Federal Lands Stewardship and Human Sustenance Act

Specifically Title II: Point Reyes Restoration and Family Farm Priority. This bill explicitly addresses the management of Point Reyes National Seashore with the following provisions:

Restoration of Ranching & Zoning: It nullifies the "Scenic Landscape" zoning designated in the 2025 Revised Record of Decision and redesignates these lands as "Pastoral Zones" to be managed primarily for dairy and beef cattle ranching

Right of Return for Displaced Families: It establishes a "Steward Right of Return," allowing agricultural families who were displaced or lost permits (specifically mentioning the Kehoe, Mendoza, and Spaletta families) to petition for the reinstatement of their leases with 20-year terms .

Elk Management: It mandates a "Tule Elk Habitat Expansion and Translocation Program" to relocate elk from pastoral zones to designated wilderness areas to reduce conflict with agriculture .

Restitution Fund: It creates the "Agricultural Heritage Restitution Fund" to provide financial restitution to displaced stewards for the loss of business value and cultural heritage.

Regional Economic Support: Additionally, the Main Street Small Business & Tax Fairness Act designates Marin County (home to Point Reyes) as a "Designated Region" eligible for priority economic development funding and revolving loan funds.

Six Environmental Myths

In my opinion, these six myths have been driving the “SAVE THE PLANET!” environmentalists for decades now. It has NEVER been “SAVE THE PLANET!” It has ALWAYS been “SAVE THE HUMANS!” The planet will be fine with or without us. It created us and it will eventually move on from us until the sun goes nova. Now these same self righteous Environmentalists have become what they detest, superfunded corporations hiding behind the thin veneer of “We’re Non-Profit” as if that gives them some sort of moral authority over the rest of us and the for profit corporations. They have become billion dollar corporations in their own right who now, in my opinion , squeeze out individual families and the rest of us caught in between the two in their war against For Profit corporations who are the real environmental extractors for short term profit for their investors. The Non Profit Environmental organizations who close off our natural reserves to keep them “pristine” now do as much ecological damage, in my opinion, to the planet by forcing us to look elsewhere for our raw materials thereby causing OTHER countries to damage their ecosystems for our needs as well as polluting the plant with all those transportation costs. It is my opinion that they are just as bad as the For Profit corporations who clear cut our forests for short term profits. Both the For Profit and Non Profit Corporations involved with our natural resources have caused the Climate Change that is now beginning to ravage our food supplies (less arable land and increasing pests) and shelter supplies (wildfires that burn our timber and pests that destroy our healthy trees).

False Impression 1: Humans as Separate from Nature

The Myth: The prevailing environmental orthodoxy, often termed the "Pristine Myth," posits that nature is only truly "natural" when it is devoid of human influence. This view frames human activity—specifically agriculture—as a contamination of the wilderness. The Reality: Humans as Keystone Species. Scientific research in the Central Hardwood Region and California oak savannas demonstrates that humans have functioned as a "keystone species" for millennia.

Fire & Disturbance: Indigenous peoples and early settlers actively managed landscapes through the use of fire to maintain "early successional habitats"—open meadows, grasslands, and oak woodlands. These habitats support specific wildlife (e.g., deer, elk, certain bird species) that decline when forests close in.
Loss of Diversity: Removing humans does not return the land to a stable "Eden." Instead, it often leads to a monoculture of dense, shade-tolerant vegetation or invasive scrub (like the coyote brush at Point Reyes) that suffocates the biodiversity associated with open, managed landscapes. The "wild" look of Point Reyes in 1962 was actually a human-created artifact; removing the creator destroys the creation.

False Impression 2: Adaptation is Natural (for animals) but Unnatural (for humans)

The Myth: When a tule elk adapts to a new range, it is celebrated as "evolution" or "rewilding." When a rancher adapts the landscape (e.g., creating stock ponds, managing pasture) to sustain a herd, it is condemned as "destruction." The Reality: Co-Evolution of Working Landscapes. Agroecological studies show that multi-functional landscapes—where agriculture and wildlands coexist—often support higher biodiversity than isolated protected areas.

The Matrix: The "agricultural matrix" connects isolated patches of habitat. Ranching lands serve as corridors for wildlife movement that would otherwise be blocked by suburban development.
Hydrology: Ranchers often create and maintain stock ponds that serve as critical breeding grounds for amphibians like the California red-legged frog, especially as natural wetlands dry up due to climate change. The adaptation of the rancher creates a "biological carpet" that retains water in the landscape longer than unmanaged, eroded soil.

False Impression 3: Extinction is the Natural Order (except when we cause it)

The Myth: Conservation efforts must freeze ecosystems in a specific state to prevent extinction, viewing change as a failure. The Reality: Dynamic Equilibrium vs. Static Preservation. "Fortress Conservation" attempts to arrest the natural flux of ecosystems. However, true resilience requires the ability to adapt to disturbance.

Resilience: Working lands are managed for productivity, which requires maintaining soil health and vegetation cover. This active management often makes these lands more resilient to climate shocks (drought, extreme storms) than unmanaged "wilderness" areas that accumulate massive fuel loads until they suffer catastrophic failure (megafires). The rancher's goal is sustainable yield, which aligns with the avoidance of ecological collapse.

False Impression 4: The Biological Imperative (Only "Wild" Biology Matters)

The Myth: Domesticated animals (cattle, sheep) are "unnatural" intruders that degrade the ecosystem, while "wild" animals (elk) are inherently beneficial. The Reality: Functional Redundancy. In the absence of the Pleistocene megafauna (mammoths, ground sloths, ancient bison) that once roamed California, cattle often perform the necessary ecological function of large herbivores.

Nutrient Cycling: Large grazers cycle nutrients through manure, stimulate grass growth through grazing pressure, and maintain open prairie structures required by raptors and pollinators.
Substitution: Removing cattle from Point Reyes without a sufficient population of native grazers leads to the loss of coastal prairie habitat. The "biological imperative" requires grazing, not necessarily specific species. Cattle can be managed to mimic native herbivory patterns.

False Impression 5: Farmers as Destroyers, Not Protectors

The Myth: Agriculture is inherently extractive and antagonistic to the environment. The Reality: The Agrarian Steward. Wendell Berry’s philosophy of agrarianism provides the counter-argument: the "agrarian mind" is local, intimate, and bound to the health of the watershed.

Incentive Structure: A farmer who intends to pass the land to their children has the supreme incentive to preserve topsoil, water quality, and biodiversity. They are the "eyes on the land."
Contrast with Industry: The "industrial mind"—whether it belongs to a Roseburg executive or a remote NPS administrator—treats the land as an abstraction (a resource to be mined or a park to be visited). This disconnect leads to the kind of negligence seen in the Mill Fire.

False Impression 6: The Necessity of Food/Shelter is Optional

The Myth: We can restrict production in our local environment (e.g., closing mills, ending ranching) without consequences, implying that food and shelter are optional or can be magically sourced elsewhere. The Reality: Outsourcing Environmental Costs. Closing the Weed mill or the Point Reyes ranches does not reduce the global demand for lumber or dairy.

Leakage: It merely shifts production to areas with lower environmental standards or increases the carbon footprint of the goods through transportation.
Ethical Consumption: Local production is the only ethical form of consumption because it forces the community to live with the ecological consequences of its needs. Exporting production while importing goods is a form of environmental colonialism.