Over 20,000 citizens submitted a Public Comment to the Park Service – to free the Tule elk at Pt. Reyes Nat’l Seashore! – 9/28/23
Historic process underway here, folks! For the first time in 45 years — since the magnificent Tule elk were re-introduced to their historic stamping grounds at Point Reyes Seashore in Marin County, California — the National Park Service (NPS) is sought public input on whether to release the largest of 3 Tule elk herds in the Seashore from their deadly enclosure. The comment period closed September 25th, and will release this data in “the spring of 2024.”
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*SAMPLE LETTER: Dear National Park Service, I agree with your preferred “Alternative B” to remove the Tule Elk Reserve fence at Tomales Point inside Point Reyes National Seashore. — which has confined the elk (for 45 years, since 1978) only to benefit private cattle ranches.
In addition, I want all these private cattle ranches removed from our public park. Their thousands of cows produce millions of gallons of manure and urine every year, contaminating the park’s streams and poisoning elk, fish and all wild animals — and humans too! Commercial cattle operations pollute and have no business being in this or any national park.
Once the elk fence is removed, elk must be protected from greater exposure to manure-borne cattle diseases common in these commercial dairy and beef operations.
Finally, ranchers must be monitored and heavily fined if they haze, harass, or harm any elk or wild animals in the park, ever.
Thank you.
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MORE Public Comments INFORMATION:
The NPS’ current “proposed action” to finally remove the 3-mile-long, 8-foot-tall, deadly Tule Elk “Reserve” fence is part of a lengthy, legally required bureaucratic process under federal NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) laws. The Park Service will read all the many public comments and then return next year with a Record of Decision and another public comment period.
But this is a big deal, folks: changing federal government policy — and saving wild animals in a national park.
Join our large movement to free the Tule elk, a vital step in re-wilding this magnificent National Seashore just 20 miles from San Francisco, including finally ousting private ranches leasing land in the park – – and polluting the crap into it. (Our next necessary step to ensure the health and safety of wild Tule elk — and ALL wild animals at Point Reyes — is to finally remove the polluting beef and dairy ranches that were supposed to phased out literally decades ago. READ MORE about all that, here.
The cattle industry has literally gotten away with elk and wildlife murder, in a sweetheart financial deal: cheap rental park land at Point Reyes National Seashore park — and subsidized by taxpayers with cheap rents for these polluting, “historic” beef and dairy ranches — so it’s no wonder lobby politicians and the public to stay. Ranchers even have the audacity to play the victim, despite having been paid millions of dollars to leave the park decades ago, then reneging on the deal. They took the money, but then refused to leave, attempting to rewrite history and influencing politicians to let them stay at Point Reyes — and closing off one-third the entire park to elk, and human visitors too.
READ the National Park Service’s 8-page PDF pamphlet about what they call the Tomales Point Area Plan” which is where the Tule Elk Reserve is located inside Point Reyes National Seashore.
• LEARN MORE about the issues on the Tule Elk webpage.
