NPS Plan for Pt Reyes: More Ranching, Less Wildlife
The NPS has announced it final plan for Point Reyes National Seashore. The plan includes:
Killing native Tule elk to support cattle ranchers
Allowing more livestock in the Seashore
Installing a 4-mile fence to keep elk off parklands leased for cattle
Converting grasslands to commercial crops
The public pays the bill
Tule elk, native only to California, once roamed the Point Reyes peninsula by the thousands. They were hunted to near extinction. The National Park Service reintroduced a small herd 50 years ago in an effort to save the species. Point Reyes National Seashore is the only national park where these majestic animals are found. Today, the Tule elk have reached 1 percent of their original population. There are more cattle in the national seashore (nearly 6,000) than there are Tule elk in the world. Cattle outnumber elk in the park 10 to 1.
Far from balanced, the NPS’s final plan is Seashore ranchers’ wish list. The ranchers and their industry allies have long lobbied for 20-year leases and to diversify their operations.
The plan gives them the go-ahead to raise pigs, poultry, sheep and goats in the park, which ranchers claim they need to stay in business. Predators in the park—cougars, coyotes, bobcats, badgers, fox, owls and more—will certainly suffer from this decision when they inevitably prey on small livestock.
The plan allows ranchers to convert open grasslands to crops. Many wildlife species den, hunt, mate, travel and raise their young in these grasslands. Rabbits, deer, gophers, insects and other wildlife will eat these crops, putting them in conflict with ranchers.
