Tomales Point elk now able to roam after fencing removed
For years, activists have been after the National Park Service to take down the fence holding the elk herd captive at the Tomales Point Reserve. And when they finally decided to do so, the question became, how soon? It turns out it's not taking very long at all.
For four years, Jack Gescheidt had been leading a public relations campaign to free the herd of elk from captivity. So, when the National Park Service announced last summer that they were considering removing the fence, it made him cautiously optimistic.
But when he arrived at the elk reserve on Wednesday, he was caught by surprise.
"Wow! Wow! You see this?" he said, with a huge smile.
A long section of the fence was already gone, the heavy wooden fence posts cut off at their base. It was just on Monday that the Park Service announced they had finalized their management plan to remove the fence, but even the activists didn't expect it to happen this quickly.
Without telling anyone, officials had removed a large portion of the 3-mile fence separating the elk from the adjoining cattle ranches.
"Just looking at the fence being gone, it's incredible," said Gescheidt. "It's wonderful. Someone texted me and said, 'The fence is gone,' five minutes ago as I was driving here and I was, like, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! It changes my whole vision of this place. I always come here and I'm depressed whenever I see the fence. It's the prison walls for the elk."
The National Park Service declined an on-camera interview Wednesday, citing ongoing litigation. In a statement, they said that expanding the elk habitat would "increase the species population resilience during drought and promote a more natural population cycle." The elk were introduced in 1977, and the fence has kept them from roaming. But during droughts, including the one in 2022, the animals had a hard time finding water.
Local wildlife photographer Matthew Polvorosa Kline began taking heartbreaking pictures of the dead and dying animals that brought the problem into public view. So, for him to see the fence down was an emotional experience.
"It was my findings on the dead elk, the last major die-off, that helped spiral things downhill. Now, I'm seeing this," said Polvorosa Kline, his voice cracking as he pointed to the open fence. "It's pretty remarkable, because if you think about all the elk that I found dead out here. I lost count. I had to stop coming out here."
Now, the elk will be free to venture out onto the cattle ranches. But there's not a lot of celebrating going on there.
Albert Straus's dairy operation is outside the park, so he's not affected by the elk, but he knows those who will be.
"Farms are on edge right now trying to rebuild from the drought and the economic crisis that we're in. And the elk are just taking away from that viability," he said. "And so it's a no-win situation for these farms and ranches."
That may be exactly what the environmental community is looking for. Gesheidt is clear about the ultimate goal.
He wants the cattle ranches, some of which have been operating for more than 100 years, to be kicked out of the park entirely.
"The founders' vision in 1962 was to make this a safe haven for wild animals," he said. "You can't have that — a safe haven for wild animals with ranches in the park. They're diametrically opposed."
But Straus said all the protests and lawsuits have taken their toll on the ranchers, many of whom have lived and worked for generations in Tomales Point.
"We're in crisis. The dairy industry is in crisis. Our farming and food systems in crisis," said Straus. "It's a very concerted effort by the government and the Nature Conservancy and these litigants to remove all the farms and the community. It's devastating us."
One thing both sides agree on is the belief that the removal of the elk fence is being rushed before a new administration takes over in January.
They believe that a new Secretary of the Interior will be appointed who may have some very different views about elk and cattle ranchers that could once again change the landscape for agriculture in Western Marin County.
