Marin Voice: Lack of income is pushing Point Reyes National Seashore into disrepair

There has been so much controversy about ranching at Point Reyes National Seashore that another, much more serious problem has not been addressed by  National Park Service officials, conservation groups or the public. The Seashore is deteriorating due to lack of funds.

Of the 60 large parks and preserves managed by the NPS in the “lower 48” and Hawaii, only three have no entrance or parking fee. Those fees, most of which are kept by the park at which they are paid, go to visitor services which are not funded by the core budget.

Point Reyes is one of the three that has neither an entrance or parking fee. To make matters worse, the core Point Reyes National Seashore budget has declined 19% in real terms over the past 10 years. Funding for the Seashore science program has declined 37% over the same period. A recent Park Service study showed more than $100 million of deferred maintenance at the Seashore.

Forget about asking Congress for more money. Every national park has its advocates, and Point Reyes will not get special treatment, especially because it does not generate its own funds through fees.

Private funding will not solve the problem. As a member of the Point Reyes National Seashore Association, I know funds raised are mostly for special projects, not for solving ongoing maintenance problems.

The Seashore is a beautiful, even spectacular, place. I worked with Marin County Supervisor Peter Behr in the late 1960s to successfully convince the Nixon administration to complete the land acquisitions which made the Seashore what it is today. But I think Behr would be sad to see the state of it now.

The following are just a few examples of what is wrong. Erosion is deteriorating the trails, making some inconvenient or even dangerous. Invasive plants are crowding out native plants and wildlife. Important scientific research, needed to protect Seashore wildlife, is going unfunded. The docent program for elk at Tomales Point has been abandoned.

On top of all that, there is not nearly enough housing for park employees. If more funding were available, the historic unoccupied farmhouses could have been preserved as workforce housing. As it is, many Seashore employees are forced to drive from Sonoma County to get to work. Doing so only wastes workers’ time and contributes more harmful emissions to the environment.

An assessment by the Park Service itself found these and other conditions to be unsatisfactory and even alarming.

If you want to see one example of these problems, walk the Sky Trail from Limantour Road. English ivy is gradually covering many trees along the trail.  Eventually this beautiful forest will be killed by this invasive plant. Park Service officials are doing nothing to control this problem. There are a myriad of similar problems.

Although leaders of the fundraising association do their best to bring some underprivileged children to the Seashore, tens of thousands of Marin County and Bay Area children will never get to see it. This is in large part due to lack of funding.

Most Seashore visitors do not notice these problems. They admire the elk, the scenic views and the beaches. They pay nothing for the experience, but the Seashore suffers as a result.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, like Point Reyes National Seashore, is prohibited from charging an entry fee, but officials there recently implemented a parking fee. According to news reports in the area, the new funds are making the park much friendlier to visitors, and better preserved. The Seashore needs to do the same.

If the Seashore implemented a parking fee, free passes could be given to low-income people to serve equity goals.  Even better, kids who never get to see the Seashore could be brought in through a greatly increased support program.

A parking fee could be as low as $30 per year or $10 a week, and still bring in enough money to increase the Seashore budget by 50% or more.

Point Reyes National Seashore is Marin County’s single most important asset. It needs to be restored to the greatness it deserves.  Only additional funding can make this possible.

Jerry Meral, of Inverness, is former deputy secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency and former executive director of the Planning and Conservation League.