[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 12, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5367-S5368]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       BOYD STEWART: IN MEMORIUM

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I honor and share with my 
colleagues the memory of a very special man, Boyd Stewart of Marin 
County, who died April 17, 2004. He was 101 years old.
  Boyd Stewart was born at the Old Cottage Hospital in San Rafael in 
1903. He grew up in a time when students rode horses to school. His 
family ran a cattle ranch in Nicasio and then moved it to Olema while 
Boyd was growing up. After 3 years at Stanford University, he came back 
to the ranch when his father passed away and managed it for the rest of 
his adult life.
  Boyd Stewart deeply felt the need to preserve open space for future 
generations, and he knew it could be done in a way that was compatible 
with agriculture. He was instrumental in the creation of Point Reyes 
National Seashore and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. 
Concerned about the loss of farmland to urban development, in the 1960s 
he advocated the controversial idea that the Federal Government buy 
West Marin ranches for inclusion in the park and lease them back to the 
ranchers. His family's ranch transferred ownership to the National Park 
Service in 1970.. For decades he remained committed to his

[[Page S5368]]

convictions, often in the face of opposition from powerful forces.
  Mr. Stewart served as a leading member of the Marin County Farm 
Bureau for more than 80 years. He also sat on the boards of the West 
Marin Chamber of Commerce and the Marin Humane Society. A cattle 
rancher by profession, he was given the Marin Humane Society's Humane 
Man of the Century award. Two years ago, Boyd Stewart was honored with 
the California Excellence in Range Management Award, along with his 
daughter, Jo Ann Stewart, and his granddaughter, Amanda Wisby, who 
continue to run the Stewart family ranch today.
  Boyd was a dynamic figure in West Marin. My staff and I always knew 
we could call on him for invaluable information and sound advice. He 
was the leading expert on West Marin agriculture, to whom agriculture 
commissioners turned for advice and information. His presence and his 
accomplishments in preserving Marin open space were greater than any 
other single person in Marin County in the last century. He was also a 
deeply-loved member of the Marin community and a wonderful, unique man 
with a clear mind and steady presence who will be deeply missed. We 
take comfort in knowing that countless future generations will benefit 
from his courage, his vision and his leadership. 

                          ____________________