The National Park Service agreed Wednesday to update its land management plan at Point Reyes National Seashore to better sustain the region’s native tule elk species, marking a significant win for environmentalists.
For years, elk advocates and the National Park Service have been at odds over the impacts of cattle ranching at the pristine Marin County coastline site.
The park administration has been trying to permit ranching to live with the herds of tule elk for the past ten years. The park service set elk population caps at 120 to 150 elk per year, depending on the season, and allowed for the possibility of killing more because elk and farm animals like cows graze on the area and thus compete for resources.
The park service will now give the elk literally free roam and will not impose any population limits on them following a deal with the environmental groups Western Watersheds Project, Resource Renewal Institute, and Center for Biological Diversity.
Jeff Miller of the Center for Biological Diversity stated, “This settlement is a major win for the environment, wildlife, and native plants of tule elk and Point Reyes.” “This is a historic opportunity to expand elk herds, restore coastal prairie habitats, and protect endangered species.”
Given its lengthy history at Point Reyes, the park service has long sought to preserve about 28,000 of the 71,000 acres on the property for ranching, despite the “oyster wars” between the park service and the Drake’s Bay Oyster Company, which shut down entirely around ten years ago.
According to the park service, ranching has been practiced on the property since the 1850s and played a significant role in the development of California’s dairy sector. It should come as no surprise that cowboys lived there long before the region was designated a National Seashore in 1972.
In the twenty-first century, fifteen private ranching companies were leasing the property for the grazing of dairy cattle and meat by 2015, much to the dismay of environmentalists.
In response to opposition, the National Park Service held public hearings in 2019 to examine six potential management plan scenarios for the peaceful coexistence of cows, elk, and humans at Point Reyes. These scenarios included limiting ranching, banning dairy ranching, and granting 20-year agricultural lease permits to 24 beef and dairy ranches.
Additionally, the park administration sought to eliminate the Drake’s Beach tule elk herd while doing little to stop free-range elk from competing with cattle for grazing. The park service could employ lethal eradication techniques to keep the overall number of elk at 120.
The Center for Biological Diversity was a strong opponent of the plans at the time.
“The plan would destroy wildlife habitat, harm endangered species, degrade water quality and lead to killing of some of the parks most iconic wildlife, including tule elk,” Miller stated.
When the park service published its final draft of a report outlining its plans to manage private ranching and tule elk herds in 2020, it even considered including chickens, sheep, goats, and pigs in the agricultural mix. The Center for Biological Diversity referred to this plan as disastrous, illegal, and immoral.
By 2021, one-third of the native species’ population—152 tule elk—had perished in a single year. According to environmental activist Jack Gescheidt, who was involved in a 2021 lawsuit against the park service, 478 people have died in the past ten years.
The Animal Law & Policy Program at Harvard University Law School became involved in the case that year, representing the environmental organization In Defense of Animals.
A fence on park property that barred elk from grazing in the southern part of their habitat—which was leased to private ranchers—was the subject of the case. Although the barrier was designed to keep elk and cattle from competing for food, opponents said it kept elk from surviving by denying them access to food and water. The Center for Biological Diversity reported that many of the dead elk were dehydrated and emaciated.
Cattle ranching will now be permitted under the new deal, although it will be greatly reduced. The National Park Service said it will award 20-year leases to seven beef ranch families and is now negotiating two further leases. A “scenic landscape zone” will be created on sixteen formerly ranching acres, allowing the elk to freely graze and increase in population.
Within 15 months, 90 ranches’ tenants will stop using Point Reyes.
According to a Western Watershed Project spokeswoman on Thursday, eleven family ranchers have opted to retire their twelve ranching operations near Point Reyes, and the Nature Conservancy is paying the ranchers. The Nature Conservancy is a sizable, well-funded, global nonprofit organization that advocates for conservation.
Employees who are laid off as a result of the ouster will receive severance pay, housing help, and other forms of support.
In a statement issued by her office, Point Reyes superintendent Anne Altman said, “The National Park Service recognizes the important legacy of the multigenerational ranching families, whose contributions were important to the creation of Point Reyes National Seashore.” “We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the ranchers, the National Conservancy, litigation parties, and others who contributed to this pivotal agreement.”
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