Recreation Archives

How Public and Private Dollars Come Together to Protect Marin Farmland

May 20, 2026

The story behind 59,000 protected acres — and the public-private partnership that made it possible.

Vibrant spring grass in Marin County rangelands. - MALT

This is Your Brain on Spring Grass

May 8, 2026

Grass fever is real. Here’s what’s behind it.

Why Cowboys Still Wear Blue Jeans

April 29, 2026

It’s embarrassing to admit, but for the past few years I’ve been actively pretending to be a cowboy. I start most mornings with Toby Keith’s “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” playing on repeat in my head. It started with wrestling goats — learning to manage a small herd on our twenty acres just north of San…

Remembering Rick Lafranchi

April 16, 2026

We are deeply saddened by the unexpected passing of Rick Lafranchi, a beloved member of the Lafranchi family of Nicasio and a tireless ambassador for West Marin agriculture. Our hearts go out to his wife Debby, his siblings Randy, Scott, Jan, Diane, and Kimberly, his children and grandchildren, and to everyone who had the privilege…

MALT Awards $400,000 in the Fifth Round of Its Small Grants Program

April 15, 2026

Marin agriculture is in transition. The pressures are real and immediate: rising costs, limited land access, housing for workers, a next generation trying to find its footing — all against the backdrop of a changing climate that is reshaping what it means to farm and ranch here. MALT’s small grants program is one part of…

Marin County Approves Funding to Protect Tunnel Hill Ranch in Tomales

April 7, 2026

Update, May 21, 2026: We’re thrilled to announce that the Tunnel Hill Ranch easement officially closed on March 20, 2026 — permanently protecting this 110-acre Tomales gateway property and marking MALT’s 99th conservation easement. Thank you to the Etemad family, Marin County, and every donor who made this possible. The Marin County Board of Supervisors…

Jennifer Beretta at the Dolcini Jersey Dairy, Marin County.

Jennifer Beretta: What It Takes To Keep A Dairy Thriving

February 25, 2026

Jennifer Beretta can’t always remember her phone number, but she remembers cow numbers from 15 years ago. That kind of commitment—to heritage, to family, to land—is what keeps agriculture thriving in Marin County.

Moira Kuhn of Marin Roots Farm stands beside a weathered Kubota tractor in a field at the MALT-protected Volpi Ranch in Marin County.

Moira Kuhn: Building a Farm on Borrowed Ground

February 23, 2026

Moira Kuhn has farmed Marin County for over two decades without ever owning the land—and what’s at stake if farmers like her can’t stay.

Rolling green hills of Spring Valley Ranch at sunset, with cattle grazing in the valley below and the Soulajule Reservoir winding through the landscape, surrounded by protected Marin County ranchland.

How to Read a Ranch: What One Photograph Tells Us

February 19, 2026

What 1,179 acres of protected farmland actually does — and why it matters

Dayna Ghirardelli leans against wooden corral rails at Duncan Ranch, wearing a black pullover and jeans, with cattle handling equipment and green pastures visible behind her

Dayna Ghirardelli: One Woman’s Fight for North Bay Farms

February 11, 2026

Dayna Ghirardelli led the coalition that defeated Measure J by 85%, protecting Sonoma County’s family farms from a ballot measure that threatened to shut down ranching operations across the North Bay.