The Oyster War : The True Story of a Small Farm, Big Politics, and the Future of Wilderness in America

It All Began Simply Enough. In 1976 The Point Reyes Wilderness Act Granted The Highest Protection In America To More Than 33,000 Acres Of California Forest, Grassland And Shoreline - Including Drakes Estero, An Estuary Of Stunning Beauty. Inside Was A Small, Family-run Oyster Farm First Established In The 1930s. A Local Rancher Bought The Business In 2005, Renaming It The Drakes Bay Oyster Company. When The National Park Service Informed Him That The 40-year Lease Would Not Be Renewed Past 2012, He Vowed To Keep The Farm In Business Even If It Meant Taking His Fight All The Way To The Supreme Court. Environmentalists, National Politicians, Scientists, And The Department Of The Interior All Joined A Protracted Battle For The Estuary That Had The Power To Influence The Future Of Wilderness For Decades To Come. Were The Oyster Farmers Environmental Criminals, Or Victims Of Government Fraud? Fought Against A Backdrop Of Fear Of Government Corruption And The Looming Specter Of Climate Change, The Battle Struck A National Nerve, Pitting Nature Against Agriculture And Science Against Politics, As It Sought To Determine Who Belonged And Who Didn T Belong, And What It Means To Be Wild--publisher's Description. Summer Brennan. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. It all began simply enough. In 1976 the Point Reyes Wilderness Act granted the highest protection in America to more than 33,000 acres of California forest, grassland and shoreline #8211; including Drakes Estero, an estuary of stunning beauty. Inside was a small, family#8211;run oyster farm first established in the 1930s. A local rancher bought the business in 2005, renaming it The Drakes Bay Oyster Company. When the National Park Service informed him that the 40#8211;year lease would not be renewed past 2012, he vowed to keep the farm in business even if it meant taking his fight all the way to the Supreme Court. Environmentalists, national politicians, scientists, and the Department of the Interior all joined a protracted battle for the estuary that had the power to influence the future of wilderness for decades to come. Were the oyster farmers environmental criminals, or victims of government fraud? Fought against a backdrop of fear of government corruption and the looming specter of climate change, the battle struck a national nerve, pitting nature against agriculture and science against politics, as it sought to determine who belonged and who didn't belong, and what it means to be wild. It all began simply enough. In 1976 the Point Reyes Wilderness Act was passed with broad support, giving more than 33,000 acres of forest, grassland and shoreline the highest possible environmental protection in America. Those lands were to include a rare marine sanctuary, the Drakes Estuary, as "potential wilderness." Located in that estuary was a small, struggling oyster farm. In existence for more than eighty years, it was accused of doing environmental harm. In 2005 the farm was given notice by the National Parks Service that its lease on the property, due to expire in 2012, would not be renewed. The intention was to allow this area to be restored and to be a viable part of the wilderness preserve. Kevin Lunny, a local rancher, bought the oyster farm in 2005 and renamed it The Drakes Bay Oyster Company. He refused to acknowledge the term of the lease, nor did he intend to abide by it, and thus began a protracted battle in the courts and in the court of public opinion over the future of the estuary