SandBar 9:1, April, 2010
Recommended citation: Bowling, Terra , Nature v. Commerce: Controversy abounds over oyster farm in the Point Reyes National Seashore , 9:1 SandBar 7 (2010).
Nature v. Commerce
Controversy abounds over oyster farm in the Point Reyes National Seashore
Terra Bowling, J.D.
In Drakes Estero, a marine estuary twenty-five miles northwest of San Francisco, harbor seals and other wildlife have shared the bay with an oyster farm since the 1930s.1 When the federal government purchased the land from property owners in 1962 to create the Point Reyes National Seashore, the owners retained the right of occupancy and use until 2012.2
When the National Park Service indicated that it would not renew the oyster farm’s permit, a controversy ignited between the family who owns the farm and the National Park Service. The conflict, which has been framed as a battle between nature and commerce, has scientists, residents, and political figures, including Senator Dianne Fienstein, landing on both sides of the debate.3
Reports
Kevin Lunny and his family, which had farmed nearby for three generations, purchased the oyster company in 2005.4 After Lunny began operations, the National Park Service (NPS) issued a series of reports presenting scientific information that described negative effects of the oyster farm on the Drakes Estero ecosystem.5 Among other things, the report stated that the farming operations were disrupting harbor seals and eelgrass. Lunny claimed that the NPS was trying to force him out of his lease.6
Last year, the National Academy of Sciences issued a report finding that the oyster farm did not appear to be harming the waters or wildlife of the area, including the native harbor seal population.7 The report criticized the NPS, stating that one report “selectively presented, over-interpreted or misrepresented the available scientific information on potential impacts of the oyster mariculture operation.”8 The NPS apologized for its erroneous reports and denied that it was trying to force Lunny from his lease before it expires in 2012.9
Lease Extensions
The National Park Service indicated that Lunny’s land would revert to wilderness when the lease expired in 2012, as required by federal law.10 Lunny lobbied for a lease extension.11 Senator Dianne Feinstein got involved in the dispute at around this time.12 She added a rider to the Interior Department’s appropriations bill that would have required the Department to extend permits by ten years.13 Soon after, however, the California Coastal Commission issued Lunny a $61,250 fine for placing shellfish in an area set aside for harbor seal protection. Lunny claimed the incident was the result of a mistake by one of his employees.14 Senator Feinstein reacted by modifying her bill to allow, but not require, a permit extension.15 Although Lunny’s lease has not been extended, in February, the NPS issued its first ten-year lease to another rancher within the Point Reyes National
Seashore.16
Conclusion
Many members of the community support the ranchers, noting its historical, as well as practical, importance to the area.17 Others worry that extending the leases may set a precedent for other private or commercial operations in the nation’s national parks.18 Regardless, the contentious fight between the NPS and Lunny bring reminders of the struggle to allocate our shores for multiple uses.
Endnote
1. National Academy of Sciences, Shellfish, Mariculture in Drakes Estero, Point Reyes National Seashore, California (2009).
2. Id.
3. Id.
4. Julie Cart, A Hotbed of Contention, L.A. Times, Dec. 27, 2009, at A41.
5. NAS, supra note 1.
6. Leslie Kaufman, Debate Flares on Limits of Nature and Commerce in Parks, N.Y. Times, Nov. 1, 2009.
7. NAS, supra note 1.
8. Id.
9. Cart, supra note 4.
10. Kaufman, supra note 6.
11. Cart, supra note 4.
12. Rob Rogers, Park Service Gives west Marin Ranches a Longer Lease on Life, Marin Independent Journal, Feb. 13, 2010.
13. Cart, supra note 4.
14. Id.
15. Id.
16. Rogers, supra note 12.
17. Kaufman, supra note 6.
18. Id.