Until further notice, Drakes Beach is closed to all entry west (i.e., to the right when facing Drakes Bay) of the Kenneth C. Patrick Visitor Center. More
The restrooms at North Beach and at South Beach are closed until further notice. The closest restrooms are at Drakes Beach. Vault toilets are available at the Estero Trailhead, Chimney Rock, and Lighthouse parking lots.
There are over 50 species of animals at Point Reyes that are listed by the state or federal government as threatened, rare, or endangered. These include reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish, invertebrates, and mammals. For a species to be listed as endangered, it has to be in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. Threatened means a species is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
In recent years, it has become apparent that human activities are causing the loss of biological diversity at an increasing rate: the current rate of extinctions appears to be among the highest in the fossil record. Although non-human organisms can cause extinctions of other species to a small degree, no other organisms produce such large effects over such wide areas as humans do and have done—at least locally—for thousands of years. Habitat alteration and degradation are probably the most severe effects humans have on other species today.
--Science and the Endangered Species Act
Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history — and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world now likely…
The Report [the IPBES Global Assessment] finds that around 1 million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction, many within decades, more than ever before in human history.
The average abundance of native species in most major land-based habitats has fallen by at least 20%, mostly since 1900. More than 40% of amphibian species, almost 33% of reefforming corals and more than a third of all marine mammals are threatened. The picture is less clear for insect species, but available evidence supports a tentative estimate of 10% being threatened. At least 680 vertebrate species had been driven to extinction since the 16th century and more than 9% of all domesticated breeds of mammals used for food and agriculture had become extinct by 2016, with at least 1,000 more breeds still threatened.…
"Ecosystems, species, wild populations, local varieties and breeds of domesticated plants and animals are shrinking, deteriorating or vanishing. The essential, interconnected web of life on Earth is getting smaller and increasingly frayed," said Prof. Settele. "This loss is a direct result of human activity and constitutes a direct threat to human well-being in all regions of the world."…
Despite progress to conserve nature and implement policies, the Report also finds that global goals for conserving and sustainably using nature and achieving sustainability cannot be met by current trajectories, and goals for 2030 and beyond may only be achieved through transformative changes across economic, social, political and technological factors.
--Media Release: Nature's Dangerous Decline 'Unprecedented'; Species Extinction Rates 'Accelerating'
Why Are Threatened, Rare, and Endangered Animals Important?
We, as humans, are intricately connected to all species around us. By saving something as seemingly insignificant as a rare insect or worm, you also save other organisms that depend upon those insects or other small invertebrates. These may be larger insects or animals such as shrews, mice, bats, or even bears that need these seemingly insignificant animals for food.
Did you know that a tiny insect could save your life? Researchers are studying insects as potential sources of powerful anti-inflammatories, stimulants, and pain relievers, or even treatments for heart disease, arthritis, and cancer.
Why Do We Need to Save Them?
At the cellular level, organisms need healthy "genetic stock" or diversity in genetic make-up to withstand environmental or catastrophic conditions. In other words, an organism that has many different genes as opposed to similar genes is more likely to withstand disease. Having diverse genes acts as insurance against extinction and adds to an organism's resiliency. We need healthy populations—or as scientists say "viable populations"—of organisms to continue to have a healthy gene pool. When populations become small, all offspring turn out to have similar genetic makeup. This makes that particular species more prone to being wiped out by factors such as disease or environmental events such as fire, hurricanes, and floods. Larger populations are healthier because of the reservoir of genes to produce healthier more resilient offspring.
What is the Park Doing to Protect Threatened, Rare, and Endangered Animals?
While we humans have the ability to dramatically impact and even wipe out other species and their habitat, we also have the ability to preserve and protect these same species and their habitat. As habitat is lost to human development, protected areas like Point Reyes National Seashore are increasingly important to the protection and recovery of species that are on the verge of disappearing from our world.
Rare animal populations and their protection depend on us as conservationists and land stewards to take action. Their survival becomes entrusted to our care as land use values shift and these populations suffer from habitat loss to development and the competition of non-native species. The fragile nature and fate of these organisms rests within our willingness and capacity to locate, map, monitor, and protect these animals.
How You Can Help
What should you do when you see an at-risk species in parks? What can you do when you go home to help at-risk species? Where do you start? Little actions can have big impacts when undertaken by many people. Visit the National Park Service's At-Risk Species: What You Can Do page to learn more.
