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Yet another former park service employee takes a public stance against the management practices taking place in our national seashore. Judd Howell is a wildlife scientist who conducted a multi-year study on the Tule elk in Point Reyes National Seashore. Here's what he had to say.
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How many times does the park service have to be caught lying to the public before we wake up to the fact they are corrupt? On Sunday, Sept. 13th park rangers told ABC7's Dan Noyes that there was absolutely no plan to cull the elk. That's a bold faced lie that can be proven in writing. The management plan that the park service not only wrote but endorsed as their preferred alternative literally says they will manage the population with lethal removal. THAT IS CULLING!!!! And it's their preferred plan!!!!!!!! You can see the preferred alternative yourself below #pointreyesnationalseashore #pointreyes #tuleelk #cull #lies #killingwildlife  Snippet from the plan below  Full document 
 Man-made watering holes, naturally occuring ponds, seeps, creeks, and numerous troughs could be seen throughout the ranch lands as we drove away from the fenced elk slowly dying of thirst.
Overhearing the conversation between a park service representative and ABC 7's Dan Noyes I learned that the merciful water troughs brought in by activists were removed by the park under the excuse of fear that the troughs could be poisoned. And yet there's no concern over the cattle troughs being poisoned, many of which are easily accessible from the road, such as the one pictured here. Let me say it another way; troughs, hidden in the terrain of the elk reserve, are supposedly a target for an imaginary group of people who might be motivated enough to drive all the way to the seashore, hike into the reserve, find the troughs, then poison the water. The only humans interested in hurting these elk are the ranchers and sadly the park staff themselves (it is the park service who CHOSE the management plan that included culling elk.) Be aware, in the media the park service is using these foolish excuses to distract the public from the bottom line that they are adamant about not helping the elk. #parkservice #corruption #ranching #dairy #pointreyes #tuleelk #thirst #drought #pointreyenationalseashore #shameofpointreyes
So many good points brought up that I wanted to expand on some of them.
Yesterday I was part of a live broadcast panel discussing the threat against wildlife in Point Reyes National Seashore. One might think the threat I'm referring to is that of wildfires, but sadly, the threat is from the park staff who are under control of animal agriculture. I have embedded the original broadcast on my sites (wachinghumans.com and shameofpointreyes.org), but also recorded a follow up to the panel because the panelists brought up some great points that I wanted to expand on. Please watch these, also embedded below the original broadcast. I also want to thank Jane for asking the tech community of the Bay Area to use their clout and their resources to help in the fight against this corruption. My old tech friends, you have the power to make a difference and activists desperately need your assistance. Nature is under assault across the globe, but also right here in your back yard, even national park units aren't safe! You can make your mark by preserving this gem on our coast rather than letting it turn into what the rest of the world is becoming...a desolate feed lot of cattle.
#pointreyes #pointreyesnationalseashore #california #drought #tuleelk #wildfires #agriculture #climatechange #janeunchained #skylerthomas #livestock #cattle #dairy #animalagriculture #ranching #ranchingtruth
"Hey, elk poop too!" - Rancher rationale for allowing thousands of cattle to saturate a national seashore with feces.
