The Nature Conservancy has selected Point Reyes rancher David Evans to carry out the first round of targeted grazing on former ranchlands in the Point Reyes National Seashore. The move kicks off a new conservation grazing regime ushered in by the landmark settlement that ended most historic ranching in the park.
The conservancy announced on Friday that it had awarded Mr. Evans, a fourth-generation rancher on the peninsula, a contract covering roughly 2,000 acres of former pastureland. The land comprises the historic F and G Ranches and abuts his existing operation at H Ranch. The agreement runs through Oct. 15, though the conservancy said it could end earlier if grazing goals are met.
“We are very encouraged that the Nature Conservancy and Interior have recognized the need for interim treatment of these pastures, which have gone unharvested for a year, and the value of local expertise,” Mr. Evans told the Light on Monday. “We hope this bodes well for good management decisions for the future.”
The contract marks the first tangible step in the conservancy’s management of more than 16,000 acres of former farmland it is leasing from the National Park Service. Under the settlement agreement, 11 ranching families received an estimated $30 million to close their operations and relinquish their leases. The park service signed an agreement with the Nature Conservancy for up to 45 years, beginning with a five-year lease, followed by a 20-year lease with options to renew for two additional 10-year terms.
The short-term grazing program is intended to address the spread of purple velvet grass, an invasive species that has proliferated since livestock were removed last spring. The tall, fast-growing grass, Holcus lanatus, can crowd out native plants and degrade habitat for grassland birds. Conservation scientists say carefully timed grazing can help suppress the species and reduce the buildup of dry vegetation.
The conservancy said it received five bids for the contract, all from operators located within a six-hour drive of West Marin.
“This selection process was the culmination of an open and competitive request for proposals,” said Greg Richardson, the conservancy’s Point Reyes project director.
Applicants were evaluated based on their ability to bring in cattle as needed, adapt grazing management across the seasons and remove animals once grazing goals are met or the contract ends. The conservancy also sought an operator experienced in managing cattle in ecologically sensitive landscapes and familiar with the conditions of Northern California’s coastal grasslands, Mr. Richardson said.
In the end, the organization selected Mr. Evans in part because of his experience working on the peninsula.
“David can be very nimble, he has a lot of experience here, he knows the resources really well, and that will be particularly helpful,” said Sasha Gennet, strategy manager for the Nature Conservancy’s North America Sustainable Grazing Lands program.
She said the contract will involve close monitoring and iterative adjustments as the conservancy refines its program.
“There’s really a lot of learning happening this year with this new collaboration,” Ms. Gennet said. “There will be a lot of monitoring and ongoing dialogue to make sure the rotations and grazing management are meeting the objectives that were laid out.”
Mr. Evans founded Marin Sun Farms, an organic, pasture-raised meat and egg company he now runs with his wife, Claire Herminjard, in 1999. The company supplies meat to restaurants and specialty markets across the Bay Area, selling beef from the 90 cattle they raise on Point Reyes along with livestock sourced from other farms. The couple also owns a slaughterhouse in Petaluma where animals are processed for sale under their label.
In December, the Nature Conservancy released a request for proposals that described a system of frequent rotational grazing, in which cattle are moved through small sections of pasture and herd sizes are adjusted based on rainfall, vegetation growth, bird nesting seasons and other wildlife considerations.
Mr. Evans declined to comment on the specifics about how he plans to stock or manage the former F and G Ranch pastures, but the conservancy said the plan is to graze one herd of 178 cows at one ranch, and another herd of 250 cows at the other. The ranches lie above Drakes Estero’s Schooner and Creamery Bays, and the park’s Bull Point Trail passes through F Ranch.
By next month, all the ranchers who accepted buyouts under the settlement—along with their workers and other tenants—will have departed the peninsula. Mr. Evans and Ms. Herminjard’s operation remains one of two still active in the seashore, along with the Bolinas ranch run by Bill Niman and his wife, Nicolette Hahn Niman. Both families sued the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior a year ago, challenging the decision to end ranching. The case is currently in closed-door mediation.
Next fall, the Nature Conservancy plans to seek proposals for longer-term grazing contracts as it continues developing a management plan for the full 16,756 acres of the former pastoral zone.
Meanwhile, the organization has been holding community office hours since mid-February. Public outreach was a requirement of a $2.7 million grant the organization received last year from the state’s Wildlife Conservation Board.
The conservancy and the National Park Service will also host a town hall meeting on April 16 at West Marin School.
According to Mr. Richardson, the 30-minute scheduled meetings—five per week—held at the county’s Multi-Services Center in Point Reyes Station have been nearly fully booked and are expected to continue until at least mid-April. Spanish interpretation is available upon request.
“There are a lot of different people coming and sharing ideas, concerns and questions about a wide variety of topics,” Mr. Richardson said, citing issues ranging from native plants and water quality to grazing management, restoration opportunities, housing, wildlife photography and local history.
“A lot of the attention right now [in the media] has been focused on the process that the ranching families and tenant households have been experiencing, and the ripple effects of that in the community,” Mr. Richardson said. However, he added, “The majority of the people that have shown up to these community meetings have actually been most concerned about natural resource conservation and are looking forward to what’s going to happen next.”
Jasmine Bravo, a leader of Familias Afectadas de Rancho, an advocacy group for ranch tenants, said she learned about the meetings only after seeing them listed in the Light’s calendar rather than through direct outreach from the conservancy.
After noticing the listing, she and her family scheduled a meeting with the organization. There, she raised concerns that many Spanish-speaking residents do not read the Light and that “no one had communicated these meetings to the Spanish-speaking community, despite the fact that Latino residents have been among those most impacted by this settlement.”
After that meeting, she said, the Nature Conservancy created a Spanish-language flyer advertising the sessions.
To sign up for Thursday office hours with the Nature Conservancy, visit tinyurl.com/tnc-check-ins. For its new page on Point Reyes, visit nature.org/prns