Graton tribe gifted coastside West Marin property

The Graton Rancheria is receiving the 466-acre property from the Western Rivers Conservancy….which bought the West Marin cattle ranch last year.
photo credit: David Dines/Western Rivers Conservancy
A vista of the Dillon Beach ranch property.

The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria is celebrating new ownership of nearly 500 acres of coastal ranchland just north of Dillon Beach.

As Jacob Resneck reports, the Sonoma County tribe received the property from a conservation group seeking to return ancestral lands to tribal entities.

The Graton Rancheria is receiving the 466-acre property from the Western Rivers Conservancy….which bought the West Marin cattle ranch last year.

The mile-and-a-half of Pacific coastline is a gift from the conservancy that has worked with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife to return land to Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo tribal members for conservation and stewardship.

Graton Rancheria Chairman Greg Sarris calls the acquisition a quote “remarkable opportunity” to restore an area once densely populated with native peoples just north of the present-day community of Dillon Beach.

"It's a great example of what can happen when tribes work with other organizations so that the land once again becomes under the stewardship of the people who've known it from time immemorial," Sarris said.

The tribe says the Dillon Beach ranch includes sacred sites to be set aside for long-term conservation and protection. Sarris says decisions over things like public access is something the tribe will consider later.

" It's our land and we will be 100% determining how it will be used for the public in terms of trails," Sarris said. "But I I'm all for public limited public access"

State wildlife officials have identified the area - which includes Estero de San Antonio – as among the most significant habitat areas in California.

Reporting for KRCB Sonoma County News, I’m Jacob Resneck in Monte Rio.