The Republicans within the congress initiated an investigation right into a comparison contract on Thursday, wherein 12 of the 14 ranches and dairy products are concluded within the Point Reyes National Seashore to set the operations in early 2026.
The House Committee on natural resources sent letters to the character reserve and 4 other environmental organizations that were all parties to the agreement and applied for detailed information. The committee is headed by Bruce Westerman, a Republican from Arkansas. The letters were signed by six other Republican congress members.
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The letter sent to the Nature Conservancy states: “The committee not only deals with the lack of transparency in connection with the settlement, but also with the environmental and legal consequences that the settlement could impose.”
The other organizations that sent letters were that in Fairfax, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Western Watersheds Project and Advocates for the West.
MP Jared Huffman, who’s the razor -lived democrat within the committee, said he was not announced before the letter sent on Thursday. San Rafael's legislator said that the Ministry of the Interior was also a celebration of the settlement could possibly be reversed by the Trump administration.
“If the parking service and this is the Trump government's parking service, it wanted to revoke it or chase everything into the air,” said Huffman, “you could.”
As a part of the agreement, the environmental organizations agreed to file a lawsuit that has questioned the continued use of the park for agriculture in return for the parking service wherein the agricultural operators are refused recent lease.
The owners of the ranches and dairies received an unknown amount from Nature Conservancy and needed to agree not to reveal the conditions of the agreement. There were unconfirmed reports that the payments were between 30 and 40 million US dollars.
Huffman said if the agricultural operators don’t need to take the cash that they might call up the deal.
“I asked her in different ways. Do you want that or not?” Said Huffman. “You have all confirmed that this is what you want. It is up to you, not to external parties.”
In February, Andrew Giacomini, a distinguished lawyer in West Marin, submitted a criticism to the district court, wherein the parking service was claimed that Nature Conservancy had teamed up in an effort to give the deprivation of ranchers in exchange for the cattle breeders for 20 years of lease.
Giacomini represents individuals who survive the ranches and dairies who might be closed, all are exposed to. Most of the inmates are Latino, some, but not all are agricultural employees who may also lose their work.
Giacomini had previously said that he intended to hunt support for his cause in Washington, DC on Thursday. However, he denied the investigation through the House Committee.
In an e -mail, Giaomini said that he supported the congress examination of the key settlement, which he considered illegal, added: “I had no role in the other than as a cheerleader for those who urged her.”
John Seibels, a spokesman for the committee, said the committee didn’t comment on the origin of the investigation.
In his letter to Nature Conservancy, the committee wrote: “Although the producers participating in the buyout publicly hesitate to participate, they were amazed by non -open -ending agreements that limit what they can share.”
The letter also states that the committee has received documents that show that Nature Conservancy donor and environmental representatives have expressed displeasure with the settlement.
According to the letter, these considerable concerns include an increased risk of forest fire, a reduced biological diversity, a drastic shrinking of local agriculture and the lack of apartments of local agriculture. “
The Nature Conservancy was the one environmental group that reacted for a comment. “We check the letter and will respond to the committee,” wrote spokesman Heather Gately.
She added that the Nature Conservancy “was asked by all legal dispute parties, including the cattle breeders, to join her mediation as an honest broker and to find a compromise to end the long -term conflict.”
Last week, the heads of Straus Family Creamery, Clover Sonoma and Organic West sent a letter to Huffman, wherein he was asked that the closure period ought to be prolonged to enable more time to shift dairy farms at North Bay.
“Over the past ten years, we have lost 25 dairy farms in the North Bay Milch shed, a place where 60% of the state's organic milk are produced,” the letter said. “Our three companies close around 80% of milk supply in North Bay. The reversal of the loss of local dairy farms is an urgent matter for our companies and the local agricultural industry.”
In April 2024, Huffman secured a 1 -million dollar -Fedeal -Opress to support the resettlement of dairy farms. So far, no money has been spent.
The letter states: “We work with Marin Agricultural Land Trust, Sonoma Land Trust and Sonoma AG and Open Space to identify farms in Sonoma and Marin who could work for these dairies.”
However, the managers wrote of their letter that more time is required for affected dairy farmers to discover, acquire, modernize, finance and begin recent dairy farms.
They stated that in response to the present period of milking operations, they might actually should stop until October 2025 in an effort to maintain compliance with the compliance with goods management in accordance with the regulations to manage the water quality control.
“These farmers have to decide for May whether the milk production permanently hires or try to move elsewhere,” the letter continued. “This is an unsustainable timeline.”
Huffman wrote in an email: “We consider to make an inquiry to the settlement celebrations for a closely employed extension of time that would not apply to all diaries and ranches. We would only apply for them if one or more of the milk products would like an extension to facilitate the shift in the north bay.”
With regard to the 1 million US dollars, which he had secured for the move, Huffman added: “There were some encouraging conversations with some of the milk families about the stay in North Bay and the use of the funds, and I am optimistic that we find a way to help at least one and possibly several milk families.”
Marin County's supervisor, Dennis Rodoni, wrote in an e -mail: “It is important to understand that this letter did not come from the dairies that were still put into operation on the Point Reyes peninsula.”
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