Speakers at the Jan. 14 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting urged county action to assist ranch workers affected by a voluntary settlement to end commercial ranching at Point Reyes National Seashore.

Dennis Arguelles, representing the National Parks Conservation Association and citing roughly 700 local NPCA members, welcomed the voluntary settlements that will phase out ranching and said each rancher will receive a multi‑million‑dollar payout and will phase out operations within 15 months. Arguelles said the settlements were reached voluntarily by the ranchers and were not court-ordered.

Other public commenters raised concern for predominantly Latino ranch workers who may lose employment and housing as ranching phases out. Commenters said workers were not included in negotiations and urged the county to step in to ensure relocation assistance, job support and other protections.

County Executive Derek Johnson acknowledged the settlement had become public late in the prior week and said the county had not been party to the negotiations. Johnson said the county is examining short‑ and longer‑term responses and has asked an interim deputy executive to pursue an agreement with West Marin Community Services to provide relocation and job assistance and to close service gaps for affected workers. He described this as a short‑term safety‑net effort and said longer planning and budget changes may be necessary to address community impacts.

Public comment and county actions
- Dennis Arguelles (National Parks Conservation Association) described the settlement, said ranchers will receive substantial payments and said workers should receive assistance in the 15‑month transition window.
- Public commenters including Rodrigo Esquierdo and Raleigh Katzmaaten urged stronger county intervention to support displaced workers and noted possible impacts on local schools and housing.
- County Executive Derek Johnson said the county was not party to settlement negotiations, that settlement financial details between ranchers and private parties are not public, and that the county will negotiate agreements to provide safety‑net services where gaps exist.

What the county said it will do
Johnson assigned Raissa (interim deputy executive) to develop short‑term arrangements with West Marin Community Services to provide relocation and job assistance and to prevent individuals from “falling through the cracks.” He said the county will return to the board during upcoming work‑program and budget deliberations to consider medium‑ and long‑term responses.