The Resource Renewal Institute (RRI) is a left-of-center environmentalist advocacy group located in northern California. RRI was founded by prominent California environmentalist activist Huey Johnson in 1985 and focuses on environmental preservation and habitat restoration, particularly at the Point Reyes National Seashore and Butte Creek. ^{1 2 1 2 3}

In 2025, it was reported that RRI was party to a controversial settlement with the National Park Service that forced multi-generational ranchers to be removed from their land in Northern California. RRI and several other left-of-center environmentalist organizations reportedly coordinated with the Biden administration to reach a settlement removing the ranchers while forcing the ranchers to sign non-disclosure agreements in order to establish environmental protections over land close to Point Reyes National Seashore.  ⁴

History and Activities

The Resource Renewal Institute was founded by Huey Johnson, a prominent left-of-center environmental activist who made a name for himself opposing real estate development north of San Francisco in the 1970s. Johnson founded RRI in 1985 after working as the California Secretary of Resources from 1977 to 1982 under Governor Jerry Brown (D). ^{1 2}

RRI has three main program focus areas: public lands, oceans and rivers, and “working landscapes.” ⁵

Its public lands project seeks to restore Point Reyes National Seashore in the National Park System in Northern California. The restoration focuses on rehabilitating the Native Tule elk by increasing elk territory through the removal of cattle ranchers from nearby grazing land. ^{6 4}

RRI’s oceans and rivers project focuses on protecting ocean biodiversity and ensuring clean river water. ⁷

RRI launched its working landscapes programs in 2012 to promote raising small freshwater fish in rice fields. ⁸

RRI also provides fiscal sponsorship to organizations and individual environmentalists, including environmentalist writer Jacques Leslie, Ocellus Media, the Chief Wilderness Protection League, the Washoe Meadows Community, Californians for Western Wilderness, and the Public Trust Alliance. ⁹

Leadership

The president of the Resource Renewal Institute is Deborah (Deb) Moskowitz. Moskowitz was previously the administrator of RRI from 2012 to 2017. Previously, she was a project director and health systems analyst at UnitedHealth Group. ^{10 11}

Controversy

In January 2025, Resource Renewal Institute was party to a settlement between the National Park Service and multiple dairy farms, cattle ranches, and other animal-agriculture concerns that forced family-owned ranches to vacate their leases on federal properties adjacent to the Point Reyes National Seashore in Northern California. The settlement was agreed to for an undisclosed sum in the final days of the Biden administration. ⁴

The settlement is the result of years of lawsuits filed by RRI and other environmentalist advocacy groups against the National Park Service. RRI and the other groups argued that a National Park Service lease with ranchers harmed the environment and scenic values, including by producing carbon emissions. In 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resource Committee investigated the settlement for its lack of transparency, with members of the committee alleging the Biden administration coordinated with the environmentalist groups to shut down family farms. The ranchers were allegedly forced to sign non-disclosure agreements, with the Natural Resources Committee arguing that the ranchers had been pressured by the National Park Service to “keep quiet.” ⁴

Other environmentalist groups that were party to the settlement include the Center for Biological Diversity, the Western Watersheds Project, and Advocates for the West. ⁴

Financials

According to tax filings, in 2023, the Resource Renewal Institute reported $1,453,368 in revenue, $559,118 in expenses, and $1,833,174 in assets. Of the organization’s expenses, $218,788 was spent on promoting rice cultivation using fish, $140,255 for its restoring Point Reyes initiatives, and $102,980 for its instream water transfers program in Butte Creek. Of its revenue, RRI received $828,754 from contributions, gifts, and grants and $590,221 from sales of assets. ³

That same year, RRI reported giving a grant of $1,000 to Friends of the Butte Creek to support a research partnership, and a grant of $8,892 to Californians for Western Wilderness as a fiscal sponsorship. ³

1. “Our Story.” Resource Renewal Institute. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.rri.org/our-story.
2. “The Trailblazer: Founder Huey Johnson.” Trust for Public Land. January 12, 2024. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.tpl.org/blog/trailblazer-memory-trust-public-land-founder-huey-johnson.
3. Resource Renewal Institute. Return of an Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). 2023.
4. Catenacci, Thomas. “Republicans Probe Secret Biden-Era Settlement With Green Groups To Shut Down Family Ranches.” Washington Free Beacon. April 10, 2025. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://freebeacon.com/politics/republicans-probe-secret-biden-era-settlement-with-green-groups-to-shut-down-family-ranches/.
5.  “Our Programs.” Resource Renewal Institute. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.rri.org/our-programs.
6. “Public Lands.” Resource Renewal Institute. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.rri.org/public-lands.
7. “Ocean + Rivers Programs.” Resource Renewal Institute. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.rri.org/oceans-and-rivers.
8. “Working Landscapes: Fish in the Fields.” Resource Renewal Instituted. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.rri.org/working-landscapes.
9. “Sponsored Programs.” Resource Renewal Institute. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.rri.org/sponsored-programs.
10. “Our People.” Resource Renewal Institute. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.rri.org/people.
11. “Deborah Moskowitz.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/debmosk/.