photo credit: National Park Service
Tule elk

Changes may or may not come to Point Reyes National Seashore. The National Park Service has released three potential options for the future of the Tomales Point area within the park.

It's giving the public a month to weigh in.

The park, environmental groups and cattle ranchers have been locking horns for decades over policies restricting a herd of native elk. To the point of fencing them off from dairies that predate the park's establishment.

The options: leave things as they are...remove the elk fence along with emergency water troughs, while considering fencing in cattle and consider introducing prescribed burns to the area.

The third option would keep the fence in place while removing water stations installed during recent droughts and cull the elk population when it exceeds the area's carrying capacity.

Comments from the public will be accepted until 11 pm on September 25th. Comments may be sent by mail to the superintendent at 1 Bear Valley Road or online through the website parkplanning.nps.gov. One can directly visit the comment page by clicking here.

The Park Service will also host an online public meeting on Thursday, Sept. 7th.