This alert is no longer active, but here for reference. Animals still need your help.

The California Coastal Commission (CCC) must decide if the National Park Service's (NPS) plan to kill Tule elk and extend ranching at Point Reyes National Seashore adheres to state laws protecting the coast. This is our last chance to save Point Reyes' Tule elk before the Department of the Interior signs this damaging plan!

The NPS pushed the Commission to approve its plan before the new administration takes office, but instead the CCC decided it needed more time to review over 20,000 letters from the public, including 9,000 from In Defense of Animals supporters. We're grateful for this timely reprieve and welcome opportunity to submit even more letters to amplify public pressure.

Due to 2016 litigation, the NPS prepared a General Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement to address the management of the lands leased for ranching in Point Reyes. Despite overwhelming public support to protect the elk and remove the ranchers from the Seashore, the NPS approved a plan to do the exact opposite!

The current administration is now rushing through a plan to start killing the elk and prioritize ranching over wild animals at the Seashore for two more decades.

The CCC is the last hope for Tule elk. The agency has regulatory control over all federal and federally licensed activities, including land leases within national parks. The Commission has previously expressed concern that the NPS plan doesn't protect marine resources or adequately address water quality issues and made a recommendation requiring a comprehensive plan to address water quality problems before handing out any ranching leases.

Thanks to generous In Defense of Animals supporters, we're working with scientists to provide data that shows how “spillover” pollution from Point Reyes National Seashore is impacting federal Coastal Zone lands. But very soon, the Commissioners will be forced to decide whether the NPS plan complies with the California Coastal Management Act.

Letter to Decision Maker(s) for reference:

Subject: Reject the Conditional Compliance to Point Reyes GLMPA

As someone who is concerned about wild animals and wildlands, and one of over 250,000 In Defense of Animals supporters, I urge you to vote against the staff-recommended conditional compliance to the Point Reyes General Land Management Plan Amendment (GLMPA), and object to the National Park Service’s consistency determination, which is not consistent with the California Coastal Management Plan.

The CCC received over 20,000 comments opposing the park's plan to continue ranching leases within the national park. We applaud the Commission for postponing the public hearing, which will allow enough time to adequately review and analyze comments with scientific and technical data.

The staff report focused on water quality, yet the last tests were documented in 2013. In Defense of Animals recently performed professional scientific water quality tests from key collection points at Point Reyes National Seashore. Now the Commission has ample opportunity to review these new findings.

The report also did not address other spillover effects from the Point Reyes GLMPA, including air quality and climate impacts from grazing cows, water quantity, and the loss of coastal public access.

Please vote against the conditional compliance to protect our waterways and the Pacific Ocean from harmful spillover impacts. Thank you for your consideration of this important and timely matter.

Sincerely,

Signed

This alert is no longer active, but here for reference. Animals still need your help.