The National Park Service has detected elevated levels of E. coli around the Point Reyes National Seashore in several locations downstream of ranches and dairies—but also in an area where cattle don’t congregate.
The findings are included in the park’s first annual report on water quality on the Pacific side of the seashore. It analyzes the results of two six-week rounds of testing, one conducted last winter after heavy rains battered the region, and another taken last summer, when water levels were low and some creekbeds were dry.
Water collected near the park’s five dairies exceeded health standards, but high levels were also recorded in an area where cattle don’t gather, suggesting that elk and other wildlife likely caused the contamination there, according to the report. Humans using public toilets or ranch facilities with faulty septic systems might also have contributed.
The results raised alarm at a meeting of the California Coastal Commission last Thursday. The commissioners asked staff to investigate whether they should reconsider their prior approval of the park’s management plan, which would grant 20-year lease extensions to the five dairies and nine ranches that operate there. Yet the commission’s own staff had a more positive take on the results.
California Coastal Commission Deputy Director Cassidy Teufel said the test results have been used to guide corrective actions on dairies, which were a focus of the testing because their operations concentrate herds into confined feeding and milking areas.
“The bottom line from our perspective is that things are on a positive trajectory,” Mr. Teufel said. “Progress has been made, but there is still a lot of room to go to where things need to be in terms of protecting water quality.”
He stressed that the park had successfully implemented nearly all the directives the commission laid out when it approved the park’s water quality strategy in September 2022, and that it was continuing to work on others.
Anne Altman, the seashore’s deputy superintendent, emphasized that the testing program had been conceived as an ongoing effort. “We’re integrating as we go, learning as we go,” she said. “One year’s worth of data does not a water strategy make, and we will continue to collect data into the future as we continue this iterative approach.”
As part of its strategy, the park service has stepped up inspections and conducted follow-up tests to isolate problem areas and address them. It has required dairies to make improvements to septic systems, install new fencing and reduce herd sizes.
Those measures did not reassure environmentalists who spoke at the meeting, many of whom called for an immediate end to ranching in the park.
“I’m here because I shouldn’t have to tell my kids that touching the water in our national seashore could make them sick,” educator Sarah Killingsworth said. “This should be some of the most protected land and water in the country—and it’s unhealthy.”
Jim Coda, a former park service attorney, said the commission should give park officials a deadline for meeting water quality goals and call for an immediate reduction in the number of cattle in the park, which now stands at 4,200.
“The park service is never going to meet water quality standards because 79,000 tons of manure each year is dumped on ranchlands,” Mr. Coda said, estimating that the waste weighed more than twice as much as a 37,000-ton aircraft carrier.
Laura Phillips, a regular visitor, wondered whether it was safe to kayak in Drakes Estero. “It’s surrounded by 5,000 cows pooping and peeing every single day,” she said. “Where is that pollution going to go?”
Those advocating for an end to ranching dominated the meeting, but Albert Straus, founder of Straus Family Creamery, said there is strong community support for the ranches, which have operated on the seashore since the 1800s. He recently founded a group called Save Our Marin Food Community Coalition, which has gathered 4,000 petition signatures calling on the park to grant ranchers 20-year renewable leases.
“Our local food and farming communities depend on these farms,” Mr. Straus said. “We as an agricultural community have been a leader in the world with a model of organic and sustainable farming. That is a solution to climate change. Ninety percent of the dairies in Marin County are certified organic, and one third of the organic dairies are in Point Reyes National Seashore.”
Caryl Hart, the commission vice chair, was unpersuaded. She argued that the commission should reconsider its conditional approval of the park’s management plan.
“We do have an expectation of what we’re going to find when we go to our national parks,” she said. “And I think among the things that we expect is that we’re not going to become sick if we enter the water.”
Commissioner Dayna Bochco said she had no sympathy for the ranchers. “You brought a mess,” she said.
Commissioner Katie Rice, who is also a Marin County supervisor, commended the park service for implementing the testing program and meeting nearly all the benchmarks the commission had recommended.
“I saw this report as showing real progress not only in terms of the park being able to really measure and assess water quality impacts, but also with regard to the public having access to that information,” Ms. Rice said.
The coastal commission does not have jurisdiction over the park, but it is charged with protecting water bodies along the coast and determining whether park activities comply with the California Coastal Act. It can recommend that park officials take certain steps to protect water, and it can take the park service to court if it fails to implement its suggestions.
Ms. Hart and others suggested that the commission reconsider its prior decision that the park’s management plan was consistent with the requirements of the Coastal Act. But Ms. Rice said they would lose leverage if they stopped collaborating with the park on its water quality strategy.
Commissioner Meagan Harmon agreed. “I want to be sure that we retain our ability to participate in the conversation in a meaningful way, because when we lose that ability, I think the consequences are so profound.”
She expressed frustration at the pace with which water quality improvements were being implemented, but added: “I’d rather move a little, piece by piece, than not move at all.”
The winter and summer tests were conducted over two six-week periods in 16 locations near McClures Beach, Kehoe Creek, Abbotts Lagoon, Drakes Estero and Drakes Beach.
The winter testing found excessive levels of E. coli at half the locations, including all three at Drakes Bay, one of three at Drakes Estero, one of four at Abbotts Lagoon, and three of the six below Kehoe Creek and along the northwestern shore.
Four of the 16 sites could not be measured in summer because water had stopped flowing in some creeks. Of the 12 where measurements could be taken, all but one—a site at Abbotts Lagoon—exceeded health guidelines.
One of the sites with the highest readings was located above McClures Beach, inside the fenced tule elk reserve in a location without cattle.
“There are several instances in the report where the potential cause of pollution is only identified as elk or human,” said Ashley Eagle-Gibbs, the interim executive director of the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin. “We really need to identify the source of pollution, via species-specific testing, in order to apply the proper management efforts.”
She urged the commission to reconsider its approval of the park’s management plan. “The water quality exceedances are unacceptable for a national park and marine wilderness,” Ms. Eagle-Gibbs said.
The implementation of water testing was delayed because the park service is engaged in mediation over a 2021 lawsuit filed by three environmental groups seeking an end to ranching in the seashore. The groups sought to block the park’s updated management plan, which would have granted 20-year leases to ranches and dairies.
In the meantime, ranchers are operating under temporary two-year leases that make it difficult for them to secure financing for long-term infrastructure improvements aimed at improving water quality.
If a settlement emerges, it could require ranchers to take additional steps aimed at improving water quality. Some commissioners suggested waiting to see the outcome of those talks before deciding whether to repeal their endorsement of the park’s management plan.