of a giant hand-painted sign spelling out “NO OFFSHORE DRILLING” to visually document their opposition.
Helenchild argued that opening new offshore leases wouldn’t do what supporters of drilling often claim: lower gas prices in the near term. Between the exploration, drilling, transportation and refining, Helenchild said any offshore drilling would not affect the price of fuel for years.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, announcing the Trump administration’s offshore leasing plan in November 2025, acknowledged the timeline. In a Department of Interior press release, he said: “Offshore oil and gas production does not happen overnight. It takes years of planning, investment and hard work before barrels reach the market.”
Deb Sally, vice chair of the Redwood Chapter, said Saturday’s turnout included a number of longtime coastal residents who’ve fought this battle before.
“A lot of the people that were here today, or at least a good chunk of them, were here in 1988 and did the same stuff,” Sally said. “It’s kind of sad that we have to be out here doing it again. I can’t imagine that we’re not going to have to do it umpteen times here, because this is only getting started.”
While there are no leases pending off the Mendocino Coast — most of them are farther south at this point — Sally said she has little doubt it will reach the area soon.
Sally said the Sierra Club’s concerns extend well beyond Mendocino, pointing to ongoing drilling activity in the Gulf and along Alaska’s coastline as two of the organization’s other major focus areas, along with mobilization efforts underway on the East Coast.
“Anything off of the coast anywhere will affect the entire coast in one way or another, by harming the marine life and everything that goes on around that,” she said. “There’s a ridiculous number of them out there that were drilled and not capped properly.”
Sally noted that many existing offshore oil wells continue to leak small amounts of oil on an ongoing basis. Beyond the risk of spills, she said, the Sierra Club is also concerned about drilling-related noise disrupting whales, dolphins and other marine life that depend on being able to hear each other, as well as safety risks to offshore workers.
A statewide day of action
Mendocino’s rally was one of nine held up and down the California coast Saturday, including in Bodega Bay, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Grover Beach, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Oceanside and San Diego, according to Sierra Club California.
Sally said the demonstration series traces back to San Diego, where the Sierra Club chapter there teamed up with Surfrider Foundation to launch it before it spread up the coast.
In a statement promoting the day of action, Sierra Club California said the event was aimed at pushing back on federal moves to expand offshore drilling, including what it described as efforts by the Trump administration to weaken California’s Coastal Management Program and advance new offshore drilling projects and an underwater data center off the coast.
The chapter also pointed to concerns over proposed ocean and subsea desalination, underwater cables, aquaculture expansion and faster shipping lanes, arguing that clean energy and coastal resilience are better investments than new drilling.
“Coastal communities deserve protection from pollution, industrial risk, and climate impacts,” the chapter said. “California has a long history of opposing new offshore oil development, and public opposition remains strong.”