Secret deal to end ranching in Point Reyes forces farmworker families to find new housing, new jobs

POINT REYES, Calif. (KGO) -- A secret settlement to end generations of cattle ranching in Point Reyes is displacing dozens of farmworker families, angering some ranchers, and gratifying environmentalists.

Just beyond the Golden Gate Bridge, you'll find some of the most picturesque views that California has to offer along the rugged coastline of Point Reyes National Seashore in western Marin County.

"This is paradise," said Carlos Porrata, a former park ranger turned photographer in his retirement.

"When I go out to do photography in Point Reyes National Seashore, that's where I feel like my heart and my spirit feel comfortable, full."

Past the breathtaking landscapes that draw in millions of visitors each year, you'll find cattle dotted along the coastline.

Ranching has been a way of life in Point Reyes for generations, predating the land's designation as a National Seashore in 1962. A unique arrangement allowed private agricultural operations to continue under special-use leases with the National Park Service.

MORE: Protesters demand protection for tule elk at Point Reyes National Seashore

Now that's coming to an end, for the most part, thanks to a secret deal that's angering some ranchers who've been there for generations.

"We've built up this farming community and food community and now we're at risk of losing everything because of this deal behind closed doors," said Albert Straus, who runs the Straus Dairy Farm in Marin County. His operation purchases milk from at least one of the dairy farms in Point Reyes slated to close.

Albert's father, Bill, was among the first to raise cattle there in 1941 when he started the farm. And when Albert took over in the 90's he converted it to the first certified organic dairy farm west of the Mississippi River.

Today, you'll see their products on store shelves under the popular Straus Family Creamery label.

"We're angry as a community, we feel disrespected as farmers," said Straus. "People are being evicted from their homes and their livelihoods."

Environmentalists are welcoming the dramatic reduction in ranching on the way to Point Reyes.

RELATED: San Mateo Co. approves $2 million to improve housing for farmworkers

"I've seen the dairies (like) Straus dairy," said biologist Joe Mueller. "They're certainly a lot better, but they're not good enough to create the pristine environment that's needed for perennials to come back."

Mueller is a marine biology instructor at College of Marin. He says the thousands of cows scattered throughout the Seashore have led to overgrazing. And that's causing the removal of native plants and the overpopulation of destructive weeds.

"It takes over in such a way that it doesn't provide for the soil like the perennials do. The perennials are able to kind of protect the soil," said Muller.

After years of back and forth, 12 farms, six dairy and six beef, have agreed to close under a confidential settlement brokered by the environmental nonprofit Nature Conservancy. Though the full agreement remains hidden from public view, ABC7 News has confirmed it resolves a 2022 lawsuit that challenged long-term leases granted to ranchers and raised environmental concerns about farming practices in the protected park.

The Nature Conservancy said in a statement to ABC7 News, while not involved in the litigation, the environmental non-profit was brought in by ranchers, the Nationals Park Service, and plaintiffs to "co-design a collaborative resolution to a long-standing and increasingly unsustainable conflict."

The exact payout to the ranchers remains unknown. Estimates range from a couple to several million dollars per rancher. According to a letter obtained by ABC7 News sent by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Naturals resources, the terms of the settlement are "closely guarded" and all participating ranchers were required to sign non-disclosure agreements.

Caught in the balance are the farm workers who have performed the back-breaking labor of herding, feeding, and milking thousands of cows for generations.

They will soon be out of a job, and they and their families will be without a place to live.

Among those being evicted are Rosa Rodriguez and her family. For seven years she and her husband, Miguel, who works on one of the closing dairies, have raised their three sons on Historic Ranch A.

Their income is modest. Miguel brings home around $1,400 every two weeks. Rosa supplements their earnings by cleaning homes and teaching photography. Together, they make roughly $65,000 annually-less than half the median household income of $143,000 in Marin County.

And while the family receives free housing as part of Miguel's job working on the ranch, the conditions are far from ideal.

Rodriguez shows us holes in the floor that they've boarded up and photos of mold that covered the walls. She's concerned the black mold could be making her youngest sick with asthma.

An attorney representing the rancher who owns the property disputes those claims, saying no "significant repairs were requested" by the Rodriguez family.

A 2024 study revealed that the majority of homes on the Point Reyes farms are dilapidated with major health and safety violations.

But as bad as the living conditions are, Rodriguez has no clue where her family will live when they're forced to move out when the farms close by April 1, 2026, according to documents obtained by ABC7 News.

"This is the wealthiest place," Porrata said. "We shouldn't have people living in inhumane conditions and without any dignity."

