Point Reyes Public Advocacy
Between 1962 and 1970, the federal government spent $52,000,000 to purchase all the land on Point Reyes in the service of protecting this very special place for the natural world and the public.
Prior to this land purchase, commercial dairy and cattle ranchers occupied Point Reyes, leaving the land compromised and degraded.
Between 1962, when the park was designated by an act of congress and 1970, when funding to purchase the land was secured, the ranchers were given permits called ROUs (reservations of use and occupancy). The original special permits were to be exclusively held by the ranch owners or their immediate relative and were supposed to start expiring in 1990.
Fifty years later, the ranches continue to occupy 30% of this publicly owned land. Besides depriving the public of much needed recreational space, the continued presence of ranching in the park is the cause of regular, devastating die offs of the rare, nativeTule Elk.
Point Reyes Public Advocacy seeks to engage the public to raise awareness about what is at stake. When enough people know, there will be enough pressure on the federal government to fulfill the promise of the entirety of PRNS as public land.
ABOUT US:
Point Reyes Public Advocacy (PRPA) is dedicated to the recruitment, training and organization of volunteers to talk about land management in the park and the Tule Elk with visitors to Point Reyes National Seashore (PRNS). The rangers will get fired if they talk about the ranchers. The non-profit educational affiliate (PRNSA) has a ban on talking about the ranchers. Park visitor won't know about how their park is being kept from them and is being ranched at the expense of the elk unless there is someone there to tell them about it. That someone is PRPA.
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The successful restoration of PRNS depends primarily on how many people know, at how successful we can be at getting the word out.
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Sir David Attenborough has urged us all to protect and preserve native species and wild lands, if not for their own sake, then for our own: the stability and livability of Earth in the years ahead depends on such conservation efforts. A natural and reasonable place to begin is by removing all disruptive and environmentally damaging ranching operations from PRNS and restoring all PRNS acres to habitat that supports the Tule Elk and the visitors whose tax dollars pay for the park.
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Jack has been passionate about large mammal conservation since a visit to Yellowstone in his youth. As a Marin County resident, Jack has been an advocate for the Tule Elk in PRNS since he was twenty-one. Jack is also active in local politics, having run for waterboard in 2022.
Donations to Point Reyes Public Advocacy fund a coordinator position and a director/recruiter position. They also pay for printing of pamphlets and other educational materials.
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7% of donations go to administrative overhead.
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Point Reyes Public Advocacy is a fiscally sponsored project of Inquiring Systems, Inc.
(EIN: 94-2524840), and donation receipts will be issued by Inquiring Systems.
What Can I do?
If you live in CA Congressional District 2 - Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino, Humbolt, Trinity or Del Norte County - CONTACT Rep. Jared Huffman. Huffman styles himself as an environmentalist, but he is an enthusiastic supporter of ranchers and the use of public lands for commercial agriculture. He needs to hear from you:
Congressman Jared Huffman: (415)258-9657
If not:
Email: Deb Halaand, Secretary of the Interior
Email: Charles Sams, Director, National Park Service
ALSO: CALL YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REP AND TELL THEM THAT YOU LOVE OUR NATIONAL PARKS!
FOLLOW #SAVEPRNS on Instagram
Can you translate English to Mandarin or Spanish?
Proactive inclusivity is important at PRPA.
To reach Asian and Latino constituents, PRPA needs a Mandarin language and a Spanish language version of website and brochure.