Letter to Supervisors

September 18, 2023

Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters, President

Supervisor Katie Rice

Supervisor Dennis Rodoni

Supervisor Eric Lucan

Supervisor Mary Sackett

3501 Civic Center Drive, Suite 329

San Rafael, CA 94903

Dear Supervisor Moulton-Peters and Members of the Board:

The undersigned respectfully urge the Marin County Board of Supervisors to direct Marin County Counsel to intervene in the 2021 Resource Renewal Institute, et. al, [Resource Renewal] lawsuit against the National Park Service [NPS] in support of Marin County’s interests in having agriculture continue in the Point Reyes National Seashore [PRNS].  Resource Renewal Institute, et al, v. National Park Service, USDC, N.D, CA, Case No: 4:22-ev-145-KAW.

In the 2016 Resource Renewal lawsuit demanding that the NPS update the 1980 General Management Plan for the federally recognized Point Reyes Ranches and Olema Valley Ranches Historic Districts managed by PRNS, the County intervened to ensure that the County’s interest in having agriculture continue in the PRNS was given due consideration in the settlement discussions, which led to preparation of the 2021 General Management Plan Amendment.[GMPA]  NPS filed a Record of Decision [ROD] on the GMPA just over two years ago, on September 13, 2021, See the attached memorandum for more information about the 2016 action, including the key points in the County’s pleadings in 2016 that are still relevant today. 

For 25 years, the NPS tried unsuccessfully to create a plan to manage agriculture in the PRNS, offering multiple opportunities for public comment on alternative scenarios over the years.  The 2021filing of the ROD offered hope the ranchers would be able to make the financial and emotional investments to deal with deferred maintenance, and for the dairies which supply Straus Creamery to join in the Creamery’s commitment to have its suppliers achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

The current lawsuit was filed four months later, in January 2022, alleging deficiencies in the Environmental Impact Statement on the GMPA. As in the 2016 lawsuit, the Point Reyes Seashore Ranchers Association and individual ranchers intervened.  Two years after the ROD was filed, the grossly overdue GMPA has yet to be implemented while the parties engage in a confidential mediation process.

In June 2022 animal rights activists sued the park challenging its management of the fenced tule elk herd on Tomales Point.  Although the suit was dismissed, elk activists appealed the district court dismissal and PRNS recently announced preparation of a Tomales Point Plan to address issues created by elk confinement at Tomales Point.  Despite an option to move additional elk to the Phillip Burton Wilderness Area pursuant to the 1998 Tule Elk Management Plan, the PRNS announced the “preferred alternative” is to replace the 1998 Management Plan and remove the Tomales Point elk fence releasing additional elk into the pastoral zone to compete with the cattle for forage produced in pastures managed by the dairies and ranches. Long-time dairyman and environmentalist Albert Straus was quoted recently in the Point Reyes Light:

We are at a critical point in our Marin farming history. . . if the elk fence is removed, we will not have any ranches or dairies that will survive.  Point Reyes National Seashore has 30 percent of the organic dairies in Marin County, and the loss of these dairies will be devastating to our community. [Sept 14, 2023, “Park holds public meeting on elk,” page 10.]

The proposed action, in effect, would implement the rejected “No Ranching and Expansion of Tule Elk in the Planning Area” alternative  in the environmental impact study on the GMPA.  This result would be contrary to the California Coastal Act requirement that:

. . . lands suitable for agricultural use shall not be converted to nonagricultural uses unless continued or renewed agricultural use is not feasible . . . . [California Coastal Act Section 39242.]

The conditions of nearby ranches and dairies subject to Marin Agricultural Land Trust easements illustrate how land in the PRNS pastoral zone could look if NPS lessees have long term leases with incentives that make investment in capital maintenance and improved practices financially feasible.  The County of Marin must intervene in this litigation if the County’s interest in the continuation of agriculture in Marin County is to be adequately represented in the Resource Renewal litigation.

Finally, we would add, there is no need to take the Tomales Point fence down to provide adequate and appropriate habitat for the elk.  The NPS can release more elk into the Phillip Burton Wilderness where there is abundant year-round fresh water and adequate forage for elk if the land is managed as provided for in the 1998 Plan.  The park service has a collaborative agreement with the Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria to aid in managing land at Tomales Point.  This collaboration agreement could be expanded to include the 18,000 acres Phillip Burton Wilderness area offering an extraordinary opportunity to restore a historic Native American working landscape and restore ideal habitat for the expanding tule elk herd.

Respectfully,

Judy Teichman, Point Reyes Station                   Susan Stompe, Novato

Albert Straus, Marshall                                Save Marin's Food Community

Rebecca Burgess, Woodacre                      Sam Dolcini, Marin County

Ralph Grossi, Novato                                              Linda Albion, Woodacre

Mary Tiscornia, Larkspur                                         Jeffrey Creque, Petaluma

Bob Heffelfinger, Bolinas                                     Eileen Connery, Point Reyes Station

Myn Adess, Point Reyes Station                             James O’Hara, Point Reyes Station

Burr Heneman, Point Reyes Station                        Anne Sands, Dogtown                                

Peggy Day, Point Reyes Station                             Madeleine Ballard, Point Reyes Station

Doris & Greg Ferrando, Point Reyes Station           Lee Giammona, Point Reyes Station

Cathy & Rob Richards, Inverness                           Ann Phelan, Inverness

Val Rabiche, Inverness                                       Elizabeth Vial, Woodacre

J. Michael Heaton, Inverness                      NancyJo Heaton, Inverness

Marijke Donat, Point Reyes Station                         Laura L. Arndt, Point Reyes Station

Martin Borge, Point Reyes Station                          Catherine & Christopher Barnes, Nicasio

Anna Francis, Point Reyes Station                           Kathy Hartzell, Inverness

Attached supporting documentation: Memorandum 9-17-23

Judy Teichman

P.O. Box 763, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956