In April, the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources opened an investigation into the National Park Service (NPS) bureaucrats who worked with radical environmental groups to drive ranchers and farmers out of Point Reyes National Seashore (PRNS) in northern California.
The Nature Conservancy and other wealthy environmental groups have a clear history of preferring pristine wilderness to people and pressuring government to forsake accommodations for humans. The NPS, whether for conflict avoidance or ideological sympathy, then acquiesces and lends the veneer of a legitimate process.
The PRNS, created in 1962, includes about 21,000 acres privately ranched via lease agreements. Fourteen ranches and dairy farms produce organic meat and dairy products, many of them suppliers for blue cheese makers, the Straus Family Creamery, farmers markets, and more businesses local to Marin County. The farmers have a keen interest in protecting the land because it is so integral to their way of life, jobs, and the local economy. As Straus Creamery founder Albert Straus wrote, “The farms and ranches on the preserve are not industrial-scale; they are small, deeply rooted, family-run operations.” Straus and his suppliers have engaged in environmentally friendly farming.
Apparently, their innovations were not enough for left-wing environmentalist groups that filed suit in 2016 against NPS, with the goal of evicting ranchers. There were native tule elk to think about, and they argued that the organic dairies were harming the environment with manure and cow gas.
In the waning days of the Biden administration, the NPS announced a $30 million settlement, bankrolled by the Nature Conservancy. According to one report, they negotiated in secret and skipped any public process to “rush the agreement before the presidential election. They were worried about the possibility that a new administration at the National Park Service would hinder their negotiations.” In other words, the activists embedded in NPS and their radical allies knew their jig could soon be up.
Twelve ranches accepted a buyout. NPS said it “will manage closing ranch lands as part of the Scenic Landscape zone which prioritizes resource conservation activities.” Also, NPS issued “a cooperative agreement and lease option to the Nature Conservancy enabling it and NPS to collaborate on natural resource restoration projects on lands where ranching will end.” If the settlement stands, hopefully the Nature Conservancy will allow NPS to actually manage the land. California has seen what the lack of land management can mean for wildfires.
Responsible farming preserves the environment better than what a Nature Conservancy critic calls its “Save the Land from the Humans” pitch. The farmers bear the expense of keeping leased land healthy and productive. Now that expense falls to the taxpayers.
Lawsuits and Investigations
In the lawsuits filed against the settlement, one alleges that displaced farm workers were not considered and another that the settlement violates National Environmental Policy Act by not allowing others an opportunity to step in with new lease agreements.
Given the potential sympathetic relationship between NPS and the environmental groups, Congress is seeking transparency on the settlement.
Congressman Jared Huffman (formerly a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council, another wealthy green group) previously said the farmers “deserve respect,” but at a town hall after the settlement, he heard from many constituents and farmers who felt disrespected. “Many of the more than 200 people in attendance viewed it as a sellout that would strip West Marin of its agrarian character, weaken regional food systems, undermine the local economy, drain students from local schools and leave dozens of people, nearly all of them Latino, homeless and jobless,” reported the local paper Point Reyes Light. Residents didn’t like the deal and its secrecy. Another attendee noted, “A decision was made for us, without us.”
If the settlement stands, a healthy, productive, and very human tradition will be dealt a blow by those who prefer land be vacated and wild than be defiled by the presence of people.
As the Trump administration reviews the situation, similar cases could become known, with entrenched NPS bureaucrats selling out leaseholders and taxpayers to wealthy green interests. But there is hope — hope for farmers, local communities, and all Americans who enjoy preserving park lands that support their communities and jobs — that a new approach can prevail.
Roderick Law is the communications director for the Functional Government Initiative. He is a graduate of the George Washington University, with a B.S. in international affairs and a M.A. in security policy studies.
Jesus Christ is King
