Point Reyes National Seashore; Should Private Ranching Be Allowed on National Park Lands?

A Point Reyes National Seashore (PRNS) Bull Tule elk with Barbed Wire Caught in His Antlers

Skeleton of a PRNS Bull Elk Who Died Because Barbed Wire Caught in Antlers Prevented Him from Opening His Mouth.

I was on a Marin TV show entitled “The People’s Environmental News.”  It’s hosted by Barbara McVeigh and and Charlie Siler.  The show was about Point Reyes National Seashore and the planning and NEPA process currently underway for whether 28,000 acres of national park land should be managed for national park purposes or for private ranching purposes.  Environmentalists want the land to be managed in accordance with the laws requiring the park to protect, preserve and restore the natural resources, including wildlife such as the tule elk.   The ranchers want the park to be managed to maximize profit regardless of its effect on wildlife.  That requires removing the elk because they eat grass and the ranchers want their cows to get every blade of grass.  Thus, the ranchers want the elk removed/shot.  They can’t be moved outside the park because they have Johne’s disease which they got from the cattle.  For the past 40 years or so the National Park Service has gone along with whatever the ranchers wanted.  No, I’m not kidding.  The show can be seen here.

I was also on a show last April with Laura Cunningham of the Western Watersheds Project and Skyler Thomas of White Shark Videos.  That show was also about ranching and protecting the elk at Point Reyes Seashore.  That show can be seen here.