The National Park Service has found E. coli bacteria levels well above health standards in several water bodies around the Point Reyes National Seashore, reigniting the contentious debate over the future of cattle grazing at the beloved Northern California landscape.
Even as the park has taken major steps to make ranching less harmful to watersheds, contaminated water was detected at several sites, including a lagoon that flows into popular Kehoe Beach, indicating runoff from cattle manure at upstream ranches.
“There certainly are improvements. But it’s not perfect. Substantial water-quality issues remain in the park,” said California Coastal Commission Deputy Director Cassidy Teufel in a Thursday presentation of park data from a year-long collection and testing effort at 24 different sites.
But, surprisingly, cattle aren’t the only culprits: Tainted water was also found in two other popular sites, McClures and Abbott Beaches, which have few or no cattle — suggesting that wildlife like elk, coyotes and birds are also contributors. Even people may be a problem, if bacteria is creeping in from septic systems, including ranch homes and public restrooms.
“We really need to identify the source of pollution, via species-specific testing, in order to apply the proper management efforts,” said Ashley Eagle-Gibbs of the Environmental Action Committee, an environmental nonprofit in Point Reyes Station, the gateway town to the national seashore. The bacteria counts “are unacceptable for a national park and a marine wilderness.”
The fog-veiled, wind-sculpted park is home to 14 multigenerational ranching families, who operated before the seashore’s designation in 1962 and whose leased properties are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Five operate dairies and nine run beef cattle, supplying producers of the Bay Area’s organic food scene, such as Straus Family Creamery.
Long ago, the park bought the ranches from the families, so now the properties are leased — and those leases are expiring.
The unique public-private arrangement has led to continued conflicts between ranchers and environmentalists. Point Reyes National Seashore is one of only two national parks in the nation that hosts commercial enterprises.
“This was, and remains today, the single-most complex land-use arrangement that NPS professionals are asked to administer,” according to Marin County native Gerald Warburg, professor of public policy at the University of Virginia and author of the new book “Saving Point Reyes.”
“There was no model for this plan to mix commercial businesses and thousands of manure-generating cows with two million annual visitors in a national seashore,” he said.
The Environmental Action Committee and two other respected groups are suing the park to get rid of the ranches. In an effort to reach a legal settlement, mediation talks are underway among the park, environmentalists and ranchers. An update is expected in March.
Environmentalists argue that 5,000 cows do not belong in a wild and fragile national park that is within an hour’s drive of seven million Bay Area residents. The cumulative effects of decades of grazing have profoundly altered the coastal prairie’s plant communities, they say, and runoff could harm the health of creeks that flow into a marine sanctuary.
But supporters of agriculture say that ranching is critical to maintaining Marin County’s agricultural economy and vibrant farm-to-fork food culture. The ranches represent 20% of Marin’s agricultural economy and 30% of its organic dairy farms.
“The loss of the historic ranches that have been on the land for more than 100 years could take away one of our best long-term solutions to preserve family farmers and rural communities while reducing our climate impact,” said Albert Straus, founder of Straus Family Creamery.
vThe 2023 Beach Report Card released by Heal the Bay this week gave two of the cited waterways, Drakes Beach and Drakes Estero, an A+ rating. Heal the Bay did not rank other sites.
But regardless of swimming conditions, environmentalists say the elevated bacteria levels could lead to algal blooms, which can kill aquatic organisms.
Long before the current controversy, the ranches helped protect the Point Reyes peninsula from 19th and early 20th century development.
To quell ranchers’ opposition to the creation of the national seashore in 1962, a compromise was crafted: one-third of the park would be a “pastoral zone,” purchased by the government and then granted back on multi-year leases to ranchers “so long as the natural or pastoral scene is preserved.” Many assumed that the ranches would fade away, over time.
While the Coastal Commission does not regulate the park, it is entrusted with protecting water from runoff. It can request that the park take remedial steps to comply with the Coastal Act, and take legal action if problems persist.
For now, the commission has conditioned its approval of the park’s management plan on the creation of a new water quality strategy. Last winter the park started testing several key waterways.
In addition to sites on Kehoe Creek and near McClures Beach, high E. coli levels were found in August along the perennial stream that feeds Abbotts Lagoon, a stunning destination perfect for hikers, birdwatchers, and nature enthusiasts of all ages.
In the Drakes Estero watershed, both cattle and elk waste could have contributed to the high bacteria levels, according to the report. There are three ranches in that area, as well as a herd of more than 150 elk.
The long-ago pledge that the ranches could remain, said Warburg, was contingent on their care of the park’s lands and waters.
Environmentalists say that the new report shows that the pledge has been broken.
“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.”