#ranching #feces #waste #poop #everyonepoops #elk #dairy #beef #livestock #planetpoop #pointreyes
There's a long list of private business expenses our tax dollars payoff on public land, but road repairs is one you probably never thought of.  Road maintenance is one of many management expenses that fall on the park service, which means it is paid by tax dollars. The park roads endure a lot of traffic from tourists, but have you ever considered how wear and tear from standard vehicles stacks up against the trucks going in and out of the park with their shipments of cattle feed? How about the massive milk trucks? The combines? The cattle trucks. Manure trucks. Slaughter trucks. Any other large, agricultural vehicle? I haven’t specifically counted the trucks, but it has never been a challenge to get a picture of one, thus it seems they are ever-present. That’s the reality of large, agricultural businesses operating within a federally owned park. Whatever damages that heavy equipment is or isn’t causing, YOU are paying the repairs.       #privatebusiness #publicland #traffic #maintenance #expenses #taxes #federalpark #nationalpark #wearandtear #haytruck #milktruck #feedtruck #manuretruck #cattletruck #combine #pointreyes #tourism
Watch on Youtube
This was once a dairy…
An inconspicuous sign just off Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in Inverness tells a wonderful tale of recovery. Today, a living, breathing, wetland filled with native plants and animals provides beauty, health, and even recreation for humans where once there stood a massive dairy ranch. Cut off from the natural ebb and flow, plants and animals disappeared. The soil became heavily polluted from sedimentation, manure, and other factors. The purchase of this land and the massive restoration effort that followed is a feel good story that puts a smile on almost anyone's face. Today the park service is dedicated to destruction in the name of profit for a few rather than recovery for the benefit of us all. I wonder if that sign on the side of the road will disappear now. It is evidence that today's park service contradicts itself. 
#pointreyes #Inverness #giacomini #wetlands #dairy #ranch #recovery #wildlife #cattle
What to watch after watching the film...
The film director and an ecologist return to Point Reyes with the goal of cutting through myths, propaganda and misconceptions surrounding this national treasure. No fancy editing or overly verbose arguments, just a common sense approach while standing amongst the evidence. This series provides entry level learning about the complexities of ecosystems, especially ones as fragile as Point Reyes.
 The direct and immediate threat of shooting elk certainly deserves to be the attention-grabbing subject regarding what's happening in the seashore, but it's important for everyone to understand that it's not just the elk. Businesses operating within the park that depend on the exploitation of the land will always be at odds with wildlife that are trying to live there as well.
Consider that an herbivore, the beautiful Tule elk, is considered a threat to the profits of the ranchers just by eating grass. How do you think things are going to go for predators when the seashore allows the ranchers to bring in more commodity animals, smaller ones, such as pigs, chickens, etc.? Coyotes are screwed. Bobcats are screwed. If there is a mountain lion out there somewhere you might as well say goodbye to it now. Do you believe that hawks and other birds won't enter the new row crops that are going to be allowed? How about the badgers, deer, and rabbits that will understandably be tempted to partake in such food. Once again, to "protect their bottom line" ranchers will turn to means of battling against the wildlife and it won't end with adding even more ugly barbed wire fences out there. Traps, pesticides, annual culls will follow. If you need an indication of the odds ranchers and wildlife are at, every year, a government agency abusively titled "Wildlife Services" kills millions of native animals every year strictly for the agriculture industry. Remember, elk eating grass is enough of a financial threat to the ranchers that the park service is has been asked to kill them. How about when the wildlife start eating the actual commodities, not just the grass the commodities eat? But we need look no further than birds to see how ranching affects wildlife. You can ALWAYS see certain species of birds flocking to the feeding bins of the cattle which both alters the natural behavior of the birds while promoting certain species (such as ravens) who then dominate and kill off other species. The annual silage harvest is proven (through park mandated studies) to have reduced diversity and richness of native bird species in the seashore. How? By mowing down fields where these animals nest each year. Yes, I mean chopping up native animals in harvest blades. I've seen it. It's as bad as it sounds. So now the park service in their great wisdom is going to allow even more crops to be grown and harvested? And how about the fact that the amount of cattle manure in Point Reyes has already ranked as one of the most e-coli polluted locations in the nation. Now we're going to add pig manure, chicken manure, and all the byproducts that come with feeding and growing commodity animals and crops? This national seashore is in for a world of hurt. For those who believe (without evidence I might add) that the legislation intended for ranches to remain in the seashore, do you also believe that the well being of the seashore was to always come second to the profits of the ranches at the expense of the land and wildlife? The ranchers are literally taking a $%@! on this magical seashore and we, the public continue to watch and fit the bill while muttering lies about sustainability and culture. |
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