Pictured: Albert, Bill, and Ellen Straus
AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS IMPERILS SUSTAINABILITY OF SMALL RURAL COMMUNITIES AND, WITH THEM, WEST MARIN’S AGRICULTURAL FUTURE
Western Marin County, colloquially referred to as West Marin, is a region world famous not only for its breathtaking natural beauty, but also for trailblazing sustainable and organic agriculture. From a distance the region looks like a picture-perfect ecosystem, but zoom in and the story becomes more complex, as small rural communities there struggle to survive.
Albert Straus, native son and the founder and CEO of Straus Family Creamery based just on the outskirts of the West Marin town of Marshall, has strong feelings about the current situation, and what it will take to help the region and its small towns thrive again.
Straus espouses a big-picture view of conservation, one that includes supporting the next generation of farmers, agricultural employees, teachers and other agricultural industry-related service employees with access to affordable land and housing.
