The Dillon Beach area is in one of the most northern points of Marin County. [Californiabeaches.com]
Nearly 500 acres of lightly developed land in coastal Marin will be preserved for “permanent conservation and stewardship” after the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria acquired the Dillon Beach Ranch property through a so-called “land back” transfer from the Western Rivers Conservancy.
The property, which includes the town of Dillon Beach as well as portions of coastline and the Estero de San Antonio, has changed hands multiple times in recent years. After decades as a private cattle ranch, the Western Rivers Conservancy—a nonprofit which works with tribal nations to acquire water-adjacent land for the conservation of fish and wildlife—purchased the property in 2023 through funding assistance from Bay Area conservation agency the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. This year, with additional resources from the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, Western Rivers worked with Graton Rancheria for the land-back conveyance of a total of 466 acres in Dillon Beach to the tribe.
The Land Back Movement is a growing effort to reestablish Indigenous sovereignty over ancestral lands. The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, whose tribe has Indigenous roots throughout Marin and Sonoma, is also a partner with the National Park Service in management of the Point Reyes National Seashore.
“This area and surrounding lands are within the ancestral homelands of the Coast Miwok, and our descendants are still present there today,” tribal Chairman Greg Sarris said in a press release announcing the acquisition. “We look forward to working closely with Western Rivers Conservancy and state partners to craft a durable management plan that forever preserves and protects Dillon Beach Ranch, the Estero de San Antonio and the irreplaceable cultural and natural resources they harbor.”
