A Tale of Tule Elk: What California's Elk Reveal About Dirty Politics and Greenwashed Agendas

Point Reyes and Lake Pillsbury show that California doesn't love wildlife nearly as much as it hates rural Americans.

As ranchers in Point Reyes, California are forced off their land by green extremists under the guise of protecting Tule elk, the same ideology threatens to wipe out a Tule elk herd just a few hours north.

The hypocrisy of these simultaneous dual headlines demonstrates how much of the modern green movement is fueled by animus against agriculture and rural Americans, as well as base political motivations and financial incentives, rather than any real concern for wildlife.

In Point Reyes National Seashore, environmental activists claimed for years that the presence of 11 legacy ranching families endangered elk.

“You can’t have that, a safe haven for wild animals, with ranches in the park,” one activist told CBS News. “They’re diametrically opposed.”

Nearby in rural Lake County, California, a Tule elk herd near Lake Pillsbury is on the verge of extermination, a casual consequence of catastrophic dam removal by a corporate monopoly with a long history of shady political ties.

By tearing out the Potter Valley Project dams, the habitat these elk have enjoyed for over a century will evaporate, lost under tons of silt and residue.

Activists want ranchers replaced by elk in Point Reyes

In late 2024, animal rights activists succeeded in getting an elk fence torn down on Point Reyes National Seashore. They said the fences caused elk to starve, using photos of decaying elk carcasses as “evidence.”

Cattle ranchers had been forced to deal with expensive damage caused by unmitigated elk herds on the peninsula. One dairy spent more than $100,000 a year paying for fence damage and feed loss caused by wild elk herds. Sources said the real reason the elk were dying was because of overpopulation, leading to disease and lack of feed.

One source who asked to remain anonymous said the area is suited to 120-200 elk, but by the mid 2010s during a period of significant drought herd numbers were over 500.

“The park quietly hid the fact that over 250-300 elk died due to dehydration and malnutrition,” the source told me. “The elk have zero predation, no hunting, no culling. The reproductive rate far exceeds death rate. This results in mass die-offs during drought years. Ecologically speaking the entire area is unbalanced due to overcrowding.”

The Point Reyes ranching and farming families fought long and hard for the ability to reasonably co-exist with the elk. It seems the government linked arms with environmental extremists against them.

“It’s a very concerted effort by the government and The Nature Conservancy and these litigants to remove all the farms and the community,” said Albert Straus, a local organic dairyman and the owner of Straus Family Creamery.

Then, just a few weeks later in January 2025, the Nature Conservancy announced it had bought out the Point Reyes ranchers’ historic leases, ending a 150-year era on the windswept peninsula outside San Francisco.

The elk activists won—agriculture lost.

Since this announcement, remarks from the Point Reyes ranchers have been muted, probably because all of them were forced to sign NDAs. They have undergone years of harassment, dealing with trespassing activists and a hostile Park Service. Perhaps the ranchers felt they had no choice but to take the money and leave given the open disdain and disrespect of the National Park Service (NPS), their federal landlord.

Both sides agree the sudden rush to remove the elk fence and to get ranchers off Point Reyes was a concerted effort by green groups and government timed ahead of leadership turnover under President Trump.

Meanwhile, experts say the elk left on Point Reyes face a grim future.

“Elk are just as reliant on larger grazing animals as the plants are,” says Nate Chisholm, a grazing ecologist who spent a decade studying Point Reyes. “They cannot deal with this velvet grass that’s three feet high. They just can’t eat that.”

He says removing cattle from Point Reyes is inhumane to the elk. “That’s not how elk were ever meant to graze, they follow behind larger animals.”

Tule elk herd at Lake Pillsbury. Photo by Carol Cinquini

Tule elk and ranchers starved out of Mendocino County together

Lake Pillsbury is a remote manmade lake surrounded by thousands of acres of wilderness and Forest Service land. Tule elk have grazed this area, and the green fields of nearby Potter Valley, for decades.

If the federal government lets Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) have its way, the dam that forms Lake Pillsbury will be removed, Lake Pillsbury will dry up, and thousands of elk will lose their water and their habitat.

CDFW issues additional hunting permits for elk ahead of dam removal

CDFW requested and was granted increased elk take at Lake Pillsbury, citing dam removal.

A notice of proposed regulatory changes published by CDFW states explicitly:

“Scott Dam, which creates Lake Pillsbury, will be decommissioned and reduce carrying capacity in the Elk Management Unit (EMU). The proposal is necessary to reduce elk population size as dam removal approaches.”

As a result, CDFW increased hunting tags for elk in Lake Pillsbury. In 2024, CDFW issued two bull tags and four antlerless tags. In 2025, the agency issued 4 bull tags and 8 antlerless.

Dam removal has not yet been approved, but this government agency appears to take it for granted that the dams will be taken out—in fact, they’re already killing off elk in preparation. PG&E is a private company, but it is regulated by the state. There are many open questions about the relationship between PG&E and California politicians. The state’s apparent total capitulation to the wishes of this corporation, against all interests of wildlife and local residents, raises those questions yet again.

Locals say they believe the goal of allowing more elk hunting at Lake Pillsbury is to avoid bad optics of starving, dying elk. At the very least, it’s an acknowledgement of the significant impact on wildlife of dam removal.

Joshua Bush is the CDFW unit wildlife biologist for Colusa, Glenn, Lake, and Yolo counties. When asked about future management plans for elk at Lake Pillsbury, he said PG&E has contracted an outside firm to come up with a plan for managing elk herds if the dams are removed.

“Pacific Gas & Electric Company contracted with Janelle Nolan & Associates Environmental Consulting to draft a Tule Elk Management Sub-Plan for the Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project Application for Surrender of License (FERC Project No. 77),” Bush said. “CDFW is waiting for the results of the elk management plan to determine appropriate actions if Scott’s Dam [sic] is removed.”

In nearby Potter Valley, Tule elk herds rely on irrigation from Lake Pillsbury. If dams are removed, the valley will dry up. Video source: Maria Harvey

When animosity toward agriculture and rural communities trumps protecting wildlife

The consistent thread in California isn’t preserving elk or managing elk well, as evidenced by the way elk are managed in California now.

But of course, it was never about the elk. It was always about attacking agriculture.

Removing independent American producers from the land appears the goal, by any means necessary. In some cases, elk are the pawn; in others, collateral damage.