Organic Dairy Ranchers Want Tule Elk To Be Removed From GGNRA Pastures

POINT REYES STATION (CBS/AP) -- Organic dairy ranchers are urging authorities to remove tule elk from agricultural land in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Point Reyes seashore and build a large fence to keep them out.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday the ranchers say their cows are competing with the elk for vegetation, which has become scarce after three years of drought.

They say the animals gobble up the rye grasses that cows rely upon.

Ranchers say the elk threaten their dairies' existence because at least 30 percent of a cow's diet must be foraged material -- or they lose their organic certification.

The majority of comments on a proposed ranch-management plan, however, urge the park to prioritize the protection of native animals such as elk.

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