In October, eighth-grade teacher Julie Cassel asked her class at West Marin School to pen letters to elected officials in protest or defense of the anticipated closures of nearby ranches and dairies in the Point Reyes National Seashore.
At the time, speculation was intensifying about the outcome of settlement negotiations between the park service, environmental groups, ranchers and the Nature Conservancy—talks that would decide the future of agriculture in the park. Rumors were stirring about…