Marin Conservation League

Parks and Open Space Committee

3:00 – 5:00 pm
In-person/Zoom hybrid

Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pcOmgrD4vG9XtnkUk-dxDuEZFSvAuGyhD

Join us in person or on Zoom to hear MCL’s first update on Point Reyes National Seashore in more than a year. The primary subject of the meeting will be the status of managing the natural and cultural resources of the Seashore since the January 8, 2025 announcement of the removal of six dairy and six beef operations within 15 months.

The revised General Management Plan Amendment (GMPA) for the Seashore provides management guidance for the preservation of natural and cultural resources and the management of infrastructure and visitor use in the planning area. It also addresses the management of native tule elk and park lands currently leased for ranching. NPS also announced a settlement agreement resolving litigation filed in 2022 that calls for operators to surrender their leases in exchange for compensation from The Nature Conservancy (TNC). To support conservation efforts, the NPS issued a cooperative agreement and lease option to TNC enabling TNC and NPS to collaborate on natural resource restoration projects on lands where ranching will end.

Superintendent Anne Altman will update MCL on progress over the past 15 months in implementing both the GMPA and Settlement Agreement on the Seashore. Greg Richardson, Project Manager for TNC, will describe how the organization is managing its assigned responsibilities on vacated ranch lands.

Anne Altman became superintendent of Point Reyes National Seashore September 22, 2024 after serving as deputy and acting superintendent since 2022. She has worked for the National Park Service for 24 years in a variety of roles in parks, the Pacific West Region, and the NPS national headquarters in Washington D.C. As superintendent, Altman oversees more than 80 miles of undeveloped coastline, 147 miles hiking trails, backcountry campgrounds and beaches. She is also responsible for the 32,730-acre Phillip Burton Wilderness and roughly 300 historic structures, including the 150-year-old Point Reyes Lighthouse.

Altman started her 24-year career with the NPS as a business intern at Bryce Canyon National Park, and manager assistant at Rocky Mountain National Park. After her time in Colorado, Altman served as the chief of commercial services for the Pacific West Region, special assistant to the deputy director for management and administration, and as a senior member of the Washington, D.C.-based Business Management Group.

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, she holds a bachelor’s degree in Earth Systems from Stanford University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of California at Davis. Altman, her husband Mike, and her two teenage sons are longtime residents of Fairfax.

Greg Richardson guides TNC’s work in Point Reyes National Seashore, with a focus on supporting ecological stewardship and community engagement. He advances this important work with deep reverence for the history of this special place and its people.

Greg’s work lies at the intersection of agricultural and conservation sciences. Prior to joining The Nature Conservancy, Greg was the research director for a 7,500-acre ranch where he worked closely with its livestock and vineyard teams. He has also developed technical guides for monitoring change on rangelands and croplands and led a collaborative campaign to phase out the use and sale of invasive plants for gardening and landscaping in California. Greg received an M.Sc. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in soil science and agroecology.