Rep. Jared Huffman’s legislation to show Congress’ support for preserving the ranches that have been part of the Point Reyes National Seashore, before its inception and today, sends an important message.
The National Park Service is in the middle of updating its master plan and environmental review for the popular park. The update is probably overdue, but important in terms of drawing a roadmap for the park’s future.
The park is also working on a master plan for managing its large herds of tule elk.
Among the forces pushing for a new plan are some environmental groups who contend that it is time to phase out the 24 private leases to the ranches and dairies that cover 18,000 acres, about 20 percent of the park.
They point to the deaths of an estimated 250 of the park’s tule elk during the drought as an example of the park’s wildlife being fenced off from being able to roam freely to get to water. At the same time, the park’s ranchers want to see tighter limits on the movement of elk, complaining that elk are eating forage intended for livestock, damaging fences and drinking from ranch ponds.
Huffman says the ranches, which are vital to maintaining Marin’s agricultural industry, can continue “without compromising any environmental standards.”
We agree.
It is important that Huffman weighs in on this decision. It will be important that the Board of Supervisors issue an official response to the findings of the environmental report and the draft plan.
Huffman first ran to represent the North Coast congressional district as a strong environmental voice and vote. He has been consistent and dependable in fulfilling that promise.
He has previously echoed that promise made by then-Interior Secretary Ken Salazar when he decided, after extensive public debate, not to renew the long-standing lease that the oyster farm had on Drakes Estero in the park.
Salazar determined that it was time to turn the oyster farm back into wilderness, a goal set by Congress in 1976.
While the park service’s handling of the culmination of the lease was ham-handed at best, its lease was up and Salazar decided that it should be extended.
More importantly, however, he reinforced the presence of the ranches in the park.
During the debate over the oyster farm, many of the park’s ranchers distanced themselves from the political fray, worried they could be next.
But Salazar in 2012 tried to allay their fears.
“Ranching operations have a long and important history on the Point Reyes peninsula and will be continued at Point Reyes National Seashore,” Salazar said in his 2012 statement. “I have directed that the superintendent work with operators of these ranches to ensure that sustainable agricultural production continues and plays an important role in the local economy.”
Huffman’s legislation keeps Salazar’s promise, one that is important to the economic health and environmental sustainability of the ranches and West Marin’s economy.
But in Washington, promises all too often depend on who’s in office. Huffman is right to author a bill that puts a congressional endorsement on Salazar’s pledge.
The congressman has already worked to provide longer leases for the ranches, whose shorter-term leases had become an obstacle for them to obtain bank loans they needed to make repairs and improvements.
Yet, while Huffman’s bill also echoes the sentiments of many local environmental groups, it has drawn fiery protests from others.
For instance, Erik Molvar is quoted in the lastest online edition of Wildlife News, calling Huffman’s bill “a completely dishonest piece of legislation.” He says it seeks to rewrite Congress’ repeated intent to phase out ranches and convert the park to its “native ecosystems.”
Such criticism is not unexpected as some organizations bristle at the very notion of private leases of public parklands.
Many of the ranches in the park have been in existence since the 1860s and their legacy as part of the park has been a recognition of their importance to Marin’s agricultural economy, which depends on maintaining a fragile balance to keep local farming and ranching sustainable.
Huffman’s bill seeks to maintain the delicate balance that helped create Point Reyes National Seashore in 1962. Certainly, steps can be taken to improve that balance, but Huffman deserves credit for taking action to preserve a historical symbiotic relationship that has worked for 56 years.
