Tule elk to get more room in Marin County
The National Park Service said last week it intends to remove a fence confining a herd of elk at Point Reyes National Seashore, a 2-mile barrier that has become a flash point in a broader debate over how to manage the storied animals.
Removal of the fence would allow about 260 tule elk to roam farther in the rural Marin County park, ostensibly finding more water and forage. The elk’s numbers have dwindled during recent drought years, a decline that park critics blame on the animal’s inability to get sustenance outside their contained area. Protests seeking to “Free the Elk” have become frequent at the park.
In announcing the unexpected removal of the barrier, park officials cited climate change as a primary driver. The proposal to take down the fence is part of a broader plan that acknowledges that the enclosed 2,900-acre elk reserve at Tomales Point has become drier and less suitable for the herd’s success.
“Current management guidance for this area did not anticipate these drought conditions or consider climate change,” park officials said in a statement.
Tule elk are one of three species of elk in California and one that almost disappeared with the settlement of the state in the late 1800s. Point Reyes National Seashore is one of the areas where the once widespread animals were reintroduced to ensure their survival. The elk also have become a draw for park visitors.
The fence for the elk was put up in 1978, with the relocation of the animals, to contain the herd to a peninsula bounded by the Pacific Ocean and Tomales Bay and keep them away from dairies and cattle ranches that lease lands within the park.
The larger debate playing out at Point Reyes is how much deference to give the cattle operations. Ranching has a long history that predates the establishment of the national seashore but the cows compete with elk for land and resources and have prompted questions about whether the park is an appropriate place for private enterprise.
In addition to the herd at Tomales Point, two historically smaller groups of elk live in the park, both of which roam freely.
In 2021, amid a threeyear drought, the population of elk at Tomales Point dipped to 221, the lowest in recent memory. The herd has averaged about 400 members. Noting the limited water at creeks and old stock ponds in the area, park officials began trucking water to the elk.
Still, critics said the park wasn’t doing enough to halt the animal’s decline, prompting regular demonstrations that called for removal of the fence and a lawsuit challenging the confinement. A separate lawsuit targets the park’s uncommon policy of permitting ranches on national park land.
The litigants generally praised the Park Service’s announcement about the fence.
“The fact that they recognize the threats and stress of the drought conditions and this new era of climate change is a welcome response,” said Chance Cutrano, director of programs at the nonprofit Resource Renewal Institute in Fairfax, one of the groups involved in a suit against the national seashore.
Cutrano and others, though, said they were reserving final judgment until the fence is actually down.
The plan to remove the barrier is proposed as part of an update to the park’s Tomales Point Area Plan. A public comment period on the proposal is expected to open this summer and a final decision on the updated plan is anticipated next year.
The ranching community has opposed efforts to eliminate the fence.