The High Lonesome Society: Citizen Blueprint
This document is a model legislative framework drafted by the High Lonesome Society. It is an educational and grassroots advocacy tool designed to prove that active human management—logging, ranching, and hunting—creates a superior ecological and economic reality compared to the current “Nature balances itself without humans” philosophy.
This is not an enacted government law. It is the standard we are demanding. Download and distribute freely.
A Bill
"To establish the Abundant Wild Lands (AWLA) pilot program, to mandate active human management of timber, wildlife, and hydrological resources, to prioritize human recreation opportunities using biological yield over passive preservation, to restore local economic sovereignty, and for other purposes."
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
Section 1. Short Title
This Act may be cited as the "Abundant Wild Lands (AWLA) Act."
Section 2. Findings & Purpose
(a) Findings.— The Legislature finds that:
- (1) The current federal land management doctrine of passive preservation and "intactness" has resulted in loss or restriction of human access, catastrophic fuel loads, stagnant watersheds, sterile wildlife habitats, and the severe economic depression of rural communities.
- (2) Human intervention, when properly applied through active logging, grazing, water diversion, and predator control, acts as a primary catalyst for biological abundance, soil health, and water retention.
- (3) The human spirit fundamentally requires deep, active connection with the natural world. Human interaction with nature, through recreation and hunting will be prioritized by enhancing nature using human disturbance to revitalize ecosystems. Humans are a keystone species.
(b) Purpose.— The overarching philosophical mandate of this Act is to establish a minimum 100,000-acre pilot program where human engagement and game animal abundance are the absolute priority. This study area is explicitly designed to optimize the human experience by empirically demonstrating that a wild ecosystem managed for maximum human use, abundant hunting, and abundant fishing is ecologically and economically superior to unmanaged, locked-down wilderness.
Section 3. Designation & Audit
(a) Designation.— The managing agency shall designate one contiguous tract of no less than 100,000 acres of federal or state public land as an Abundant Wild Lands (AWLA).
(b) Criteria.— The designated area must geographically contain both winter and summer wildlife range and contain a high density of stagnant, old-growth or over-abundant small-diameter timber.
(c) Baseline Audit.— Prior to implementation, an independent 90-day audit shall catalog current surface water flow, groundwater tables, timber board-foot volume, and estimated game and predator populations to establish a comparative baseline.
Section 4. Active Forest Shaping
(a) Commercial Harvesting Mandate.— The AWLA shall be immediately opened to aggressive commercial timber harvesting to remove stagnant canopy and ladder fuels.
(b) Mechanized Harvesting.— To address over-abundant, stagnant sapling growth, the use of heavy mechanized forestry equipment is explicitly mandated. Such mechanized action is legally recognized as a necessary ecological disturbance required to break soil capping, integrate biomass into the dirt, and maintain a wild, healthy soil profile.
(c) Landscape Shaping.— Harvesting shall not be uniform. Managers must purposefully shape the landscape by creating:
(1) Engineered Meadows: Completely cleared zones designed to maximize sunlight penetration, snowpack accumulation, and high-yield grass production.
(2) Thinned Transition Zones: Areas where up to 90 percent of small-diameter timber is removed to eliminate resource competition while maintaining necessary thermal cover for wildlife.
(d) Contoured Edge Requirement.— All timber harvests shall utilize "contoured edges" rather than linear clear-cut blocks to maximize the transition zones (edge habitat) necessary for ungulate forage and security.
(e) Biochar Reapplication Mandate.— To permanently restore the water cycle, a minimum of 10 percent of all biochar produced from small-diameter timber slash must be mechanically reapplied to the AWLA soil profile to guarantee aquifer retention and soil fertility.
(f) Prescribed Fire.— Land managers are fully authorized to utilize prescribed burning on harvested plots to eliminate residual slash and naturally sterilize the ground against invasive pests.
Section 5. Ecological Safeguards
(a) Machinery Decontamination.— A mandatory weed cleaning and inspection station shall be established at the primary entrance(s) to the AWLA logging zones.
(b) Certification of Equipment.— All mechanized equipment must be washed and certified weed-free prior to entry. Equipment maintains this certification so long as it remains strictly within the AWLA boundary.
(c) Substrate Import Restrictions.— Any gravel or aggregate imported into the AWLA must hold a certified weed-free designation.
(d) Mandated Quiet Periods.— To reduce sustained pressure on recovering wildlife populations, the AWLA shall observe a mandatory "Quiet Period" of no less than seven (7) consecutive days per calendar quarter. During this period, all commercial mechanized logging and heavy equipment operations shall be suspended.
Section 6. Hydrological Restoration
(a) Strategic Water Diversion.— To combat watershed runoff and aquifer depletion, surface water shall be actively diverted from primary drainages to create natural sub-irrigation systems across the AWLA.
(b) Meadow Enhancement.— Diverted water shall be routed to deliberately irrigate engineered meadows and grazing valleys, maximizing high-yield forage production.
(c) Recreational Ponds.— Earthworks shall be authorized to capture runoff in designated catchment basins, creating permanent ponds to hold water on the landscape, recharge the local aquifer, and establish new public fishing access.
(d) Beaver Reintroduction.— To assist mechanical water retention efforts, Castor canadensis (North American Beaver) shall be systematically reintroduced into targeted drainages within the AWLA.
Section 7. Biological Nutrient Cycling
(a) Grazing Mandate.— Heavy, high-density, short-duration rotational livestock grazing shall be mandated across the AWLA.
(b) Purpose.— Grazing allotments shall be designed specifically to use cattle hoof action to break capped soil crusts, trample biomass into the dirt, and naturally cycle nutrients without the use of synthetic fertilizers.
