Marin ranchers to Congress: Let land deal stand

Congressional Republicans who are investigating a settlement that barred agriculture at Point Reyes National Seashore have received letters from affected ranchers stating their views.

The ranchers are united in their support of the agreement, which calls for the Nature Conservancy to pay all but two of them an undisclosed amount for giving up their leases.

In a letter signed by ranchers participating in the agreement, Anthony Raimondo, an attorney who helped negotiate the settlement, wrote, “My clients are asking that their decision be respected and they be allowed to fulfill their legal obligations under the agreements to close down their ranches in an orderly and appropriate manner and complete the transaction within the agreed timeline.”

“None of the challenges farmers face in the park were created by The Nature Conservancy and TNC should not be maligned in the course of your investigation,” he wrote.

Two ranchers who didn’t participate in the agreement are calling for the National Park Service to reverse course and allow new agricultural operations to take the place of the 12 that will be departing.

“What we’re saying is they should be allowed those buyout agreements that they negotiated, but we also want to see agriculture continue at Point Reyes,” said David Evans, founder of Marin Sun Farms, a fourth-generation rancher.

Last month, Evans joined a lawsuit to that end that was filed in February by William Niman, the founder of Niman Ranch, and his wife Nicolette Hahn Niman. The suit asks the court to order the National Park Service to “analyze the alternative of leasing the lands in Point Reyes used by the departing ranchers to other farmers and ranchers, on conditions that allow for economically and environmentally sustainable farming and ranching operations.”

“I think it is highly likely that we’re going to prevail in getting the decision that the Park Service made in January set aside,” said Peter Prows, the attorney representing Niman and Evans. “Then it will be back in the hands of the Department of Interior and maybe Congress to figure out what the future looks like out there.”

The government was facing a May 2 deadline for responding to the complaint, but Prows said he has given it an additional month to deliberate.

“That will provide time for the Department of Justice to publicly express whether they’re going to fight our lawsuit or agree that the decision made in January was improper,” Prows said. “They’re not jumping up and down at this point to defend the decision. That’s clear.”

The House Committee on Natural Resources opened its inquiry in April after Andrew Giacomini, a lawyer in western Marin, filed a complaint in federal court. It alleged that the National Park Service conspired with the Nature Conservancy to pay ranchers to relinquish their leases so the conservancy could lease the sites.

The settlement was negotiated behind closed doors, and participants have been prohibited from discussing it with the public. In his letter, however, Raimondo wrote, “My clients hope this confidentiality can be respected.”

Giacomini is representing people who live on the ranches and dairies that are going to be closed, all of whom face eviction. Most are Latino residents, and some are agricultural workers who also will lose their jobs.

Another letter sent to the House committee by the Point Reyes Seashore Ranchers Association, and signed by the ranchers who agreed to the settlement, states, “We support the settlement and urge the Committee not to recommend or take any action that would jeopardize the Point Reyes National Seashore settlement, but use the lessons learned here in creating future policy to retain working ranches on public land.”

Both letters signed by the ranchers participating in the settlement emphasized their regret at surrendering their ranches, and their disappointment about the lack of government support.

“Over the last fifteen years or so, California’s dairy industry has been besieged by regulatory oppression and predatory litigation,” Raimondo wrote on behalf of the ranchers. “It is the result of a state government that is hostile to animal agriculture, hostile to dairy farming and hostile to family farms.”

The letter from the ranchers association states that lawsuits by environmental groups challenging grazing rights on the seashore “created uncertainty over the future for ranches and dairies on the seashore,” and that “long-term leases were not forthcoming.”

In his letter, Evans wrote, “The National Park Service has only offered short term leases to Point Reyes National Seashore ranchers, which forced them to hedge their investments in their operations, limiting their maintenance and growth.”

The letter from the ranchers association adds that at this point departing rancher is in a position to reverse course and stay on.

“For us there is no turning back,” the letter states. “One ranch has already closed down. Another ranch has purchased property elsewhere.”

“Sadly, the settlement is leading to the loss of nearly 20% of Marin County’s agricultural production, the loss of West Marin’s generational farmers, the loss of the farm workers, the loss of a significant portion of West Marin’s affordable housing units and the loss of the history and rural character of West Marin,” the letter says.