Federal Lands Stewardship Acts
Bringing Our Ranching Families Home—And Keeping Them There
🦌 The Point Reyes Story
Ranching begins at Point Reyes
Spaletta family starts ranching
Mendoza family arrives
President Kennedy promises families can stay
Families forced out by settlement
This bill brings them home!
😟 What Went Wrong
Broken Promises
In 1962, ranching families sold their land with a promise they could keep ranching forever. That promise was broken.
Unfair Settlement
A 2025 lawsuit settlement kicked families off the land—without even asking them.
Wildfire Danger
When ranchers leave, brush piles up. Without grazing, we get more catastrophic wildfires.
✅ Our Two-Part Solution
These companion bills work together to fix the wrong and build a better future.
🏠 Human Sustenance Act
Bringing Families Home
- ✓ Declares 2025 settlement void
- ✓ Creates Right of Return for displaced families
- ✓ $100 million Restitution Fund
- ✓ Up to $3 million per family for losses
- ✓ 20-year leases with automatic renewal
- ✓ Relocates tule elk to proper habitat
🌱 Agricultural Resilience Act
Building the Future
- ✓ 5-Tier reward system up to $400/acre
- ✓ Tribal co-management partnerships
- ✓ Creates 500 rural jobs in CA-2
- ✓ Water priority for earth-friendly farms
- ✓ $1.4 billion/year for all programs
- ✓ Reduces wildfire fuel loads
The Right of Return
Any ranching family pushed off federal land in the last 10 years can come back. Here's how:
Family submits petition
Government MUST make offer within 180 days
Family gets 20-year lease with automatic renewal
Can pass land to children and grandchildren
💰 Making Families Whole
Families who were pushed out deserve compensation for what they lost:
Business Value
Up to $3,000,000
For lost business and improvements
Heritage Payment
Up to $250,000
$25,000 per decade of family history
Transition Help
$100,000
For moving and restarting
🌱 The 5-Tier Reward System
The better you care for the land, the more you earn!
Getting Started
$50/acre
Soil Health
$100/acre
Going Organic
$200/acre
+10% wage bonus
Certified Organic
$300/acre
+20% wage bonus
Climate Hero
$400/acre
+40% wage bonus
🪶 Honoring Tribal Nations
Native Americans managed this land for thousands of years using fire and sustainable practices. These bills honor that wisdom through true partnership:
Equal decision-making on federal lands
Cultural burning authorized and respected
Traditional knowledge integrated into management
Tribal employment preferences on co-managed lands
🦌 Right Animal, Right Place
Wilderness Areas
🦌🐻🦅Free-roaming wildlife in their natural habitat
Pastoral Zones
🐄🐑🐐Family ranches producing food for families
Tule elk will be humanely relocated to proper wilderness habitat—not competing with ranchers for the same grass.
📋 Who Gets First Priority?
Displaced Families
Ranchers pushed off their land in the last 10 years
Heritage Ranchers
Families with 3+ generations or 50+ years on the land
Beginning & Veteran Farmers
New farmers and military veterans starting out
Tribal Enterprises
Native American agricultural operations
👨👩👧👦 Real Families, Real History
These bills are about real people with deep roots in our community:
The Kehoe Family
Over a century of stewardship
The Mendoza Family
More than 100 years of dairy farming
The Spaletta Family
150+ years on Point Reyes land
"The families who've cared for this land for generations aren't the problem—they're the solution. It's time to bring them home."
— Gregory Burgess💵 Fiscally Responsible
Human Sustenance Act
$100 Million
For restitution and transition
Agricultural Resilience Act
$1.4 Billion/Year
For all stewardship programs
Both bills are deficit-neutral—paid for through timber sales, grazing fees, and carbon programs. No new debt!
Ready to Bring Our Families Home?
This is what "Show Your Work" looks like—real legislation you can read today.
See All 120+ Bills