The National Park Service released a controversial proposal Thursday that would provide relief to the historic Point Reyes ranches by culling tule elk and quadrupling the lease terms for the working lands.

Ranch leases for more than 26,000 acres in Point Reyes National Seashore and the Golden Gate Recreation Area could be extended up to 20 years, up from the current five-year terms offered. Ranchers would also be given the option to diversify their livestock on a case-by-case basis.

Meanwhile, park staff will be allowed to shoot some of the free-roaming Drakes Beach tule elk herd, which have harmed livestock and damaged ranch property in the past. The herd would be limited to 120 elk, with the current size estimated to be at 124 elk.

Cicely Muldoon, Point Reyes National Seashore’s superintendent, said she thinks the proposal strikes the right balance.

“By arriving at this, we protect the park resources, we respect the ranching heritage of the park and I think demonstrate that these things are not opposed,” she said. “There is room for us to support a free ranging elk herd and preserve working ranches.”

This proposal is one of several alternatives in the park’s $955,000 environmental review as part of its ongoing general management plan amendment process. Alternative proposals include ending all ranching or killing all of the Drakes Beach elk herd. The public can provide comment on the draft proposal during the next 45 days with input being used to draft a final proposal.

How to manage the conflicts between the tule elk and historic ranches has already been hotly debated in Congress, courtrooms, the media and in the public over the years.

Some environmental groups decried the park service’s proposal, saying it prioritizes private agricultural interests over the preservation of public lands and wildlife.

“On a quick first read, it just seems like the park service has basically rolled over and given the ranching interests everything that they’ve demanded,” said Deborah Moskowitz, president of the Mill Valley-based Resource Renewal Institute. “What it means is that once again the park is not putting the protection and wildlife and habitat first.”

Culling elk would do nothing to address the environmental harm caused by cattle ranches, argued Jeff Miller, senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity.

“What is the Park Service thinking? Allowing expansion of agricultural activities would inevitably lead to further conflicts with other native wildlife,” Miller wrote in a statement. “After the elk shooting starts, get ready for ranchers to call for killing the park’s bobcats, foxes, coyotes and birds.”

Other groups such as the Marin Conservation League have yet to commit to a position. The environmental group plans to hold a public workshop on the proposal in early September.

Some observers, such as Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, said the 28,000 acres of ranch lands in the national seashore and neighboring Golden Gate National Recreation Area are historic and culturally important features that should be preserved. While he supports the 20-year leases to allow ranches some long-term certainty, Huffman had concern about the park’s plan to manage the Drakes Beach elk herd.

“One-hundred and twenty animals is a large herd and the park service’s record of managing the herds is not good, frankly,” Huffman said Thursday. “So I would expect some anxiety and maybe outright opposition from at least some in the ranching community over that provision.”

The 120 population limit was chosen after park staff consulted with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and other national parks on their own elk management practices, Muldoon said. The park will continue to use hazing, fencing and habitat development to keep the elk away from the ranches. Any elk culling would need to be approved by park administrators, Muldoon said.

The park service will hold two public meetings in Marin County to obtain public input. The first will be on Aug. 27 from 5–7 p.m. at the West Marin School Gym, Point Reyes Station. The second meeting will be on Aug. 28 from 5–7 p.m. at the Bay Model Visitor Center, Sausalito.

Comments can also be be submitted online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/poregmpa or by mail to: GMP Amendment c/o Superintendent, Point Reyes National Seashore, 1 Bear Valley Road, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956.