Marin Voice: Point Reyes ranching decision doesn’t end elk discussion

The tottering process to close 12 ranches on leased land in the Point Reyes National Seashore is a warning of how well-intended plans can go awry when the public is left out of the decision- making process on a land-use change that will affect them.

Following several years of litigation by advocacy groups opposed to ranching, mediated negotiations involving the National Park Service, the ranchers and litigants began in 2022. The Nature Conservancy, a national conservation powerhouse nonprofit organization, joined later. In January, the ranchers agreed to surrender their leases to the conservancy in return for a settlement payment.

I have a group of friends active in Marin environmental groups, including Dottie Breiner, Priscilla Bull and Susan Stompe. The four of us discussed this issue at length before I wrote this commentary.

Negotiations leading to the settlement occurred without public knowledge and parties to the settlement also agreed that the discussions would remain confidential.

In addition, following the settlement, the park service issued a revised management plan, also without public input, for former and ongoing ranch land. It provides for rezoning lands into new “ranchland” and “scenic” landscape zones, allowing for “new opportunities … to facilitate public use” along with restoration and targeted grazing. Expanded trails and visitor services are envisioned if funding is available; however, the current funding proposal calls for a 40% reduction in the already underfunded NPS budget.”

The elk herd, which is not native to the park, was previously restricted to a reserve in the northern tip of Tomales Point. Now, it will be allowed to “expand within Point Reyes, both within and adjacent to the … planning area.”

The magnificent tule elk are popular, but problematic. Unless actively and carefully managed, they are incessant browsers, defoliating and trampling vegetation needed by other species. This is known to increase erosion. They are also naturally nomadic and will roam great distances unless controlled. As the elk population increased beyond the carrying capacity of Yellowstone National Park (many times the size of Point Reyes), the NPS resorted to importing wolves to control the elk who were denuding the park vegetation. Though this strategy thinned the elk population appropriately in Yellowstone, I suspect introducing wolves may not be appropriate in parks adjacent to urbanized areas like Point Reyes.

Confidentiality is normal for many transactions, but this settlement, brokered in closed meetings, along with the revised management plan, initiates major changes to public lands without consultation with all affected parties, including the public that owns the land. As we have seen, the impact of this closure reaches far beyond Point Reyes.

The ranch workers who will be evicted from homes and jobs and Marin County, the jurisdiction in which the park is located, should have been represented in the meetings. Other affected entities and persons are West Marin schools where farmworker children attend class, local businesses where farmworker family members are employed and the entire West Marin agricultural economy. The county will lose tax revenue generated by ranchers while currently shouldering the cost of assisting the evicted families to relocate.

The loss of 12 ranches, covering more than 16,000 acres, represents about a 20% decrease in agricultural operations in West Marin, eroding a heritage that goes back to the mid-19th century. This raises a question about the continued viability of agriculture in Marin County, where many of the small farming operations have pioneered environmental practices, earning Marin renown as a leader in organic food production.

So all this effort may not have ended the long-running feud between supporters of agriculture and interests wanting parkland for free-roaming elk and natural habitat.

There is no reason to suspect malign intent by any parties to the settlement, but secrecy itself is a seedbed for rumor, disinformation and suspicion. As a result, the settlement is now the subject of two federal lawsuits representing numerous plaintiffs, a U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee investigation and confused speculation by a thoroughly mystified Marin public.

The House committee website lists 44 members and many dozens of active investigations, so we cannot guess how this will unwind in the chaos of our Capitol; however we should all hope that a calm, nonpartisan study will provide some clarity to these events and revive trust in our government institutions.

Ann Thomas is a Corte Madera resident.