COWS and How the National Park Service Prioritizes Commercial Cattle Grazing Over Tule Elk Protection on Your Public Lands by the numbers at National Seashore

Tule elk population compared to cattle

Estimated historic tule elk numbers in : 500,000

Surviving tule elk statewide by 1895: 28

Reintroduced tule elk population in California as of 2013: 4,300

Number of restored tule elk herds in California in 2013: 25

Locations where the public can view tule elk: 12

National Parks with tule elk: 1

Free-ranging elk at Point Reyes National Seashore as of 2014: 212

Number of elk fenced in at Pierce Point Elk Preserve as of 2014: 286

Estimated numbers of dairy and beef cattle in the Seashore as of Tule Elk / Photo by Lisa Williams 2015: 6,485

Park Service management prioritizes cattle over elk

Minimum acres of the Seashore grazed by beef and dairy cattle in 2015: 17,766

Portion of the Seashore devoted to commercial cattle operations: 25%

Approximate portion of the Seashore occupied by tule elk: 18%

Portion of National Recreation Area in Marin administered by PRNS devoted to commercial cattle operations: 60%

Rancher public subsidies

Amount ten ranching families were paid by the public from 1963-1978 for purchasing ranch lands added to Point Reyes National Seashore: $19.6 million

Amount that payout represents in 2015 dollars: More than $70 million

Cost per unit for ranchers leasing back public lands at Point Reyes: $7

Cost per animal unit for non-federal grazing land in Marin in 2009: $15-20 Tule Elk at Point Reyes National Seashore / Photo by outdoorPDK (CC-BY-SA)

Cattle grazing versus elk impacts Elk health

Average weight of a Holstein dairy cow: 1,400 pounds Number of elk fenced in at Pierce Point Elk Preserve in fall of 2012: 540 Range of weights for adult cow elk and adult bull elk at Point Reyes: 300-500 pounds Percentage of Pierce Point elk that died during drought 2012- 2014, due to lack of access to year-round water: 47% Pounds of dry-weight forage an average adult Holstein dairy cow eats daily: 50 Amount the free-roaming Point Reyes elk herds increased during the same period: 32% Estimated pounds of dry-weight forage an average tule elk eats daily: 9 Free-roaming elk in the Seashore documented with Johne’s dis- ease: 0 Studies showing environmental impacts or overgrazing by elk at Point Reyes: 0 Portion of dairy cattle herds in the Seashore in 1979 with Johne’s disease: 50% Number of imperiled wildlife species at Point Reyes for which livestock grazing was a factor in their listing as endangered or threatened: 14

Gallons of water cattle drink each day in the Seashore and GGNRA lands: 156,000

Sources:

Tule elk population: A Citizen’s Guide to the Tule Elk of California. California Nature Center, 2013. • The Biogeography of the Tule Elk. Rachel Kanewske, 2000. San Francisco State University. • Point Reyes National Seashore elk surveys. National Park Service, 2015.

Cattle numbers: Ranching and Dairying Lease/Permits. Ranch Comprehensive Management Plan. National Park Service, 2015. • Free Range Tule Elk Herd Locations. National Park Service, 2015.

Grazing acreage: Ranching and Dairying Lease/Permits. Ranch Comprehensive Management Plan. National Park Service, 2015.

Rancher subsidies: The California Coastal Prairie of Point Reyes National Seashore: From Prehistory to Ranching -- and Beyond. Bruce Keegan, 2012. • Ranching and Dairying Lease/Permits. Ranch Comprehensive Management Plan. National Park Service, 2015. • National Park Service letter to University of California Cooperative Extension, July 24, 2009.

Cattle versus elk impacts: Dairy Facts. Purdue University. 2015. • Point Reyes National Seashore Tule Elk Management Plan and Environmental Assess- ment. National Park Service, 1998. • Stock Watering Water Use Information. Idaho Department of Water Resources, 2015. • Threatened & Endangered Animal Species of Point Reyes. National Park Service, 2007. • Formal Consultation on the Grazing Permit Renewal Program, Point Reyes National Seashore and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Marin County, California. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2002.

Elk health: Point Reyes National Seashore elk surveys. National Park Service, 2015. • Point Reyes National Seashore Ranch Management Planning update. National Park Service, March 12, 2015. • Point Reyes National Seashore Tule Elk Management Plan and Environmental Assessment. National Park Service, 1998. • Paratuberculosis in tule elk in California. Jessup et al., 1981. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.