An Honest Economy for Modoc County
California's forgotten corner — 9,000 people, wide open rangeland, and zero patience for empty promises
Modoc County is high desert ranching country on the Oregon and Nevada borders. People here are fiercely independent and self-reliant. They don't want the government in their lives — they want the government to do its job and then get out of the way. In 2023, grasshopper infestations wiped out over $52 million in crops and rangeland because federal agencies failed to act in time. Today, the return of gray wolves to the high desert is costing ranchers tens of thousands of dollars per wolf, per year — and the federal government has no answer. And an enormous share of Modoc — the Modoc National Forest alone covers over 1.6 million acres — is federal land whose management decisions get made in Washington, far from the ranchers and communities who depend on it every day. These four bills hold the government accountable, invest in the basics, and respect Modoc's independence.
The Government Failed Modoc. These Bills Fix That.
Modoc County lost $52 million to grasshoppers because federal agencies didn't spray on time. Gray wolves have returned to the high desert and the federal government still has no program to help ranchers manage the cattle losses — losses documented at $69,000 to $162,000 per wolf, per year. Ranchers can't get affordable broadband, healthcare, or insurance in a county where the nearest specialist is hours away. And over a million acres of federal land get managed by Washington administrators who've never attended a Modoc County Board of Supervisors meeting. These aren't campaign promises — they're drafted federal legislation that holds the government accountable when it fails, invests in the basics every community deserves, and respects the independence that defines Modoc. Read them yourself.
American Agriculture Resilience & Pest Management Act
$52 million in losses because the government didn't do its job — this bill makes sure it never happens again
In 2023, grasshopper swarms destroyed crops and rangeland across Modoc County. Ranchers begged federal agencies to spray. The response came too late — or didn't come at all. The damage topped $52 million. Modoc County is specifically named as the case study in this bill because what happened here should never happen to any agricultural community again. The bill creates a $5 billion Pest Suppression Trust Fund — self-funded through existing USDA mechanisms, not new taxes — that pays ranchers for documented losses when federal agencies fail to act on time. It sets mandatory response deadlines for federal pest management and creates a standing rapid-response capacity so the government is ready before infestations become disasters. It also funds integrated pest management research tailored to dryland ranching conditions, biological control alternatives, and early-warning monitoring systems that alert producers before swarms reach critical density. And it establishes clear accountability: when the feds fail, they pay. Period.
Wolf-Livestock Coexistence & Integrated Spatial Management
$69,000 to $162,000 per wolf, per year — and not a single federal program designed to prevent it. Until now.
Gray wolves are back in Modoc, Siskiyou, and Shasta. The losses are documented and they are large: between $69,000 and $162,000 per wolf, per year in reduced calf weaning weights, lower pregnancy rates from chronic stress, and increased management labor. Section 1106 of the From Seashore to Stockyard Act is the first federal proposal that treats this as a spatial-management problem, not a paperwork problem. The bill funds voluntary wolf prey-zone buffers on 10 to 15 percent of marginal or remote rangeland — engineered through habitat restoration and cultural burning to support native elk and mule deer at densities ten times annual wolf consumption, anchoring packs away from cattle. It funds drylot calving protection grants up to $100,000 per operation — documented to reduce wolf-related losses by 88 percent by excluding predators during the high-vulnerability neonatal period. It adds range rider grants up to $50,000 per year, virtual fencing cost-share up to 60 percent, and a 30 percent integrated coexistence tax credit capped at $75,000 per operation per year. And it offers 20-year ESA Safe Harbor for ranchers who build prey zones — so creating habitat for a listed predator never becomes a regulatory trap. Tribal Nations lead cultural burning for prey-zone management through self-determination contracts. Every dollar voluntary. Every program optional.
Rural Prosperity & Security Act
Nine thousand people, one county — and the same right to broadband, healthcare, and insurance as everyone else
Modoc County has the smallest population in CA-2 and some of the biggest infrastructure gaps in California. The nearest hospital with specialty care is a long drive on two-lane roads — for emergencies, that distance costs lives. Insurance companies are pulling out of high-desert communities because their risk models don't account for the reality of dryland ranching. Broadband is so limited that kids can't reliably do homework online, ranchers can't access real-time markets and weather data, and telehealth — the most practical solution to Modoc's healthcare distance problem — is unavailable to the families who need it most. This bill doesn't try to turn Modoc into something it's not. It invests in the basic infrastructure that every American community deserves: broadband to every home so ranchers and families can access markets, education, and medical care; telehealth infrastructure so Alturas residents can see specialists without driving to Redding; healthcare workforce recruitment with loan forgiveness for providers who commit to rural shortage areas; a stabilized insurance market so ranchers and homeowners can protect what they've built; and water security investments in the Pit River and Goose Lake basins that Modoc's agricultural economy depends on.
Federal Lands Stewardship, Agricultural Resilience & Right of Return Act
Over 1.6 million federal acres in Modoc — managed in Washington. This bill gives ranchers a seat at the table.
The Modoc National Forest alone covers over 1.6 million acres — and that's before counting the Tule Lake and Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuges, BLM grazing allotments, and other federal holdings that together make the federal government the dominant landowner in the county. Washington administrators make management decisions that determine whether Modoc ranchers have access to grazing allotments, water rights, and forest resources — often with no meaningful local input. This bill changes that power dynamic. It requires public hearings before any federal land management decision that displaces or materially affects agricultural stewards — the transparency that has been systematically absent when ranchers lose grazing rights or allotments through administrative rulemaking. It establishes a right of return for agricultural families displaced from federal lands when circumstances allow, recognizing that multi-generational stewardship creates a legitimate claim to continued access. It protects existing grazing allotments from being eliminated by rule without Congressional authorization and full environmental review. It mandates local coordination — Modoc County officials and ranchers must be consulted before, not after, major federal land decisions. And it recognizes tribal co-management authority for the Pit River Tribe and other Modoc-area nations whose ancestral relationship to this land predates the federal ownership entirely.
Every Bill Meets These Standards
No mandates. No overreach. Drafted legislation tested against eight ironclad principles. Read the bills and check the math.
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