Huffman and Bishop, teamed up with industrial agricultural lobbyists, are trying to change the management of this park without public participation. This bill now in the House is the unfortunate result.
#National point reyes seashore professional
But because the enabling legislation was so clear on the point of restoring the land to its natural condition, for the enjoyment of the public, the Marin agricultural groups hired a professional lobbyist to sway Congress to change the law, in intent and in explicit requirements, toward their narrow special interests. But the ranchers and dairies want to stay. The life-leases have now run their course. A 1978 amendment extended livestock grazing “for a definite term of not more than twenty-five years, or, in lieu thereof, for a term ending at the death of the owner or the death of his or her spouse” within this National Park gem.
Meanwhile, dairy cattle were well-watered in the “Pastoral Zone” within the park.Įxtending ranching leases that haves legally expiredĭairies and ranches were paid millions of dollars during the formation of the park, and they willingly took the buy-out money and agreed to the livestock retirement process that was to complete the creation of Point Reyes National Seashore. Some 250 tule elk died of thirst within the fenced area during the drought. A multi-year California drought, peaking in 20, resulted in severe water shortages within the fenced Tomales Elk Preserve, and elk simply had nowhere to go to find drinkable freshwater. Most of these elk are locked behind 8-foot tall fences designed to keep them on a narrow spit of land surrounded by ocean, with very few freshwater springs or creeks. Currently, the park is undergoing a General Management Plan revision, brought about by a lawsuit by Western Watersheds Project, Resource Renewal Institute, and Center for Biological Diversity, after almost half the tule elk ( Cervus canadensis nannodes) population at Tomales Point died during the recent extreme drought in California. The most egregious part of this legislative maneuver is that it completely undermines the public process. No Senate version has yet been introduced. Currently the bill is sailing toward a vote on the floor. The bill, introduced by Jared Huffman (D-CA) is surprising because it is co-sponsored by Rob Bishop (R-UT), who has been an enemy of public lands and environmental laws. HR 6687 would change the enabling legislation of Point Reyes National Seashore to extend the leases of commercial for-profit dairies and ranches, with no environmental review of cattle grazing impacts.
An environmentally harmful bill is swiftly moving through the House of Representatives.
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