For years, activists have hounded the National Park Service to take down the fence that traps the elk herd in the Tomales Point Reserve. And when they finally decided to do this, the question became: how quickly? It turns out it doesn’t take that long at all.
For four years, Jack Gescheidt led a PR campaign to free the elk herd from captivity. So when the National Park Service announced last summer that it was considering removing the fence, it made him cautiously optimistic.
But when he arrived at the elk sanctuary on Wednesday, he was surprised.
“Wow! Wow! Do you see this?” ‘ he said with a big smile.
Much of the fencing had already disappeared; the heavy wooden fence posts had been cut off at the base. On Monday, the Park Service announced that it had completed its management plan for removing the fence, but even activists didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.
Without telling anyone, officials had removed much of the two-mile fence that separated the elk from neighboring cattle ranches.
“When you see the fence gone, it’s unbelievable,” Gescheidt said. “It’s amazing. Someone texted me five minutes ago and said, ‘The fence is gone,’ as I was driving here and I was like, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! It changes my whole view of this. always come here and I’m depressed when I see the fence. It’s the prison walls for the moose.’
The National Park Service declined an on-camera interview Wednesday, citing pending litigation. In a statement, they said expanding elk habitat would “increase the resilience of the species population during drought and promote a more natural population cycle.” The elk were introduced in 1977 and the fence prevented them from roaming. But during droughts, including the one in 2022, the animals struggled to find water.
Local wildlife photographer Matthew Polvorosa Kline began taking heartbreaking photos of the dead and dying animals, bringing the issue to public attention. So it was an emotional experience for him to see the fence taken down.
“It was my findings on the dead moose, the last big die-off, that caused things to go downhill. Now I see this,” Polvorosa Kline said, his voice cracking as he pointed to the open gate. “It’s pretty remarkable because when you think about all the elk I’ve found dead here. I’ve lost count. I shouldn’t come here anymore.’
Now the elk will be free to move onto the cattle ranches. But there isn’t much celebration there.
Albert Straus’ dairy farm is outside the park, so he isn’t bothered by the moose, but he knows who will be.
“Farms are on edge right now, trying to rebuild from the drought and economic crisis we’re in. And the elk are just taking away 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 completely driven out of the park.
“The vision of the founders in 1962 was to make this a safe haven for wildlife,” he said. “You can’t have that: a safe haven for wildlife with ranches in the park. They are diametrically opposed to each other.”
But Straus said all the protests and lawsuits have taken their toll on farmers, many of whom have lived and worked in Tomales Point for generations.
“We are in crisis. The dairy industry is in crisis. Our agriculture and food systems are in crisis,” Straus said. “It’s a very collaborative effort between the government, the Nature Conservancy and these litigants to remove all the farms and the community. It’s devastating for us.”
One thing both sides agree on is the belief that the elk fence removal will be rushed before a new administration takes over in January.
They believe a new Secretary of the Interior will be appointed who may have very different views on elk and cattle ranchers that could once again change the landscape for agriculture in Western Marin County.
