The Marin County Board of Supervisors has called on the National Park Service to further analyze how removing the tule elk fence in the Point Reyes National Seashore would impact areas outside the enclosure before deciding whether to let the elk roam free. In comments sent last week, the supervisors raised concerns about the plan’s potential impact on the park’s pastoral zone, Tomales Bay State Park and neighboring private property. “The County of Marin has a rich agricultural heritage and relationship with agricultural operators within the Point Reyes National Seashore,” the board wrote. “As a result, the County requests an additional analysis to understand the holistic consequences of removing the tule elk enclosure, which may impact areas outside of the planning area.” Some environmentalists want the fence removed and believe ranching should be banned in the park, while ranchers and dairymen maintain that removing the fence would endanger their operations. In the past, the supervisors have taken a pro-agriculture stance on issues relating to the seashore, supporting the renewal of long-term leases for ranches and dairies. But they declined to intervene in the current lawsuit over ranching in the park, and they remain neutral about the controversial 8-foot-tall, 2-mile-long elk fence. The comments were among more than 25,000 submitted to the park service before the Sept. 25 deadline for weighing in on the Tomales Point Area Plan. The plan calls for removing the fence as well as upgrading trails, visitor services and parking near the historic Pierce Point Ranch. In a separate letter to the park service, Supervisor Dennis Rodoni reiterated the same language but also called for repaving Tomales Point roads, upgrading the Pierce Point parking lot, and considering a shuttle service to reduce the number of cars and limit greenhouse gas emissions. Before posting all the public comments online, park officials will analyze and categorize them as they determine which ones are most relevant to the proposed management plan. In 2021, environmental activists filed a lawsuit demanding that the fence be taken down, allowing the elk to access healthy forage and water. A U.S. district court judge dismissed their suit earlier this year, but they have appealed. Park officials initially opposed removing the fence but now propose taking it down. They say drought and climate change have reduced the supply of healthy forage for the roughly 300 elk that live in the reserve.