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Dear Friends,

Thank you to the 100+ people who attended our Town Hall on Tule Elk in Point Reyes on Tuesday night! It's up to each of us to do our part to save these majestic creatures and defend our access to public land.?I'm so inspired by how many people are participating in this process.

I'd also like to give a very special thank you to our guest speakers:?Laura Cunningham of Western Watersheds Project, Julie Phillips and Liz Dodge. These women did a fantastic job explaining the broader?biodiversity of Point Reyes, the uniqueness of the Tule Elk, and the public comment process currently underway at?the California Coastal Commission.

If you couldn't make this meeting, don't worry!?You can check out the full video recording here:

Finally, we're asking all of our supporters to submit written comments by tomorrow,?December 18 so that staff can share them quickly with Coastal Commissioners.?You can email your letter to?PointReyesManagementPlan@...?and?'cc' the following addresses:?John.Weber@..., Carey_feierabend@...?and?Craig_Kenkel@....

Here are a few suggested key points to get you started:?

1. My coastal access is being blocked by hundreds of miles of cattle fencing, barbed-wire, and herds of cattle. There is so little access to the beaches, even though this is public land.
2. The water pollution is severe, and sometimes all the cow manure stinks. I see it getting into the creeks, and sometimes the park service closes beaches because of manure pollution.
3. The historic character of the farming at the seashore is marred by new industrial dairy barns, which are modern, not historic, and block vistas of the natural coast.
4. I came to see wildlife, native tule elk, elephant seals, whales, salmon runs, and lush coastal prairies with wildflowers. What I see are too many cattle, manure piles, ugly barns, bare ground, and erosion. All this erosion and manure pollution is likely harming coastal marine life. This is not sustainable or furthering the mission of the Coastal Commission.?
5. Bonus if you list one of the Coastal Management Act's?articles in your letter!:
   • Article 2 —?development shall not interfere with the public's right to access the sea and coastal beaches
   • Article 3 —?recreation, placing a priority on coastal dependent...?recreation over development
   • Article 4 —?protection of the marine environment, including water quality issues, wetlands protections
   • Article 5 —?protections for environmentally sensitive habitat
   • Article 6 —?protection of coastal views