And the magnolias are beginning at the Botanical Gardens in Golden Gate Park.
Thursday, 01/16/25
Reminds me of "She sells seashells by the sea shore.".
Point Reyes locals and visitors grapple with the end of a legacy on the seashore
By Silas Valentino, Travel Editor Jan 15, 2025 - SFGATE
An idyllic stillness swallowed Home Ranch on Friday, as there was little to disturb the oldest dairy ranch on the Point Reyes National Seashore. California quail fluttered their wings and scattered in the brush beside a dirt road leading into the historic complex containing several barns, a silver silo and a farmhouse with green window trims that predates San Francisco’s cable cars.
Occasionally, the spell of silence was punctured by a familiar and guttural “moo.” The monosyllabic sound from nearby cattle had come to partially define life on the seashore for nearly 200 years, but this will change over the next 15 months following an elongated legal battle that pits environmental interests against a ranching legacy.
Last week, the National Park Service announced a settlement with environmental groups and a surprising revision to its management plan. For decades, the park service brokered leases with ranchers allowing them to operate on the national seashore, while critics argued that the cattle polluted water streams and interfered with the park’s tule elk. The historic deal they have reached will see 12 of the 14 ranches phased out and folded into the national seashore. The ranches receive a buyout from the Nature Conservancy, which the Press Democrat reported was around $30 million.
'Feels like a death': Point Reyes grapples with the end of an era
Greg