Point Reyes ranchers, National Park Service, environmentalists reach agreement on disputed land
For more than 150 years, ranchers have prevailed in an unending struggle with mud, fog and wind on the wild reaches of Point Reyes National Seashore.
But nearly all will soon surrender their ranches to settle a contentious land-use dispute in a historic deal announced Wednesday night, giving up their leases in exchange for money and ending an agricultural era that began long before the creation of the park.
The agreement was reached after protracted mediation resulting from a lawsuit brought against the National Park Service by environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, the Resource Renewal Institute and Western Watersheds Project, which protested the presence of commercial dairies in a national park.
The Nature Conservancy joined the negotiation in 2022 to help find incentives for a settlement, seeing it as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to re-imagine the future of 28,000 acres of coastal prairie so close to the Bay Area’s 7.5 million residents.
Once abandoned, the ranch pastures will be restored in a collaboration between the National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy, a well-funded environmental nonprofit involved in restorative land-use projects around the world. An inventory of the landscape is planned, then a management strategy will be drafted. Tools include “targeted grazing” by cattle, as well as mowing and perhaps prescribed fire, to reduce fire risk and weed growth, as well as provide habitat for grassland species like Western meadowlarks.
“It extraordinary to have this restoration opportunity within the only national seashore on the West Coast,” said Michael Bell, director of protection at the Nature Conservancy. “It could be quite a platform for science and monitoring — and create an awesome opportunity for the expansion of that learning beyond the national seashore.”
The agreement allows some beef ranching to continue at two ranches at the national seashore and several ranches in the Olema Valley and Bolinas areas, including the grass-fed beef pioneered by fourth-generation rancher David Evans of Marin Sun Farms.
But it prioritizes ecological protection, wildlife conservation and continued recreational access, according to the National Park Service and Nature Conservancy.
Eleven ranches in the seashore – including three multi-generational dairies of the Nunes, Mendoza and Spalleta families near the famed Lighthouse and Chimney Rock peninsula — will leave within 15 months.
The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but the Point Reyes Light reported that ranchers will receive a share of an estimated $40 million settlement fund. An estimated $2 million has been set aside for relocation of farmworkers.
More than half of the funding has been raised for this transition, but additional support is needed to complete this deal, according to the Nature Conservancy.
An estimated 90 ranch workers and their families will be offered severance pay, financial assistance and support services to find new housing and jobs.
The fate of the estimated 300 ranch-related buildings and structures, many of them listed on the Historic Registry, is unknown. According to the Nature Conservancy, the plan will abide by federal regulations. Some buildings will be restored; others may need to be demolished.
The three scattered herds of tule elk – currently at Tomales Point, Drakes Beach and Limantour/Estero Road — will be managed as one herd, free to multiply and stray beyond their historic bounds.
About 16,000 acres of the former agricultural lands will be rezoned into a “scenic landscape zone,” which prioritizes conservation.
“This is an exciting moment for Point Reyes National Seashore,” said park superintendent Anne Altman, “thanks to agreements between TNC and the closing ranch operations.”
The Nature Conservancy’s Bell said, “The solution achieved was hard-fought, requiring all parties to come to the table with creativity to resolve this long-standing conflict.”
Local environmentalist Woody Elliott applauded the settlement.
“The National Park Service will now have the opportunity to manage the natural and cultural resources of the Seashore — as they should have been doing, provided adequate funding is available,” he said.
But historian Dewey Livingston called it “a huge loss to our community, culture, and lives. The Point Reyes ranches have anchored the West Marin community for 170 years.”
Beyond the dispute over ranching, “this is about the people who live there, and have lived there for generations,” he said.
“One ranch to be evicted consists of four living generations of strong and vital women, who have contributed to the community and possess a level of personal integrity hard to find in this world,” he said.
The region has long attracted farmers and ranchers for its lush grasses, which are watered by moderate rains and extended by summer fogs, according to Livingston.
Ranching got its start soon after the power of the missions faded, when the newly created Mexican government began awarding land grants to faithful Mexican solders and Anglo supporters. It exploded with the Gold Rush, when prominent San Franciscans purchased the peninsula and supplied the growing city with prized butter and cheese. Point Reyes dairies were among the first large-scale and high-quality dairies in the state.
Attorneys James and Oscar Shafter divided their property into 30 dairy ranches between 1858 and 1870, designating the ranches by letters of the alphabet. “A Ranch” is near the lighthouse; “Z Ranch” is near the summit of Mount Wittenberg.
These lettered ranches were leased to tenants, newly arrived immigrants from Ireland, Switzerland and the Azores. Over time, the tenants became owners.
The region became threatened by housing developments in the 1950s. While ranchers worried what the creation of a national park would mean for their future, they formed an uneasy alliance with environmentalists. In 1962, Congress crafted a compromise that sought to protect the natural resources while assuring the ranchers their livelihood. Ranchers sold their land, in exchange for long-term leases.
Those lease agreements have expired. Now the ranches are operating under short-term leases, leaving them unable to get the bank loans needed to maintain their operations. They’ve faced increasing restrictions by the National Park Service on herd size, pasture management and many basic activities.
In 2021, in a controversial update to its general management plan, the National Park Service said it would offer 20-year leases.
Environmental groups sued, saying that cows have no role in a national park. Last year, E. coli bacteria levels well above health standards were found in several water bodies around the Seashore. Some visitors who sought a pristine wilderness experience were offended by the smells and muddy sights of a working ranch.
During the summer of 2022, the parties to the litigation voluntarily agreed to enter into mediation.
“This has been a difficult journey, but we are relieved that an agreement has been reached,” said Tim Kehoe, a Seashore dairy farmer, in a statement.
“The mediation made the best out of a bad situation,” he said, “and we’re grateful that we’ve reached a solution that puts this years-long conflict to rest.”