The Nature Conservancy will draw on the local expertise of the Marin Resource Conservation District as it begins stewarding nearly 17,000 acres of former ranchland at the Point Reyes National Seashore.
A cooperative agreement that runs through 2030 establishes a framework for the conservation behemoth and the special district to collaborate on targeted grazing, invasive plant removal, habitat restoration, and research and monitoring across land vacated this year by dairying and ranching families.
The Nature Conservancy approached the district in February and invited it to consider the role it might play. The board formed an ad hoc committee that met three times with the conservancy, the National Park Service, and R.C.D. staff before recommending an advisory role. The agreement is only a framework; specific tasks and budgets will be defined in separate agreements.
Nancy Scolari, the district’s executive director, said the board carefully weighed the decision. With the involvement of the Interior Department and the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, “there are already so many cooks in the kitchen,” she said. “The committee thought, well, you don’t need to yet add another layer.”
Greg Richardson, T.N.C.’s Point Reyes project director, said the agreement reflects the conservancy’s effort to lean on organizations with experience on the ground. “We figured there was just a lot of ripe opportunity to consider how our collective efforts could really benefit the situation on the seashore, rather than just trying to go at it alone,” he said.
The conservancy is in early talks with others about similar partnerships, Mr. Richardson said, including the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, Point Blue Conservation Science, and the Point Reyes National Seashore Association.
“We’re interested in working with a range of organizations that have different experiences and skill sets that can really support the broader picture of the stewardship we’re trying to do,” he said. Elsewhere in California, the conservancy manages 400,000 acres of former ranchlands.
Any work done by partners would be funded through the $2.7 million already awarded to the conservancy by the state’s Wildlife Conservation Board to develop a plan for managing the park’s grasslands.
Another $7.3 million in unawarded state funds has been set aside to implement the conservancy’s plan. That money—part of a $10 million appropriation included in last year’s budget—is being held by the conservation board and is not dedicated exclusively to the conservancy, though T.N.C. plans to apply for it.