COWS and ELK
How the National Park Service Prioritizes
Commercial Cattle Grazing Over Tule
Elk Protection on Your Public Lands
at Point Reyes National Seashore
by the numbers
Tule elk population compared to cattle
Estimated historic tule elk numbers in California: 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
2015: 6,485
Tule Elk / Photo by Lisa Williams
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 Golden Gate 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 animal 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
Pounds of dry-weight forage an average adult Holstein dairy cow
eats daily: 50
Estimated pounds of dry-weight forage an average tule elk eats
daily: 9
Studies showing environmental impacts or overgrazing by elk at
Point Reyes: 0
Number of imperiled wildlife species at Point Reyes for which
livestock grazing was a factor in their listing as endangered or
threatened: 14
Percentage of Pierce Point elk that died during drought 20122014, due to lack of access to year-round water: 47%
Amount the free-roaming Point Reyes elk herds increased during
the same period: 32%
Free-roaming elk in the Seashore documented with Johne’s disease: 0
Portion of dairy cattle herds in the Seashore in 1979 with Johne’s
disease: 50%
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 Assessment. 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.