"We are not asking you to disregard risk," Harlan told the committee. "We're asking you to stop treating the consequences of a disputed drainage change as if they were evidence of Mr. Puit's inability to farm."
Elise looked at Warren. "What outcome are you asking for?"
He had prepared a speech about his father, the land, and his unwillingness to sell. Instead, he found himself answering in plain language. "I want the bank to stop using somebody else's water to tell me I've failed. I want the damage examined fairly, and I want enough time to find out whether this place has a lawful future that doesn't require surrendering it."
Elise wrote something in her notes. She said the bank would recommend a temporary standstill on contested enforcement steps while the review continued, subject to formal approval and preservation of the lender's rights. She also asked for an independent assessment of the wetland proposal, not because prospective credits were cash, but because a credible future land-use plan could affect how the collateral and repayment options should be understood. Warren heard the words temporary and subject to approval and was careful not to mistake them for victory.
The standstill agreement was signed later that month. It gave Warren time, not absolution, and required him to maintain the remaining farm operations and keep the bank informed of material changes. Harlan warned that the bank could resume ordinary remedies if the agreement expired without a solution. Warren understood. Time had been the one thing Gerald seemed determined to take from him, and now he had a little of it back.
Miriam used that time to commission additional feasibility work. Her team estimated that the most realistic project would restore and protect a wetland complex within the lower eighty acres, with a core area functioning as seasonal and semipermanent habitat and a buffer managed for native vegetation. The rest of the farm would remain outside the proposed conservation boundary, allowing Warren to continue ordinary agriculture on the higher fields. The design would require correcting the disputed drainage and establishing a legally approved water regime instead of relying on uncontrolled discharge from Delta Ridge.
Odell explained that regulators might recognize a smaller number of functional credits than the acreage count suggested. An acre of land was not automatically a credit, and a proposed gain in habitat did not become a tradable asset simply because a consultant believed in it. The ecological baseline, site history, approved methods, milestones, and performance standards would determine what could be earned, if anything. Warren listened carefully because this was finally a kind of arithmetic he respected: uncertain inputs, documented assumptions, and no pretending that a high number on paper was the same as cash.