I was at Point Reyes National Seashore last Thursday. K Ranch beef cows were in Kehoe Creek again. There is a fence just a bit beyond the top border of the video that fails occasionally. This scene is the result. The fence should be relocated to the top of the large slope above the creek to keep manure out of the creek in wet periods, but that would remove many acres from the ranch’s grazing area. I emailed the Park Service about the cows and they replied that the rancher had been notified.
There is a planning process underway to determine if ranching should continue on these national park lands or whether the lands should be managed to protect and restore them to a natural condition as required in national parks. Perhaps the most controversial issue is whether the 125 elk that roam through the park’s ranching area should be shot because they eat grass and the ranchers feel that as permittees on park lands their cows are entitled to all the grass. The Park Service has never allocated any forage to elk or other wildlife in the permits.
If you look and listen carefully, you’ll see the top cow defecate and fart at the end of the video. Kehoe Creek, which begins and ends within the Seashore, is rated as one of the most polluted streams in California.
