Marin Agricultural Land Trust

Our Newest Easements

Scenic Three Peaks Ranch protected by MALT conservation easement

May 19, 2008
Panfiglio Ranch becomes part of contiguous band of protected farmland totaling more than 7,600 acres

Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT), with financial assistance from the Department of Conservation’s California Farmland Conservancy Program, has purchased an agricultural conservation easement on the productive and scenic 810-acre Panfiglio Ranch. Located north of Point Reyes Station near Highway One, the easement links two other ranches protected by MALT easements, providing a permanent wildlife corridor. It becomes part of a contiguous band of protected lands totaling more than 7,600 acres. The property also serves as the headwaters of Grand Canyon Creek and Walker Creek.

Brothers Dante and Carlo Panfiglio purchased the property in 1955 and raised Holstein replacement heifers there. When Carlo died, Dante’s son Joe and his wife Karen purchased his uncle’s share. Now the sale of a conservation easement to MALT enables Joe and Dante to build up their herd and make infrastructure improvements to the ranch. It also protects the property from the threat of ever being developed and ensures that the Panfiglio family ranching tradition will continue. Joe’s three adult children—son J.D. and daughters Christa and Carla—all are involved in agriculture in Marin and Sonoma counties and will eventually take over the ranch.

The Panfiglio Ranch is located in a unique and isolated area on Three Peaks, a 1,160-foot formation that is visible from Inverness and Point Reyes National Seashore. Though Three Peaks and the lands surrounding it may be unknown to most Marin County residents, the mountain is among the tallest in the area. Part of the Rancho Nicasio Mexican land grant, the lands overlook Tomales Bay and also drain into Soulajule Reservoir. They have provided rich grazing lands for generations of families who contributed to the growth and prominence of the Marin County dairy industry, including the Panfiglio family. The ranch now supports a beef cattle operation.

Without the sale of an easement, the ranch, with its appeal as a site for a country estate, might have been targeted for development. The conversion of farmland in this way is one of the greatest threats facing the agricultural community in Marin County. The conversions can price out an agricultural buyer and lead to a reduction in total number of agricultural producers.

“Even in today’s market, demand still exists for estate ranchettes and large-acreage holdings,” said MALT Executive Director Robert Berner. “We are pleased to be able to provide a conservation option to the sale of the property to the Panfiglio family and help them keep the land in productive agriculture.”

MALT paid the appraised value of $1,160,000 for the easement. The Department of Conservation provided a grant to MALT of $750,000 for the project. The remainder of the funds were raised from MALT members and supporters.

“We congratulate the Panfiglio family and Marin Agricultural Land Trust on the completion of this important agricultural conservation easement project,” said DOC Director Bridgett Luther. “Since 2003, the California Farmland Conservancy Program has provided MALT with seven different easement grants totaling more than $5.2 million to help ensure the continuation of the county’s agricultural economy and lifestyle. We hope that other local landowners will, like the Panfiglio family, explore the easement option for their own property.”

Marin Agricultural Land Trust is a member-supported, nonprofit organization created in 1980 by a coalition of ranchers and environmentalists to permanently preserve Marin County farmland. Some of the Bay Area's most highly acclaimed dairy products and organic crops are produced on farmland protected by MALT conservation easements, which total more than 40,000 acres on 62 family farms and ranches. To learn more about Marin’s family farms and the food they produce, visit www.malt.org.

The California Farmland Conservancy Program is designed to ensure that the state’s most valuable farmland will not be developed. Begun in 1996, the bond-supported CFCP has provided $59 million in grant funding to permanently shield 40,000 acres of the state’s best and most vulnerable agricultural land from development. For more information about the California Farmland Conservancy Program, visit www.conservation.ca.gov/dlrp.

To learn more about agricultural conservation easements or to view a sample conservation easement, click here.

For a complete list of MALT's agriculture conservation easements, download a PDF here.