Your recent articles about the Point Reyes situation in California are both interesting and confusing. Interesting because of the things that took place that led to the current situation. It appears that the cattle that grazed the area were not the real problem, but more a case of who put the cattle there. The situation reminds me of what John Marvel (Western Watersheds Project) said at a Range Net Conference in Boise, ID, in 2003. Quote: “It’s not the cows we hate, it’s the cowboys who put them there.” I have said many times that the conflicts between public lands ranchers and the environmental community are driven by cultural differences, and John Marvel’s comments demonstrate that.
It is more common for environmental groups to sue the federal government than it is to sue individuals. Your article concerning EAJA (Equal Access to Justice Act) in the Dec. 29, 2025, issue demonstrates why this is the case. There is little to no money available for enviros when they sue individuals, but large sums of money when they sue the government.
It would be revealing to say the least, to find out just how many things have been done (on the ground things, tangible things) by the environmental community to actually make public lands better. My bet is that their track record is as abysmal as the percentage of recovery achieved by the ESA (Endangered Species Act).
As is often the case, TNC (The Nature Conservancy) is portrayed here as the good guy. While it may be true that TNC has somewhat of a softer approach to public lands grazing issues, the results are the same. The cowboys are gone, their operations at Point Reyes are discontinued and a few get to come back by invitation of TNC and the conditions set by TNC.
Why couldn’t the NPS (National Park Service) and TNC work with the permittees at Point Reyes to make things better at Point Reyes? Why did the permittees have to be bought out and removed in order for improvement to occur? I find it amazing that cows are ruining Point Reyes, but now that TNC is in charge, cows can actually help heal and improve Point Reyes. Go figure! One has to remember that the environmentalist’s existence is predicated on there being problems. Those problems can be real or perceived, it doesn’t matter, the results are the same.
I mentioned at the beginning that the situation at Point Reyes was both interesting and confusing. Now the confusing part: I ranch in northern Utah, and some of my private property is across the fence from the Golden Spike National Historic Site, part of the NPS. I have asked the people at the Golden Spike if I could rent some of their property to graze my cows on. The grazing would be beneficial to me and to them. The answer I get when I asked the question is that the Federal Register says there is to be no livestock on NPS property. If that is true, then why is it OK in Marin County, CA, but not Box Elder County, UT? Someone please explain.
Here’s a great idea. If there could be a way to cut the income of environmental groups’ income by 10 to 50 percent or more when they do something wrong that the rest of us don’t like, maybe they, like the cowboys they hate so often do, would just go away. If I was a betting man, I’d bet that the Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project and the Resource Renewal Institute never sue the NPS again for their mismanagement of Point Reyes. They will also never sue TNC, because you see, cows aren’t really the problem! — Richard Nicholas, Tremonton, UT
