![]() "That stretches credulity, I think," Dawes said. In the case of the Limantour herd, only 11 animals-roughly 5% of the population-died, while in the Drakes Beach herd, the population grew from 138 animals to 139. "I can't see how increasing ranches while depriving these elk from water, and shooting others, provides a benefit for the park," said Dawes, who noted that the majority of public comment received by the Coastal Commission rejects any expansion of the ranches.Īlthough the park service contends that lack of water was not a major cause of the elk death's last year, it declined to provide the Los Angeles Times with necropsy reports it referenced.ĭawes and others say that during this same period, two other populations in the park-the Drake and Limantour herds, which are not enclosed by a fence-did not see these same dramatic die-offs. ![]() Park service officials say the new plan, if adopted, will enable them to more effectively manage the ranch lands for the benefit of all the national seashore's uses. The service's preferred plan would keep the same number of beef cattle in the park, which is about 2,400, and reduce the number of dairy cows from roughly 3,325 to 3,115. In one park service proposal-not the agency's preferred option-the Drake's Beach tule elk population would be entirely exterminated, although the park service "would evaluate options to donate meat." On April 22, the California Coastal Commission will weigh in on a new draft of the park's preferred management plan, which could increase the amount of ranch grazing in the park from 27,000 to 28,100 acres, and reduce the size of one of the elk populations from 139 to 120, through lethal means. Clement Woodnutt Miller wrote in authorizing legislation for the protected wilderness area in 1962.īut over the last year, a wildfire struck the park-which in non-pandemic times is visited annually by roughly 2.5 million tourists-amid a devastating drought, all under the watchful eye of environmental groups and animal activists.Īt the same time, the National Park Service is finalizing a plan for managing a wilderness area beloved by residents of the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. ![]() Point Reyes National Seashore was created to be a "wonderful haven where one can rest at peace with the land and sea," as U.S. She said the nutritional quality of the elk's forage is "likely exacerbated by the drought." A spokeswoman, Melanie Gunn, said field observations and six necropsies show the elk succumbed to malnutrition, not dehydration. She added these are modern agriculture operations, "Hardly your small, 'let's see Betsy getting milked' kind of family farm."ĭid lack of water access contribute to the elk's demise? The park service doesn't think so. "I don't know why the park service is so set on privileging private profit over wildlife at this national park," said Fleur Dawes, communications director for In Defense of Animals, a San Rafael animal activist group. ![]() In response, activists are again demanding the park service remove an 8-foot-high fence that separates the elk from cattle, saying it is cruel and prevents the animals from reaching water outside of the 2,600-acre enclosure. Now the federal agency has released a report indicating that more than one-third of the 445 elk fenced in at Tomales Point died this past winter, bringing the population down to 293. Amid a dry 2020, the groups tried to bring water to the creatures but were rebuffed by the National Park Service. ![]()
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