Point Reyes Restored Laura Cunningham, Western Watersheds Project Coastal Prairie of San Francisco 500 years ago Oil on panel, Laura Cunningham Tule elk and pronghorn antelope herds before the California Gold Rush Oil on panel, Laura Cunningham Tule elk: Only In California California grizzlies were abundant in the Bay Area before European contact Oil on panel, Laura Cunningham California grizzly mother with cubs dining on Coho salmon spawning on Lagunitas Creek, Marin County, 1,000 years ago. Oil on cotton rag paper, Laura Cunningham. Coastal prairie remnant at Point Reyes National Seashore: Ungrazed by cows Wildflowers: Blue-eyed grass, California buttercups, Harlequin lotus, star tulip, tomcat clover. Coastal Idaho fescue bunchgrasses Star tulip, soap plant, Idaho fescue Biological Soil Crusts: no cattle, but rich in lichens, mosses, fungi Old growth Pacific reedgrass bunch and Biological Soil Crusts can not handle heavy grazing Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) on organic dairy at Point Reyes National Seashore Invasive introduced European weeds at Point Reyes National Seashore Clockwise from top left: Fields of silage mustard to feed dairy cows, annual hare barley, poison hemlock, milk thistle, invasive annual radish planted as cow feed. Tule elk vs. domestic cattle Vegetation cover: Elk-grazed coastal prairie Idaho fescue bunches vs. weedy cattle-grazed pasture with European annual grasses “Carbon Farming” Cattle grazed annual grassland by late summer is hammered, Point Reyes National Seashore. Elk Hoof track vs. cow hoof track Elk pellets vs. cow manure Soil erosion from beef cattle grazing: “Conservation grazing?” Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area All photos taken in Point Reyes National Seashore Rare, at-risk, state and federally threatened and endangered species in Point Reyes National Seashore are not conserved by cattle grazing Biodiversity hotspot: Clockwise from top left: California freshwater shrimp, Aplodontia, Red-legged frog, Coho salmon, Myrtle’s silverspot butterfly, Tricolored blackbird, Sonoma Alopecurus grass. Too many cows on a small area of land in a beloved National Park unit. 5,700 cows squeeze out the native tule elk. Map of dairy and beef leases on national park land found in the Final Environmental Impact Statement at https://parkplanning.nps.g ov/documentsList.cfm?pro jectID=74313 Our Public Land: too many fences, modern dairy facilities (they don’t look historic) , piles of tires, manure, no access to the beaches, ugly views Commercial beef and dairy operations at Point Reyes National Seashore What we want to see Native wildlife: tule elk in Point Reyes National Seashore Photo: Matthew Polvorosa Kline - http://www.polvorosakline.com.