In the late 1950s, Marin County Democrat and environmentalist Clem Miller, elected to Congress in 1958, spearheaded a campaign to preserve the windswept Point Reyes Peninsula from development. The National Park Service eventually acquired the privately-owned Bear Valley Ranch, Miller's political ally, which now serves as the administrative heart of Point Reyes National Seashore. Aiming to protect an undeveloped shoreline near a major population center, Miller collaborated with Senator Clair Engle and conservationists, leading to the passage of the Point Reyes National Seashore Act in 1962. The law authorized the landscape as a national seashore, with additional ranches and properties being acquired over the following decade. Today, the seashore encompasses approximately 71,000 acres of federal and non-federal land, with Bear Valley Ranch now being used as the park's headquarters, primary visitor center, picnic area, and a major trailhead. A small parcel of the property serves as Miller's final resting place, symbolizing his significant role in preserving this unique coastal landscape.