A collection of conservation groups has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against the National Park Service (NPS) for “prioritizing the needs of ranchers instead of providing maximum protection to the natural environment.”
The lawsuit comes after NPS issued a Record of Decision in mid-September allowing ranchers and dairy farmers in the Point Reyes National Seashore to continue operating for at least the next 20 years. Conservation groups were displeased with the decision, as they have long advocated for ranching to be prohibited on the public lands. The decision also permits the agency to manage the tule elk populations.
In their lawsuit, the Resource Renewal Institute, Center for Biological Diversity and Western Watersheds Project claim beef and dairy ranching does significant harm to Point Reyes National Seashores’ environmental, scenic and recreational values.
“Cattle grazing and other ranching activities impair water quality, alter stream channels and hydrology, compact riparian soils, reduce riparian and upland vegetation, and increase runoff, erosion, and sediment loads into water bodies,” the lawsuit read. The groups said impacts to water quality harm endangered coho salmon, Chinook salmon and steelhead trout.
The groups also claim fencing impedes and harms wildlife, including tule elk, and prevents the public from accessing large portions of public lands.
“The public is technically allowed to recreate on ranching pastures where cattle graze, but misleading or erroneous signs, harassment and intimidation, fencing, a lack of public education, cattle, and unpleasant sights and sounds often prevent such access,” the lawsuit read.
In addition, the lawsuit said grazing negatively impacts wildlife, erodes soil and increases the abundance of invasive and nonnative plant species, along with decreasing the abundance of native species.
“The Park Service has long mismanaged Point Reyes by allowing ranchers to use and abuse the park for private profit,” said Jeff Miller, senior conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Now the agency wants to treat our beloved tule elk as expendable problem animals to be shot or removed. Point Reyes belongs to the public, not a handful of ranchers.”
Industry groups applauded NPS’ Record of Decision last fall. “This, along with changes that allow for more flexibility in diversification, will allow our producers to better plan for the future of their operations,” Kaitlynn Glover, executive director of the Public Lands Council and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Natural Resources, told E&E News at the time. — Anna Miller,WLJ managing editor
