Details on water pollution put pressure on ranches
Debate revived over future as health issues are raised
The debate over coastal cattle and dairy ranching has revived as unsafe levels of fecal bacteria continue to contaminate waterways in the Point Reyes National Seashore.
Park data from a year of testing concluded that E. coli exceeded health standards in roughly 31% of the samples collected from 24 sites, including at Kehoe Beach and Drakes Bay.
The data were presented to the California Coastal Commission on Thursday as part of a first annual update on the National Park Service's water quality management plan to curb water contamination caused by the ranching.
Commissioners and environmentalists said they want a resolution, with many calling for a halting or reduction of coastal ranching.
“We do have an expectation of what we're going to find when we go to our national parks, and I think among the things that we expect is that we are not going to become sick if we enter the water,” said Caryl Hart, vice chair of the commission.
Hart was among commissioners who said the impact on the environment and public health warranted a new public hearing to consider changes to the park's management plan.
“I shouldn't have to tell my kids that touching the water in our national seashore
could make them sick,” said wildlife educator Sarah Killingsworth. “This should be some of the most protected land and water in this country, and it is unhealthy.”
The California Coastal Commission directed its staff Thursday to produce a report to determine whether the agency has grounds to call a public hearing.
The water quality strategies were narrowly approved last year. The plan was a condition of the commission's narrow endorsement in 2021 of the park's plan to extend ranch lease terms from five years to 20 years as well as to allow park staff to shoot some of the park's tule elk to prevent conflicts with ranches. The