Oyster farm roils California county

Oyster farm roils California county
BY JULIE CART | Sun, Jan 3, 3:12 AM


Drakes Bay Oyster Company oyster farmers pull in "strings" of oysters from a rack that floats in the middle of Drakes Estero in the Point Reyes National Seashore, December 2, 2009. The oysters are then stacked on a small barge and will eventually be transported to the Drakes Bay Oyster Company for separation and cleaning. (POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE, Calif. -- Kevin Lunny is an oysterman, the proprietor of Drakes Bay Oyster Co., the largest oyster farm in California. He operates this and other family businesses from the lush coastal enclave of Point Reyes National Seashore, which means he has the National Park Service as a landlord....



The oyster permit that the Lunnys took over was originally granted for 40 years. In addition to the right to farm more than 1,000 acres in the tidal area of the estero, Lunny leases about 1{ acres of land for a cannery and other operations, paying about $3,500 a year.

Those conditions are likely to change should Interior Secretary Ken Salazar choose to act on Feinstein's rider and extend Lunny's oyster permit. In addition to a new environmental review, the property lease would be reassessed at current market value, according to the Feinstein legislation, which was attached as a rider to an Interior Department appropriations bill.

Given the rancor surrounding the issue, it's not likely anyone will be satisfied with whatever Salazar decides.

Sally Gale, who runs an organic farm and has spoken in support of Lunny, says she knows and likes all parties in the controversy. She said she doesn't know what to think anymore.

"It's all political. Everybody leans on various legal documents. Everyone has his own interpretation of history," she said. "We're talking past each other. It's a miserable situation, people have dug themselves in.

"This is a small community. I want to say, 'Can't we all get along?' It's been very destructive to our community. I regret it."

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