In the West Marin School gymnasium last Thursday evening, Karen Budd-Falen, a high-ranking official in the Trump administration, planted herself in one corner of the room, fielding an unyielding stream of questions from whoever managed to find her in the crowd.
Ms. Budd-Falen, the associate deputy secretary of the United States Department of the Interior, the agency’s third highest-ranking position, had come to Point Reyes for what federal officials billed as a community open house…