By Andrew Giacomini

Beef cattle and dairy operations at Point Reyes have a long and rich history dating back to the 1830s. When the national park opened in 1972, Congress explicitly made multigenerational ranching a legislatively authorized use.

This is still the policy. I can only assume this is still the intent of Congress now.

The recent settlement agreement, negotiated in relative secrecy among select groups, was orchestrated by the National Park Service with several environmental groups, including the Nature Conservancy. It will effectively end ranching in the Point Reyes National Seashore. Under the terms, ranch residents (possibly well over 100 people) will be forced to leave their homes.

Most of these residents are Latino agricultural workers who live and shop in our community. With a shortage of housing, many will be forced out of West Marin. Everyone will be impacted by their loss.

In other words, all West Marin residents are paying the price for park service mismanagement — making poor decisions that include the reintroduction of tule elk in 1978. The decision to approve the settlement should be seen as a violation of obligations under the law.

In 2012, the park service began a planning process to allow the ongoing practice of commercial dairy and cattle ranching in Point Reyes. Three environmental groups sued the park service in 2016, objecting to the issuance of permits. The parties settled their lawsuit, agreeing to conduct an environmental impact study and issue an amendment to the 1980 general management plan addressing and analyzing the impacts of allowing livestock grazing and milking in the park.

The formal scoping process was initiated in 2018. Nearly 9,000 pieces of correspondence were received during the 30-day scoping period. That shows tremendous public interest in the park’s long-term management (making the recent secrecy all the more puzzling). After considering all comments, the park service issued 20-year leases to ranchers at PRNS, with options for further renewal. All of it was reflected in the 2021 “record of decision” document.

The 2021 agreement was welcome news to the people who work and live on ranches.

But even though they agreed to this process, environmental groups sued again. Park service officials could have stood with the ranchers behind its decision. Instead, NPS decided to walk away from the findings and take steps to end ranching in Point Reyes.

The scheme involved creating uncertainty for the ranchers and a time crisis by issuing only very short leases, which would have expired last month. The ranchers were left with a “Hobson’s choice” of agreeing to “voluntary” payoffs or fight the taking with no support from the park service.

Keeping everything a secret until after the decision appears to have been an essential element of the scheme. It’s clear to me that making it public would have risked public sympathy or support for the ranchers — or outrage over the loss of ranching and affordable housing.

This lack of transparency, which included a confidentiality agreement that functioned as a gag order, on matters of public importance is contrary to the public interest.

The loss of these ranches and housing is a profound blow to Marin County agriculture, its agricultural workers and the West Marin community, all of whom were excluded from these settlement discussions.

Leaving aside the devastating economic and community impacts, the workers have been mostly overlooked and abandoned. The parties to the lawsuit turned them into environmental refugees.

What will become of their homes? I worry that, after the workers are evicted, the housing will be made available to employees of the park, the Nature Conservancy and other environmental groups — all of whom stood in the way of allowing housing to continue for workers.

As a community, we cannot stand by and let this happen. We must rally to the side of agricultural workers and their families and insist that park service officials change their position and allow these longstanding residents of West Marin to remain in their homes.

Andrew Giacomini, of West Marin, is a partner for the law firm of Hanson Bridgett LLP.