Story and Photos by George Alfaro • Bay City News

PART 4 | April 2, 2026

WHEN THE OWNERS OF 12 RANCHES agreed in 2025 to shutter their operations on the Point Reyes National Seashore, they were joined at the table by the Nature Conservancy, three other environmental groups and the U.S. National Park Service.

But conspicuously absent from the private negotiations that would dictate both the future of agriculture in the national park and of their livelihoods were the ranch workers, their families and the other tenants who made those ranches tick.

It’s not that they hadn’t sought a seat at the table.

In January 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Maxine M. Chesney had rejected a motion by the non-owner residents for representation in the settlement discussions. Meanwhile, those settlement negotiations had been taking place over a three-year period, with all parties bound to non-disclosure agreements as they decided the fate of 14 Seashore ranches.

Judge Chesney’s decision brought grief and frustration to the predominantly Spanish-speaking community, who felt silenced by her dismissal.

“We have no clue what’s truly going on,” said Marco Alcantar, a 20-year-old graphic designer who was born and raised on a dairy in the park. “There’s no true communication to what is going on.”

In response, Alcantar created a graphic — an illustration of a man in a Tejano-style hat with tape covering his mouth and the words “We want our homes” written in boldface.

Marco Alcantar, a Point Reyes National Seashore resident born on a dairy farm. Alcantar and his family are being displaced from the national park due to the closure of 12 ranching operations, and he expressed their collective frustration through an illustration of a ranch worker who is being silenced with tape. (George Alfaro/Bay City News)

He said it expressed the collective frustration he shares with his neighbors.

“It is his voice, and we should listen,” said Socorro Romo, the former executive director of West Marin Community Services, a social welfare nonprofit organization serving Spanish speakers in the area. “The same thing this photo says, the residents have said to me.”

Socorro Romo, former executive director of West Marin Community Services, at the Point Reyes Presbyterian church. West Marin Community Services worked in the church building as they provided support for ranch workers and their families. (George Alfaro/Bay City News)

For decades, the concerns of the Spanish-speaking community living on the seashore ranches went largely unnoticed. And when housing is contingent upon employment, speaking up against the interests of an employer poses risks to both livelihood and housing. Fear of retaliation and persecution led to self-censorship and acceptance for many, Alcantar said.

The need to keep food on the table can preclude civic engagement, he added.

But in weighing the consequences of speaking out, Alcantar asked himself, “If I don’t do it, then who will? Who is going to save us? I am tired of seeing minorities get walked over.”

The residents who tend to the cattle and live on the ranches had been left with little-to-no information about the status of the negotiations and the agreed upon outcome that would directly impact their lives.

Eventually, they were told that 12 beef and dairy cattle operations would be shuttered and that their time living on the seashore was limited. More than 25 households faced displacement and loss of income. Approaching the hard deadline of March 1 this year, they began exiting the national park, seeking work and lodging elsewhere.

Rosa Rodriguez, a member of the Committee for Housing Agricultural Workers and Their Families, stands in front of her former residence on the Historic A Ranch. She lived there with her husband, a dairyman, and her children who attend local schools and work in town. (George Alfaro/Bay City News)

“In reality, we are on land that is not ours, and maybe they are right. But really what we should do is think: ‘Am I doing the right thing? Should I remove this bandage from my mouth and yell to the world that I am here? Or should I continue in silence?’”
Rosa Rodriguez, displaced Point Reyes resident

“In reality, we are on land that is not ours, and maybe they are right,” said Rosa Rodriguez, who also lived on a dairy ranch in the park. “But really what we should do is think: ‘Am I doing the right thing? Should I remove this bandage from my mouth and yell to the world that I am here? Or should I continue in silence?’” 

Rodriguez is a member of the Committee for Housing Agricultural Workers and Their Families. The organization has brought together county officials, farmworkers, ranchers, tenants, foundation donors and affordable housing advocates since 2018. In the fall of 2024, it published an important study of West Marin’s difficult housing conditions for working-class people.

Ranch worker housing on the McClure Dairy prior to the permanent closure of 12 ranching operations on the Point Reyes National Seashore. Residents were forced to relocate, some leaving the county altogether as they were not able to secure employment and housing in the area. (George Alfaro/Bay City News)

The ranch hands’ legal fight didn’t immediately end with Judge Chesney’s initial ruling.

Andrew Giacomini, an attorney representing the ranch residents, filed a separate lawsuit against the park service, as he pursued every legal avenue to secure his clients’ right to remain in their homes.

Nearly one year later, Judge Chesney granted the defendants — the National Park Service, the Department of Interior and the Nature Conservancy — a motion to dismiss Giacomini’s suit, leaving the ranch residents with no other option than to vacate their homes by March 1, 2026. The dismissal was decided on Jan. 23 of this year, forcing residents who had hoped for a last-minute miracle to accept the cold reality.

Affordable rentals are scarce in West Marin. If a significant number of people move away from the coast and over the hill, it affects local businesses and schools.

Community steps up with temporary housing

In an effort to stem the departure of working-class families, the Community Land Trust Association of West Marin (CLAM) took advantage of Marin County’s emergency housing ordinances to obtain expedited approval for temporary shelters to house residents who are being displaced from the ranch closures. A community of tiny homes located in Point Reyes Station is expected to be completed in late April, offering 14 temporary housing units until a more permanent solution can be reached.

CLAM has also acquired additional properties in West Marin to immediately house displaced families who wish to remain in the community. So, the situation is not entirely hopeless.

Alcantar, meanwhile, is a student at Sacramento State University, studying graphic design. He was one of 14 students across the nation selected by the United States Department of Agriculture to work on public-facing visual materials in Washington, D.C. last summer. The internship is only offered to students with agricultural backgrounds, and Alcantar was the first in the program to receive an offer to stay on once the internship ended. Cabinet members and visitors entering the Department of Agriculture headquarters are now greeted by graphic displays created by Alcantar.

Concrete slabs lay in ruin as the remnants of aging infrastructure on the McClure Dairy farm. The structures were removed after the dairy operation was shuttered, and now the ranch will permanently close as 12 operations exit the Point Reyes National Seashore. (George Alfaro/Bay City News)

But while he’s found a life outside, Alcantar still speaks wistfully about his history in the park, recounting climbing over fences and chasing cattle as a boy.

For tourists, Alcantar said, the ranches on the seashore were just part of the scenery.

But for residents, the roots of their family trees are intertwined with ranching, making it difficult to separate their stories from every bend and curve in the landscape. This park was their world, and for some, it is all they know and love.