page_title: Point Reyes National Seashore
section_title: Wildlife and ecology
hierarchical_section_title: Point Reyes National Seashore / Wildlife and ecology
caption_attribution_description: A herd of tupe elk
context_page_description: Point Reyes National Seashore is a 71,028-acre park preserve located on the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County, California. As a national seashore, it is maintained by the US National Park Service as an important nature preserve. Some existing agricultural uses are allowed to continue within the park. Clem Miller, a US Congressman from Marin County wrote and introduced the bill for the establishment of Point Reyes National Seashore in 1962 to protect the peninsula from development which was proposed at the time for the slopes above Drake's Bay. All of the park's beaches were listed as the cleanest in the state in 2010.
context_section_description: The northernmost part of the peninsula is maintained as a reserve for tule elk, which are readily seen there. The preserve is also very rich in raptors and shorebirds.
  The Point Reyes Lighthouse attracts whale-watchers looking for the gray whale migrating south in mid-January and north in mid-March.
  A colony of elephant seals usually congregate on Chimney Beach, which is protected by 100-foot (30 m) cliffs. In January 2019, during the federal government shutdown, park rangers were not working and the seals colonized and had pups on Drakes Beach, and its parking lot. Small-group tours to view the seals from the edge of the parking lot began the following month after the shutdown ended.
caption: Tule Elk at Tomales Point
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