Porrata now leads the board of West Marin Community Services, which is coordinating the disbursement of a reported $2.5 million relocation fund from the Nature Conservancy.

"Let's honor the workers," said Porrata. "They are the backbone of that industry. Without those workers, nothing happens."

Each family will receive a payment based on household size, according to a document obtained by ABC7 News. $68,000 for a two-person household and up to $109,000 for larger families of 7 or more people.

Rodriguez's family of five will receive a payment of roughly $100,000 to move off the property.

"Each family should look at all the information that is given to them and decide what's best," Porrata added.

Just as the details of this deal are emerging from the shadows, there are powerful forces that could tear it apart and reverse the decision to end decades of farming in Point Reyes.

"We have a housing crisis, as you well know, and this is just making it worse. Taking housing that's there and eliminating it, that doesn't make a lot of sense to me," said prominent Bay Area attorney Andrew Giacomini.

Giacomini is suing to stop the housing closures on behalf of 45 tenants on the Point Reyes farms who are unhappy with the deal forcing them to move, according to his office.

The Giacomini family is no stranger to ranching. Several of his family members have lived and worked on the very same West Marin farms set to close.

"I'm just trying to level the playing field against this situation where there's this money to drag people out of their houses and then there's this push on the other side and people feel like they don't have a choice," said Giacomini.

Giacomini is offering displaced families a different option: take the money, up to $109,000, not from the Nature Conservancy, but from a private donor funding his legal effort. Families can stay and fight in court, and still walk away with the compensation, whether they win the case or lose.

ABC7 News Anchor Julian Glover asked Giacomini who the donor was.

"I'm not going to reveal their name. They can decide to do it or not," Giacomini said.

"What do you say to people that might say this is fighting a secret settlement with secret money?" asked Glover.

"You're the first person who said that," Giacomini replied. "But I'd say we're fighting the good fight, and they're fighting a bad fight."

As the legal challenge to upend the deal to end farming in Point Reyes continues, the deal has captured the attention of lawmakers in Washington.

House Republicans on the Committee on Natural Resources have launched a federal investigation into the Biden-era settlement agreement, calling out a "lack of transparency" and potential "environmental and legal consequences."

"There's a lot going on here, including some questions. Why did so many people not care about the farm workers for all these years, but are suddenly great champions of the farmworkers?" said Congressman Jared Huffman.

Huffman's district stretches from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon Border, including the Point Reyes National Seashore. He opposes the lawsuit and this congressional investigation.

"I think they are trying to blow this up because they just don't like parts of it and they're not sure what comes next," Huffman said. "Some of these ranchers are already gone. Or are almost gone. Several of these dairies are functionally already shut down and have ceased operations. They're not coming back."

Huffman now says his focus is on helping workers find housing and work. He believes ending ranching on the Seashore will improve the ecosystem, a longtime concern of North Bay environmentalists.

Professor Mueller sees opportunity in the farm closures. He points to years of overgrazing and water contamination, including coliform bacteria levels roughly 170 times what is deemed safe according to a 2022 study.

One of Mueller's former students shared photos with ABC7 News showing the popular elephant seals wallowing in drainage water at Drake's Beach.

"That was traced back to the grazing," Mueller said. "To the cattle, the dairy cattle that are up there."

He believes removing the nearly 5,000 cattle in Point Reyes National Seashore will allow native species like the tule elk to return and allow the land to heal.

RELATED: Protests continue in Pt. Reyes as tule elk controversy heads to federal court

"Sustainable farming is certainly a wonderful start," he said, "but will never be enough when it comes to preserving nature in its whole."

For everything that the environment stands to gain by the closure, families like the Rodriguezes stand to lose.

Rosa said she's concerned about how accepting their new community will be.

Her middle son, David, just finished his freshman year at Chico State. He was born with a rare medical condition that caused limb deformities at birth.

"I would get picked on all the time because of the way I looked," David Rodriguez shared.

He added that living on the farm for the last seven years is among the only places he's ever felt free of bullying.

He said he wishes farmworkers, like his dad, were treated with more dignity and better included in this transition process.

"They're the backbone of this country," Rodriguez said. "I feel like they should be supported more, how they're just closing it down and not giving us information on why."

The court case filed to reverse the housing closures on the ranch is still ongoing, as is the investigation launched by House Republicans.

Meanwhile, families like the Rodriguezes are beginning to make arrangements to leave the ranch by the end of next February.

The wildcard in all of this is whether Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum will reverse the deal to end ranching. He's the only one who could do so with the stroke of a pen, as his department manages our National Parks.