Rep. Jared Huffman says Point Reyes ranchers ‘deserve respect’ as talks over seashore’s farms approach latest deadline

North Coast Rep. Jared Huffman admits he’s found himself in difficult positions at times while trying to navigate the decades-old battle over the future of private farming and ranching in Point Reyes National Seashore.

“One thing that I’ve pushed back on over the years, and I’ve taken some heat for it, is I don’t like the way (the ranchers) have sometimes been caricatured. You know as industrial polluters or factory farms or other things that I know to be untrue,” Huffman said in a Sept. 25 phone interview from Washington, D.C.

With an Oct. 18 mediation deadline looming, and the latest short-term leases for the park’s remaining four dairies and 17 beef cattle ranches expiring the same day — after more than two years of negotiations — many in the dairy industry are worried that Point Reyes ranches are in their last days.

...

For Complete article, please click here  

By:  John Beck
Source: The Press Democrat

• Print
• Email
• Tweet