We've talked California raisins before, but the latest is about oysters. Specifically, an oyster farm in a Marin County National Seashore, the Drakes Bay Oyster Company.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar visited the place a couple of weeks ago to see if he would be willing to extend the farm's existing license, which has been in place for decades. No deal, he concluded, despite lobbying efforts on the owner's behalf by powerful U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. He ordered the farm to shut down in 90 days.
When that failed, the next step was federal court, and earlier this week the oyster farmer sued in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Here's the complaint, if you want to read the details. The claims center on federal environmental laws and the Administrative Procedures Act, but yes, there's the obligatory takings claim, alleging that the order to cease operations was a taking of all economically beneficial use of its immuature oysters in Drakes Bay, and of the leases the farm has with California to use the water bottom.
More on the story from the San Francisco Chronicle, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat ("Oyster farm's closure could lead to higher prices" - ya think?), and the free weekly East Bay Express ("The Real Reasons for Ken Salazar's Decision"). For some entertaining reading, check out the Express's black-helicopter tinged article about the links between the oyster farm and the dreaded Koch Brothers, "Drakes Bay Oyster Company Turns to Koch Brothers-Linked Group." The lede hits just about every red-meat buzzword, and should be enshrined in the "alternative press" hall of fame:
Drakes Bay Oyster Company, which has portrayed itself as a progressive and environmentally sustainable business and has been supported heavily by Democratic US Senator Dianne Feinstein, has joined forces with a secretive group that has ties to the ultra-conservative Koch Brothers and the Republican Party. The secretive group, which calls itself Cause of Action, is leading the legal fight for the oyster company against the Obama administration’s decision late last week to close the oyster farm at Point Reyes National Seashore and create the first marine wilderness on the West Coast.
The farm claims to produce 40% of California's fresh oysters, so perhaps we should plan to do some "research" on this topic down at the local seafood place.
Complaint, Drakes Bay Oyster Co. v Salazar, No. C 12-6134-EDL (Dec. 3, 2012)
