Can Northern Elephant Seals and Visitors Share the Beach? The Importance of Collaborative Communication within the National Park Service

Visitors watch a bull elephant seal at Drakes Beach on January 8, 2022.

NPS Photo / Carlo Arreglo

The northern elephant seal almost went extinct due to commercial sealing in the late 1800s. By the early 1900s, a small population of seals was found on Guadalupe Island and the Mexican government protected their population by banning the hunting of northern elephant seals. The United States government followed with protections once the seal population expanded into U.S. territory. Now, it is estimated that the population is more than 290,000 northern elephant seals.

After being absent from the Point Reyes peninsula for more than 150 years, elephant seals began returning to the Point Reyes Headlands in the early 1970s, and the first colony was found in 1981. Elephant seals have since expanded their colonies to other parts of Point Reyes, including the Chimney Rock peninsula, South Beach, and Drakes Beach. As of 2022, there are now approximately 2,700 northern elephant seals in Point Reyes during the peak breeding season (December to April).

Each year, the elephant seal population has been increasing, causing the seals to expand from overcrowded colonies to neighboring beaches. Most of Drakes Beach is narrow and backed by cliffs, which provides little shelter from large storms and king tides. In 2019, a new colony formed in front of the Kenneth C. Patrick Visitor Center (KPVC) on Drakes Beach when a large storm event disturbed the Drakes Beach colony southwest of KPVC. Storms approaching from the south hit Drakes Beach and pushed 54 pregnant females to the KPVC portion of Drakes Beach over a period of a couple weeks. The KPVC beach provided the females refuge from the large waves because that section of the beach is wider. Their arrival caused Point Reyes National Seashore (PORE) staff to close the beach to visitors for the breeding season. Now elephant seals return each year to the KPVC beach during their breeding season.

Due to the suitable habitat at the KPVC beach and the recent expansion patterns of the elephant seals in Point Reyes, PORE staff was not surprised by the elephant seals' arrival at the KPVC beach, but, instead, by how rapidly it happened due to the storm in 2019. Since PORE staff was caught off guard, management strategies have required a lot of trial and error. Variables that change daily—such as tide conditions, behavior of seals, the spatial distribution of the seals, the weather, the number of visitors, and availability of volunteers and staff—make it difficult to set hard guidelines for when to temporarily close the beach and to help manage visitors and elephant seals.

PORE staff has been able to develop one clear guideline—deter pregnant female elephant seals from hauling out on the KPVC beach when it is safe to do so (i.e., available area on the neighboring beaches for seals to move to and no storm activity). When the females are nursing their pups, they are heavily affected by human presence. Because of this, PORE staff closes the KPVC beach if females give birth on the beach. Although, when a female first hauls out on the beach, she does not give birth for a few days. So, in order to prevent females from giving birth in a highly exposed public area and to keep the beach open, PORE staff will try to deter the female prior to her giving birth.

There are very specific guidelines set by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that allow PORE staff to deter pregnant females while also ensuring the health and safety of the females. Methods include waving a large tarp in front of the female—making sure to make no contact—in order to persuade her to go back in the water and move to a different part of the beach away from the high concentration of visitors.

Due to the unpredictable variables and the potential arrival of pregnant females, the KPVC beach requires constant supervision, especially during the weekend when there are more visitors. In response, PORE staff expanded the Winter Wildlife Docent Program (WWDP) and created the Scientists-in-the-Parks (SIP) Interpretation and Natural Resources Assistant internship to provide constant monitoring of the KPVC beach, communicate with staff, and help enforce closures and educate visitors.

The Winter Wildlife Docent Program (WWDP) consists of 60 docents that promote ongoing research and management of elephant seals to visitors through guided walks and informal Audience Centered Experience programs.¹ The docents are stationed in various locations around PORE, including the KPVC beach, every day of the week. To help coordinate the large group of docents, the Lead Docent serves as the bridge between Interpretation staff and the docents.

In addition to the docents, marine ecologist Sarah Codde and Interpretation Ranger Carlo Arreglo, in partnership with the Scientists-in-the-Parks (SIP) program, created a new position. This internship helps cover both the Interpretation and Natural Resources operations at the KPVC beach by assisting with monitoring the elephant seals and educating visitors. During the 2022 winter season, SIP intern Ellen Murphy and Lead Docent Katie Ballinger monitored the changing variables on a day-to-day basis to help PORE staff decide the best way to provide a safe and enjoyable experience at the beach for visitors while not disturbing the elephant seals.

The expansion of elephant seals to the KPVC beach provides countless educational opportunities. The public is able to observe the elephant seals and ask questions to knowledgeable staff and volunteers on site. Many visitors return multiple times during the breeding season to keep updated with the latest information. In the process, they become stewards for elephant seals and their habitats. These meaningful interactions with the public would not be possible without the help of a large team supporting operations at the KPVC beach.

The elephant seal presence on the KPVC beach requires an interdisciplinary solution. Managing visitors and elephant seals at the KPVC beach requires excellent communication between PORE staff, the Lead Docent, SIP intern, and the Winter Wildlife Docent Program. The Natural Resources Division monitors the elephant seal population to inform park management and provide up-to-date information. The Interpretation Division helps run the WWDP (alongside the Lead Docent), communicates the park's management decisions, and keeps the public informed on the latest news with elephant seals. This communication allows visitors to have impactful, interactive experiences with the elephant seals while not disrupting the seals' behavior. Through the example of Point Reyes' efforts to manage natural resources and high visitation, hopefully other parks can follow a similar model of collaboration and communication to best address dynamic situations.

Footnote

1. The Audience Centered Experience (ACE) approach to interpretation allows parks to become places where visitors can not only learn and enjoy, but also gain skills in critical thinking, problem solving, innovation, global awareness, and scientific literacy. Rather than traditional one-sided presentations, many park interpreters are using ACE techniques to adapt how they prepare and deliver programs and media products to invite audience co-creation, and meet the needs of our modern publics.