In January, winter storms highlighted the water quality at Point Reyes National Seashore, as well as the importance of the recent water quality tests sponsored by Turtle Island Restoration Network at the national park.
The increased rains caused mature water to flow downhill in the park, including across a popular hiking trail and into Kehoe Creek, which drains into the Pacific Ocean, according to a report from The Bohemian.
The manure found their way to pregnant elephant seals at Drakes Bay beaches, and in a statement given to The Bohemian by Greg Sarris, chairperson of the Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria, he shared, “The seals are being sickened, and even dying, as a result of excess manure flowing to their habitats.”
The report from The Bohemian highlights the problems mentioned in TIRN’s water quality report, with water pollution dangerous to public health and the environment persists at the Seashore.
Point Reyes is one of a dwindling handful of national parks that allows cattle ranching. Ranchers lease 28,000 acres, more than one-third of the National Park Service’s land at Point Reyes, where they graze 5,000 beef and dairy cattle. The National Seashore is an hour’s drive from the San Francisco Bay Area and received some 2.5 million visitors last year.
