Tomales Point Area Plan

 

Aerial photograph of Tomales Point.

NPS Photo / Anela Kopshever

 

The National Park Service has updated the planning for the Tomales Point area of Point Reyes National Seashore with the Tomales Point Area Plan and environmental assessment. Development of this plan was based on the severity and frequency of two historic droughts in Marin County over the last decade and impacts to tule elk and other resources in this region of the park. The planning area is the 2900-acre Tomales Point Peninsula north of and including the elk fence. More than 85% of the planning area is part of the Phillip Burton Wilderness. The park is collaborating with the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria to incorporate tribal views and traditional ecological knowledge into the management of Tomales Point.

How is this website arranged? The first sections below are arranged chronologically with most recent activities at the top. Further below is background information, news releases, project timeline, and questions. Scroll to the end of the page for contact information and a citizen's guide to environmental planning.

 

Finding of No Significant Impact

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Park Service prepared an Environmental Assessment to analyze the environmental impacts associated with three alternatives for the management of the Tomales Point area within Point Reyes National Seashore. The development of the Tomales Point Area Plan arises from the need to address the impacts of two historic droughts during the last decade on the tule elk confined to Tomales Point; protection and preservation of the resources in the park, including wilderness character, in light of changing climate conditions and visitor use patterns; and continued and expanded collaboration with the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (FIGR or Tribe) in accordance with the General Agreement between the Tribe and NPS, and incorporation of the Tribe’s Traditional Ecological Knowledge.

Finding of No Significant Impact

 

Environmental Assessment Public Comments

The National Park Service (NPS) released the Tomales Point Area Plan and Environmental Assessment for a 30-day public review and comment period from May 6, 2024, through June 6, 2024. The National Park Service notified the public of the proposed Tomales Point Area Plan through a press release distributed electronically. The documents were posted on the park’s website and the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) site. During this time, one virtual public meeting was held. The public was encouraged to submit comments through PEPC website. Comments were also accepted by US mail, and in person at the park. More than 6,500 pieces of correspondence were received during the comment period. The Public Comment Summary Report describes how the NPS considered public comments and provides the responses to substantive comments, which are grouped together by area of concern.

Public Comment Summary Report is found Appendix A of the Finding of No Significant Impact.

Correspondence received during the public comment period is presented in machine-readable and text-searchable PDFs below. These documents contain all of the unique correspondence that was entered into the PEPC website, including transcriptions of correspondence received via comment card, postal mail, or hand delivery. These documents have been modified to exclude any personally identifying information of individuals such as street address, email address, or telephone numbers. Once you have downloaded the files, open the Find tool in your PDF reader, and search for the desired content. If you have any questions or would like a copy of any correspondence in its original form, please contact Melanie Gunn at 415-464-5131.

Public Comments (6,049 KB PDF)

 

Environmental Assessment Public Review and Comment Period

Please see our Environmental Assessment Public Review and Comment Period page for more details and links to the plan for the 30-day comment period that began on May 6, 2024, and ended on June 5, 2024.

 

Public Scoping Comments

Please see our Tomales Point Area Plan Public Scoping Comments page to read a summary of the comments and the correspondence received during the 31-day public comment period from August 25, 2023, to September 25, 2023.

 

Public Scoping Comment Period

Please see our Tomales Point Area Plan Public Scoping page for details on the 31-day public comment period from August 25, 2023, to September 25, 2023.

 

Initial Public Comments

Please see our Tomales Point Area Plan Initial Public Comments page to read a summary of the comments and the correspondence received during the initial 40-day public comment period from March 31, 2022, to May 9, 2022.

 

Initial Public Comment Period

Please see our Tomales Point Area Plan Initial Public Comment Period page for details on the initial 40-day public comment period from March 31, 2022, to May 9, 2022.

 

Background Information

Please see our Tomales Point Area Plan Background Information page for information relevant to this planning process.

 

News Releases

Please see our Tomales Point Area Plan News Releases page for all news releases related to this plan.

 

Project Timeline

• Civic engagement with initial public comment period: spring 2022
• Public scoping and initiation of an environmental assessment (EA), 31-day public comment period and meeting: summer 2023
• NPS develops the EA for the Tomales Point Area Plan
• EA released for 30-day public review & comment period, including public meeting: spring 2024
• Final decision: fall 2024

Events in bold above are opportunities for public engagement.

 

Questions

Does the Tomales Point Area Plan address beef and dairy ranching at Point Reyes National Seashore?
No. The recent General Management Plan Amendment (GMPA) addresses beef and dairy ranching in Point Reyes National Seashore and the north district of Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and the management of free ranging tule elk in those areas. The GMP Amendment is currently in litigation. The Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project, Resource Renewal Institute, the National Park Service, and the rancher intervenor groups are continuing with a confidential mediation process initiated in the summer of 2022.

Does the Tomales Point Area Plan address the free ranging tule elk in the Limantour and Drakes Beach areas of Point Reyes National Seashore?
No. The Tomales Point Area Plan addresses the management of tule elk at Tomales Point. Tule elk in the active ranching areas of the park will be managed by the GMPA, which is currently in litigation and mediation discussions, see above. Any tule elk that leave Tomales Point in the preferred alternative will be managed consistent with the Limantour herd as described in the GMP Amendment Record of Decision.

What did the National Park Service (NPS) do with public comments on the Tomales Point Area Plan?
All public comments are read, considered, and used to inform the planning process and selected alternative. Comments are sorted into categories of concern statements. Comments that repeat the same basic message are grouped collectively. The concern statements help guide the alternatives, issues, impact topics, and references considered in the Tomales Point Area Plan. Although public comment informs the planning process, commenting is not a form of voting on or choosing an alternative.

How did the NPS make a final decision for this plan?
The NPS makes a final decision based on the alternative with the best combination of strategies to protect both natural and cultural resources, achieves desired conditions for the planning area, is consistent with National Park Service management policies, and in partnership with the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.

Why did the NPS initiate the Tomales Point Area Plan?
The Tomales Point Area Plan (TPAP) was initiated to address (1) the impacts of two historic droughts during the last decade on the tule elk confined to Tomales Point; (2) protection and preservation of the resources in the Seashore, including wilderness character, in light of changing climate conditions and visitor use patterns; and (3) continued and expanded collaboration with the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.

Does the NPS have a minimum requirements analysis for actions implemented in the Phillip Burton Wilderness at Tomales Point?
Yes. For actions occurring immediately in wilderness—removal of the tule elk enclosure fence, supplemental water systems, and tule elk exclosure fencing around vegetation plots—a minimum requirements analysis (MRA) is available in Appendix C. For management actions requiring additional planning and tiered National Environmental Policy Act compliance in the future, a MRA would be completed as needed.

The Citizen's Guide to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a useful resource for those that are not familiar with NEPA or Council on Environmental Quality Regulations. This 37-page guide, published in December 2007 and revised in January 2021, describes the NEPA process and provides information on how citizens can get involved.

If you have additional questions regarding the Tomales Point Area Plan, please call Outreach Coordinator Melanie Gunn at 415-464-5131.

Top of Page