New water high quality exams performed at a number of waterways within the Level Reyes Nationwide Seashore discovered unsafe ranges of fecal micro organism, together with as much as 170 occasions the state well being commonplace for E. coli at one website.
The exams had been carried out by Douglas Lovell of the Streamborn environmental engineering agency in Berkeley. Environmental organizations that raised funds to rent Lovell mentioned the take a look at outcomes are the most recent proof that the Nationwide Park Service shouldn't be effectively addressing water air pollution attributable to non-public cattle and dairy ranches that lease land from the park.
“If Yosemite had non-public ranching, this quantity of unchecked air pollution, individuals could be shedding their minds throughout the nation,” mentioned Scott Webb of the Olema-based Turtle Island Restoration Community, the lead sponsor of the exams and an opponent of ranching within the seashore.
The findings come days earlier than the California Coastal Fee assembly, set for Thursday , when it plans to overview the Nationwide Park Service’s methods to curb water high quality impacts and air pollution from the ranches. The plan contains extra frequent water high quality testing and necessities for ranchers to improve services.
The methods had been a situation of the fee’s determination in 2021 to endorse the park’s plan to increase ranching leases from five-year phrases to as much as 20 years and to permit park workers to shoot some free-roaming tule elk to stop battle with ranches.
In April, the fee voted to reject the park service’s preliminary methods submitted earlier this 12 months, stating they lacked particulars on figuring out precedence areas for cleanup, creating benchmarks for restoration initiatives and specifying enforcement actions. The revised methods had been submitted in August and the fee workers is recommending their approval.
Melanie Gunn, a Level Reyes Nationwide Seashore official, declined to touch upon the brand new water high quality examine and the water high quality methods due to ongoing litigation difficult the park’s ranch and elk administration plan.
The brand new water high quality exams had been carried out from late October 2021 by late January. The exams observe two days of water high quality testing within the seashore performed by Lovell in January 2021, which additionally confirmed excessive ranges of fecal micro organism in 5 waterways: South Kehoe Creek, Kehoe Lagoon, Abbotts Lagoon, East Schooner Creek and the primary stem of Schooner Creek.
The most recent exams had been carried out on the identical places over an extended four-month interval to align with testing requirements utilized by the State Water Sources Management Board, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water High quality Management Board and U.S. Environmental Safety Company, based on Lovell.
The exams discovered micro organism ranges that exceeded state requirements at Kehoe Lagoon, House Ranch Creek, Schooner Creek, House Ranch Lagoon, North Kehoe Creek and two unnamed creeks that move into Drakes Bay. One website at Schooner Creek, which flows into Drakes Estero, had fecal coliform ranges that had been 174 occasions increased than state well being requirements.
The Nationwide Park Service had beforehand monitored these waterways from 2000 to 2013. A park evaluation of those exams in 2020 discovered that micro organism concentrations in any respect 13 of its testing websites decreased with the usage of improved air pollution management strategies on ranches, leading to a six-fold enhance in water samples assembly state well being standards.
The park has since restarted monitoring at these places this 12 months as a part of its adoption of the up to date ranch and elk administration plan. A part of this monitoring features a partnership with the Environmental Motion Committee of West Marin, a nonprofit, to observe seashore water high quality at Drakes Seaside and Drakes Estero. The outcomes from exams through the dry months of 2021 discovered Drakes Seaside had sufficient water high quality throughout each dry and moist climate, whereas Drakes Estero had excessive ranges of fecal coliform throughout moist climate.
Laura Cunningham, California director for the Western Watersheds Venture environmental group, mentioned whereas a few of the areas examined by Lovell usually are not used for swimming, runoff after rainfall can proceed for just a few days and carry polluted water to seashores the place individuals do swim.
The Western Watersheds Venture is one in every of three environmental teams that filed a federal lawsuit earlier this 12 months to problem the Nationwide Park Service’s plan to increase ranching leases and shoot some tule elk. The teams are advocating for a plan that may finally section out the park’s 17 ranches.
As as to if her group would contemplate litigation associated to water high quality within the seashore, Cunningham mentioned, “All I can say is there at all times is potential for future actions if these hazardous situations proceed.”
David Lewis, director of Marin County’s College of California Cooperative Extension, has been engaged on watershed administration points, together with conducting research in Level Reyes. Lewis mentioned he doesn't query the Lovell examine’s methodology or outcomes, however acknowledged that micro organism ranges will be extremely variable in watersheds no matter whether or not they're close to agricultural operations.
Lewis mentioned the monitoring work by Lovell is akin to the monitoring work the park service is now performing, which additionally contains collaborating with county and state businesses to examine ranches. The park service can also be set to concern short-term two-year leases to ranchers within the park because the federal lawsuit difficult its administration plan continues. The leases will embody necessities akin to ranchers to make site-specific enhancements to scale back manure runoff. The interim two-year leases are below overview and set to take impact on Sept. 15, based on the park service.
“After I take a look at the technique the park service submitted, now it’s received a big quantity of element and represents a variety of the administration actions the park service is taking,” Lewis mentioned.
Whereas Webb mentioned the park’s new methods are an enchancment, he says his group won't help them as a result of he mentioned they lack particular enforcement actions and triggers if ranchers don't cut back their air pollution.
“We have to maintain these people accountable,” he mentioned.
Ranches have existed within the Level Reyes space for the reason that mid-Nineteenth century. The Level Reyes Nationwide Seashore, created in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy and now visited by greater than 2 million individuals annually, is one of some nationwide parks to lease land for personal agriculture.
Congress spent tens of thousands and thousands of dollars to purchase ranchers’ lands however allowed ranchers to proceed working within the park below leases. The ranches make up 28,000 of the 86,000 acres within the Level Reyes Nationwide Seashore and neighboring Golden Gate Nationwide Recreation Space in Marin.
David Evans, a fourth-generation rancher in Level Reyes and chief govt officer of Marin Solar Farms, mentioned he helps the park service methods.
“I really feel assured that the park is working to handle water high quality considerations within the park and put a construction in place that may present a baseline for testing, monitoring and any wanted corrective motion,” Evans mentioned.
A joint letter from the Western United Dairies and the California Cattlemen’s Affiliation states that ranchers in the present day acknowledge their accountability to guard the park’s sources.
“These farms and ranches are and proceed to be ahead considering and progressive in the perfect practices they implement to maintain the coastal grasslands, present a neighborhood meals supply to the communities of West Marin and the higher North Bay, and shield wildlife and fauna distinctive to the North Coast,” the letter states.
The water high quality take a look at outcomes are on-line at bit.ly/3RsPWgY.
The park service’s water high quality methods are at bit.ly/3KJInR4.