Become a Snowy Plover Docent to help protect nesting threatened western snowy plovers and educate visitors about this threatened species.
Invasive and non-native species are a significant threat to at-risk species. The best way to fight the spread of invasive species is to prevent them from occuring in the first place. There are a variety of ways you can help do this, whether you are at home or in a national park. Visit the National Park Service's Invasive & Non-Native Species: What You Can Do page to learn more.
Locations:Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument, Point Reyes National Seashore
Offices:San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network
It’s officially that time of year when the young coho, chinook, and steelhead have started emerging from their gravel nests (redds) in the streams monitored by the San Francisco Bay Area Network in Marin County, California. We’ve seen some of these little fry doing well during special winter surveys in Muir Woods National Monument. Hopefully, our summer surveys will show high survival despite challenges like big winter storms.
Offices:San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network
In early October, biologists with the San Francisco Bay Area Network Coho & Steelhead Monitoring Program assisted the California Department of Fish & Wildlife in collecting 40 juvenile coho salmon from Olema Creek. Now, these fish are living in the Don Clausen Fish Hatchery located at Lake Sonoma in Sonoma County.
Locations:Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument, Point Reyes National Seashore
Offices:San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network
Federally endangered coho salmon and threatened steelhead trout are large, charismatic fish that play crucial roles in both stream and ocean ecosystems. The National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program and its partners began monitoring coho and steelhead in Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Point Reyes National Seashore in 1998.
Locations:Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Point Reyes National Seashore
Offices:San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network
Limantour Beach is wide. Bookended by ocean on one side and grassy dunes on the other, its sandy expanse provides a habitat for many organisms that rely on the rich ecosystem between land and sea. The western snowy plover, a small brown and white shorebird, is one species that finds refuge in the sand. Over time, human activity and development have degraded many beaches like Limantour, and biologists have seen those impacts through the eyes of the snowy plovers.
Locations:Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument, Point Reyes National Seashore
Offices:San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network
Each summer, the San Francisco Bay Area Network fisheries crew spends a majority of its time in three Marin County, CA streams, Olema Creek, Pine Gulch Creek, and Redwood Creek, monitoring juvenile coho and steelhead populations. After completing this season's surveys, we found that 2024 was a decent year for juvenile coho!
On July 8th, National Park Service monitoring volunteer Wanda Bonneville started her first breeding western snowy plover survey on Drakes Spit. She didn't expect to find any signs of nesting, or even any adult snowy plovers. Neither did park snowy plover biologists. Researchers haven’t seen any nesting activity on Drakes Spit since the late 1980s. Well, not only did Bonneville find a snowy plover nest, she found one that was in the midst of hatching!
Locations:Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument, Point Reyes National Seashore
The northern spotted owl been declining in vast parts of its range. Marin County, California, is an exception. As a result, Marin is an area of particular conservation interest. But successful conservation requires understanding the threats species face, and how those threats might change over time. So researchers recently did a vulnerability assessment of Marin's spotted owls to get answers about their exposure and sensitivity to threats.
Locations:Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument, Point Reyes National Seashore
Offices:San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network
For millennia, the hoots of northern spotted owls carried across mature forests of the Pacific Northwest. In recent decades, they started falling silent in many areas because of competition from bigger, bolder barred owls native to eastern North America. But both range-wide passive acoustic monitoring and local in-person surveys are showing that—at least for now—the spotted owls here in Marin County, California are doing remarkably well.
The western snowy plover breeding season in Point Reyes National Seashore ended on September 11th, when the last chicks of the season officially fledged. For the monitoring team and plovers alike, this season was a bumpy ride.
Offices:San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network
The western snowy plover breeding season is wrapping up in Point Reyes National Seashore, and it's ending on a high note. National Park Service and Point Blue Conservation Science biologists confirmed 28 fledglings (i.e., plover chicks that survived to at least 28 days), out of 45 chicks that hatched from park nests, a 62.2% fledge rate. This is the highest recorded fledge rate since 2012 and the highest total number of fledged chicks since 1997!
415-464-5100
This number will initially be answered by an automated attendant, from which one can opt to access a name directory, listen to recorded information about the park (e.g., directions to the park; visitor center hours of operation; fire danger information; wildlife updates; ranger-led programs; seasonal events; etc.), or speak with a ranger. Please note that if you are calling between 4:30 pm and 10 am, park staff may not be available to answer your call.