(c) Human-Guided "Inherding".— The AWLA explicitly rejects the passive reliance on automated GPS "virtual fencing" technology, which extracts capital from the rural economy and removes necessary human stewardship from the landscape. Instead, grazing permittees shall utilize a continuous human-guided herding model. Mounted range riders must remain with the herd to actively direct hoof action, maximize forage utilization, and enforce rotational targets within engineered meadows.
(d) Nighttime Predator Shielding.— To eliminate livestock depredation and heavily concentrate soil nutrient deposition, herds shall be gathered each evening into high-density, temporary paddocks utilizing portable electric fencing. Range riders shall maintain active camps immediately adjacent to these night paddocks, utilizing continuous human presence to naturally deter apex predators.
(e) Rural Apprenticeship and Job Creation.— Grazing management within the AWLA shall prioritize the employment of human capital over technological automation. Grazing fee structures and management funds shall be leveraged to support Range Rider apprenticeships, actively creating direct employment for cowboys and cowgirls, and securing the cultural heritage of active human-animal husbandry.
The AWLA mandates replacing tech with human presence. Review the financial and logistical pipelines supporting this mandate below:
Section 8. Predator-Prey Optimization
(a) Wolf Hunting Authority.— The AWLA is exempt from standard predator protections. Lethal removal of wolves by hunting and trapping is authorized 365 days a year, restricted only by the requirement for an individual to possess a single, low-cost AWLA management license offered every year.
(b) Cougar Management.— A minimum 6-month legal hunting season shall be established for mountain lions to suppress apex predation on recovering ungulate herds.
(c) Grizzly Bear Quotas.— Grizzly bear populations within the AWLA shall be actively managed via a highly regulated, limited-draw quota system.
(d) Ungulate Harvesting.— Initial hunting access for specific ungulates shall begin with the following regulations and expand as ungulate populations grow. Elk harvest shall be limited to spike-only, and mule deer harvest shall be managed through a limited-draw antlered buck system. Whitetail deer harvesting shall be regulated according to current populations, prioritizing antlered buck and whitetail doe harvest as long as populations allow. Harvesting of game animals through hunting and trapping shall be prioritized over specific predator population goals. Hunting and trapping opportunities must be expanded and used as the sole source of wildlife population control.
Section 9. Recreational Zoning
(a) Universal Abundance Mandate.— All zones within the AWLA, regardless of access type, shall be actively managed to maximize the abundance of natural beauty, harvestable wildlife populations, and human recreational utility.
(b) Three-Tiered Recreational Access.— To serve diverse outdoor pursuits while avoiding high-density impact clustering, the AWLA shall be distinctly zoned into three management tiers:
(1) Dispersed Campground Zones: Explicitly rejecting modern high-density models designed to densely pack human impact into minimal acreage, AWLA campgrounds shall feature widely dispersed, isolated sites to guarantee family privacy and genuine wilderness immersion.
(2) Roaded Access Zones: Designated corridors actively maintained for highway and off-highway vehicle (OHV) access, allowing the public to drive for wildlife viewing, reach active fishing sites, and access remote trailheads.
(3) Motorless Isolation Zones: Designated interior sectors strictly closed to motorized vehicles of any kind. These areas are entirely reserved for traditional hike-in and horseback (ride-in) access, providing a remote, rugged backcountry experience.
Section 10. Economic Solvency
(a) Local Economic Sovereignty.— 100 percent of the gross revenue generated within the AWLA from commercial timber sales, grazing leases, and AWLA-specific hunting tags shall be retained by the local county government and AWLA management district.
(b) Prohibition of Federal Subsidies.— The AWLA must achieve financial self-sufficiency through active resource management, strictly prohibiting the use of federal tax subsidies or corporate "Nature Credit" offsets to fund its operation.
(c) Prohibition of Natural Asset Monetization.— Natural processes, ecosystem services, and metrics of ecological intactness shall not be severed from the physical land, nor shall they be classified, minted, sold, or traded as an independent financial asset, natural capital token, or any type of nature credit.
Section 11. Litigation Reform & Shield
(a) Exclusive Venue and Jurisdiction.— To prevent forum shopping, any legal action, suit, or proceeding challenging the implementation of a project under this Act must be filed exclusively in the United States District Court encompassing the specific geographic location where the AWLA is physically located.
(b) Mandatory Public Cost Declaration.— Any complaint or petition filed to halt, delay, or enjoin an authorized project under this Act must prominently feature a sworn "Mandatory Public Cost Declaration" on its face. This declaration must detail the precise, projected economic cost of the litigation to the public, including: estimated lost tax revenue to local municipalities, total lost wages for local contractors, and the financial exposure related to increased wildfire risk. Failure to accurately file and publicly publish this declaration renders the lawsuit immediately dismissible for lack of standing.
(c) Injunctive Relief Bonding.— Before any court may issue a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order to halt a project authorized by this Act, any plaintiff organization must post a cash bond equal to 100 percent of the projected economic losses of the local county, the contractors, and the wage-earners for the duration of the delay. If the plaintiff does not ultimately prevail, this bond is immediately forfeited to the affected local government and contractors.
(d) "Total Victory" Fee Shifting.— A plaintiff challenging a project under this Act shall only be considered a "prevailing party" if they succeed on the primary substantive merits of the case resulting in the permanent cancellation of the project. If a plaintiff organization loses the case, or if they only succeed on procedural or technical counts that do not permanently halt the project, the plaintiff shall be liable for all legal fees, court costs, and verified economic damages incurred by the defending agencies, local municipalities, and local intervenors (including contractors, loggers, and ranchers) for the entire duration of the trial.