News Release

Point Reyes National Seashore Announces Revised Record of Decision for General Management Plan Amendment and Settlement Agreement on the Management of Ranching on Park Lands

The Spaletta Ranch (aka Historic C Ranch) with the Point Reyes Headlands in the background.

NPS Photo

News Release Date: January 8, 2025

Contact: Melanie Gunn, 415-464-5131

POINT REYES STATION, Calif. – Point Reyes National Seashore has announced a Revised Record of Decision (ROD) for the General Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement (GMPA) for Point Reyes National Seashore and the north district of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The GMPA provides management guidance for the preservation of natural and cultural resources and the management of infrastructure and visitor use in the planning area. The plan also addresses the management of native tule elk and park lands currently leased for ranching.

The National Park Service (NPS) also announced a settlement agreement (358 KB PDF) resolving litigation filed in 2022 challenging the GMPA.

The NPS issued the Revised ROD in light of the private, voluntary ranch closure agreements between The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the operators of six dairy and six beef ranches in Point Reyes. Under these agreements, ranchers will cease operations within 15 months and surrender their leases in exchange for compensation from TNC.

Under the selected action for the Revised ROD, the NPS will manage closing ranch lands as part of the Scenic Landscape zone which prioritizes resource conservation activities. To support conservation efforts, the NPS will issue a cooperative agreement and lease option to TNC enabling TNC and NPS to collaborate on natural resource restoration projects on lands where ranching will end. The selected action also authorizes ranching to continue in the GMPA’s Ranchland zone, and the NPS has issued 20-year leases to seven beef ranch families in the north district of Golden Gate. The NPS will also negotiate long-term leases for the two remaining beef ranches at Point Reyes. The selected action benefits native tule elk by providing increased habitat and disallowing lethal management of the tule elk population. Tule elk will be managed as one herd in Point Reyes, and elk will be allowed to expand within the park.

Under the General Agreement for a government-to-government partnership, Point Reyes National Seashore consulted and collaborated with the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (FIGR), the only federally recognized tribe, during the GMPA planning process. The NPS will work with FIGR through enhanced collaboration and partnership during the implementation of the Revised ROD. As undertakings are identified, the NPS will consult and coordinate activities with FIGR as described in the General Agreement.

"This is an exciting moment for Point Reyes National Seashore. 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," Point Reyes National Seashore Superintendent Anne Altman said. "The NPS recognizes the important legacy of the multigenerational ranching families, whose contributions were important to the creation of Point Reyes National Seashore and we extend our heartfelt gratitude to the ranchers, TNC, litigation parties, and others who contributed to reaching this pivotal agreement."

There are approximately 90 tenants living on the ranches that will cease operations within approximately 15 months. Some of the tenants are ranch employees. Parties are cooperating to provide a range of opportunities to support the ranch employees and ranch tenants that will need to find new employment and housing when ranching operations end, including a transition period of 15 months, severance packages for affected employees, housing financial assistance packages, employee transition support services, and housing transition support services.

The signatories to the settlement agreement are the NPS, park ranchers who participated in the mediation, the Point Reyes Seashore Ranchers Association, The Nature Conservancy, Resource Renewal Institute, Center for Biological Diversity, and Western Watersheds Project.

Lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice's Environment & Natural Resources Division and the Department of the Interior Solicitor’s Office negotiated the settlement on behalf of the government.

For more information, including frequently asked questions, please see the park’s website on the General Management Plan Amendment at go.nps.gov/pore/gmpa.

-NPS-

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