A dozen livestock producers in California’s Point Reyes National Seashore have agreed to a settlement to end beef and dairy cattle ranching at the seashore.
In January 2022, the Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project and Resource Renewal Institute filed suit against the National Park Service (NPS) challenging its management plan that reauthorized long-term grazing leases at Point Reyes. The settlement is in response to this lawsuit.
Under the agreement, six beef ranches and six dairies will cease their operations within 15 months in exchange for compensation from The Nature Conservancy (TNC). The organization will then work with NPS on “natural resource restoration projects” on the former ranchlands. Two beef ranches were not party to the settlement and will negotiate long-term leases with NPS.
“Thanks to agreements between TNC and the closing ranch operations, the park’s future management will include additional opportunities for visitors, non-lethal management of native tule elk, and honors the co-stewardship agreement with the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria,” said Point Reyes National Seashore Superintendent Anne Altman in a statement.
Kirk Wilbur, California Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) vice president of government affairs, told WLJ, “CCA is dismayed to see cattle ranching diminished at Point Reyes, but we absolutely support the dairymen and ranchers at Point Reyes and the difficult decisions they’ve made.”
He added that with ceaseless litigation and operational uncertainty, their decisions to settle are entirely understandable. “We wish them luck in the next chapter of their families’ ranching traditions,” Wilbur said.
He continued that the two remaining ranches have CCA’s full support for their ongoing operations. “I am sure the remaining ranchers will continue to be demonized by the anti-grazing environmental interest groups who filed the 2022 lawsuit, but I hope that this settlement agreement reduces the pressure,” he said.
Wilbur added that Point Reyes isn’t the first place that environmental groups have challenged grazing authorizations on federal lands, nor will it be the last.
“Fortunately, federal lawmakers and regulators are increasingly aware of the benefits of livestock grazing on the landscape, and groups like CCA are committed to ensuring cattle ranchers can continue to steward federally owned lands,” he said.
Background
Beef and dairy ranching at the seashore, a tradition that has endured since the mid-1850s, has long been condemned by environmentalists. In their 2022 lawsuit, environmental groups argued that the NPS has prioritized the commercial needs of ranchers instead of protecting the natural environment and tule elk population, and the public’s use of the coastal lands.
In early December, NPS released its final plan for the Tomales Point area in the Point Reyes National Seashore. As part of the plan, tule elk enclosure fencing and all temporary water systems were to be removed. The 2.2-mile-long fence was constructed to keep tule elk out of the “pastoral zone,” where cattle ranchers and dairy farmers raise their livestock. Ranchers have long contended that the elk compete with cattle for forage, knock down fences and spread disease.
NPS officials began removing the fence shortly after announcing the plan and had removed 850 feet before CCA intervened. CCA filed a lawsuit to prevent damage from the elk in the pastoral zone, prompting the NPS to halt further fence removal. The litigation is currently ongoing.
Wilbur said the association was unaware of the status or timeline of settlement negotiations when pursuing the suit in December to prevent the removal of the elk fence.
“While CCA wasn’t engaged in the settlement negotiations and the pending settlement didn’t color our decision to file suit to prevent the elk fence’s removal, it seems likely to me that removal of the elk fence would have materially weakened livestock producers’ negotiating position in the settlement talks,” Wilbur said.
He added, “CCA is proud to have taken this fight to court to preserve ranchers’ rights and interests.”
The association is still working with its attorneys and members to analyze the settlement’s impact on its pending litigation. NPS is currently enjoined from removing any more of the fence, and further proceedings are scheduled for next month. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
