The nature of wilderness - past intentions for oyster farm ...€¦ · that, by including Drakes...
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In her letter to the editor last week, Amy Meyer described her role on the Citizens Advisory Commission (CAC) back in 1975, making recommendations for the designation of lands within Point Reyes Na- tional Seashore as wilderness. She asserted that, by including Drakes Estero in the “po- tential wilderness” category, it was always the intention of Congress and the public that the oyster farm cease operation in 2012, once its reservation of use expired. She described this as a “promise,” the breaking of which could threaten the entire national wilderness preservation system. What she did not include is any docu- mentation of this promise. As an academic historian, I am always interested in finding more documents – so if any exist that con- firm these assertions, I would love to see them! In my own research, reading through everything I’ve been able to find about the designation of wilderness at Point Reyes – the planning documents, comment letters from environmental organizations and members of the public, and testimony from Congressional hearings, as well as the for- mal bills and reports, and subsequent man- agement plans – I have not come across any statements anticipating closure of the oyster farm in 2012. In contrast, quite a number of statements suggest the opposite: that the oyster farm was intended to continue under potential wilderness designation, with no clear end point or expiration date. For instance, in the 1974 Final EIS for Proposed Wilderness (page 56), the NPS wrote, “This is the only oyster farm in the seashore. Control of the lease from the California Department of Fish and Game, with presumed renewal in- definitely, is within the rights reserved by the State on these submerged lands ... and there is no foreseeable termination of this condition.” In response, the Sierra Club wrote a let- ter of comment, including (page A-51): “The draft Environmental Impact Statement implies that none of the Drakes Estero can be classified as wilderness because of John- son Oyster Farm. This is misleading. The company's buildings and the access road must be excluded but the estero need not be. The water area can be put under the Wilder- ness Act even while the oyster culture is continued --- it will be a prior existing, non- conforming use.” No suggestion of even- tual termination was included. Ms. Meyer’s own CAC subcommittee suggested the following at their meeting on August 5, 1975: “Specific provision should be made in the legislation to allow the fol- lowing uses to continue unrestrained by wilderness designation: a. Operation of that portion of the Murphy ranch that falls within the proposed wilderness … b. Oper- ation of Johnson's Oyster Farm including the use of motorboats and the repair and construction of oyster racks and other ac- tivities in conformance with the terms of the existing 1,000 acre lease from the State of California.” (They also recommended, “the preamble of the wilderness legislation should clearly state the atypical nature of wilderness at Point Reyes.”) These recommendations were expressly endorsed in Congressional testimony by legislative co-sponsors Senator Cranston, Senator Tunney and Representative John Burton. In addition, letters from the Envi- ronmental Action Committee of West Marin, the Marin Environmental Forum, the Inverness Association, and from Jerry Friedman as Chair of the Marin County Planning Commission all specifically en- dorse the recommendations of the CAC. Nowhere in the 1976 hearings does anyone make a specific objection to the oyster farm, nor give any indication that they ex- pected wilderness designation would be hindered by its continued presence, nor dis- cuss an end to its operation in the future. Since passage of the wilderness bill, the 1980 General Management Plan for PRNS included management objectives, under Nat- ural Resources Management, “to manage seashore activities in the pastoral and estuar- ine areas in a manner compatible with re- source carrying capacity,” and specifies “To monitor and improve mariculture operations, in particular the oyster farm operation in Drakes Estero, in cooperation with the Cali- fornia Department of Fish and Game”; and under Cultural Resources Management, “to monitor and support productive land uses and activities which are consistent with historic patterns,” and specifies “to ensure that agri- cultural and maricultural activities are con- sistent with the historical evolution of land and water use in Point Reyes.” In the Assess- ment of the Alternatives, the summary table of development proposals lists Johnson’s Oyster Farm as both the existing and pro- posed uses at that location; in other words, the EIS did not consider the possibility of the oyster farm shutting down. These historic documents, plus the re- newal clause in DBOC’s lease, suggest that closure of the oyster farm was not widely an- ticipated as a result of potential wilderness designation. My research findings on this issue are similar to those of John Hart, whose book, An Island in Time: 50 Years of Point Reyes National Seashore, has just been pub- lished. Again, if anyone has additional docu- ments to share, I would very much like to read them. Laura Watt is an associate professor of environmental studies and planning at Sonoma State University, specializing in en- vironmental policy. Citizen’s Forum Page 2 • West Marin Citizen • October 4, 2012 Herd Out West By Larken Bradley Couldn’t help but hear: “That was Robert Redford’s son... Good thing you were nice to him.” –Customer to checkout clerk at Good Earth Natural Foods in Fairfax. ______________________ Citizen readers: When you hear or observe something amusing in West Marin, over the hill, while on vacation or a business trip or pe- rusing blogs, we want to join in the fun. E-mail submissions for publication to Larken Bradley at [email protected]. Or telephone: 454-3552. Please pro- vide your name, town and contact information for correct attribution. The nature of wilderness - past intentions for oyster farm’s future Hanging culture racks of oysters at Drakes Estero. Photo by Gwendolyn Meyer (gwendolynmeyer.com) By Laura Watt
Transcript of The nature of wilderness - past intentions for oyster farm ...€¦ · that, by including Drakes...
In her letter to the editor last week, AmyMeyer described her role on the CitizensAdvisory Commission (CAC) back in1975, making recommendations for thedesignation of lands within Point Reyes Na-tional Seashore as wilderness. She assertedthat, by including Drakes Estero in the “po-tential wilderness” category, it was alwaysthe intention of Congress and the publicthat the oyster farm cease operation in2012, once its reservation of use expired.She described this as a “promise,” thebreaking of which could threaten the entirenational wilderness preservation system.
What she did not include is any docu-mentation of this promise. As an academichistorian, I am always interested in findingmore documents – so if any exist that con-firm these assertions, I would love to seethem!
In my own research, reading througheverything I’ve been able to find about thedesignation of wilderness at Point Reyes –the planning documents, comment lettersfrom environmental organizations andmembers of the public, and testimony fromCongressional hearings, as well as the for-mal bills and reports, and subsequent man-agement plans – I have not come across anystatements anticipating closure of the oysterfarm in 2012.
In contrast, quite a number of statementssuggest the opposite: that the oyster farmwas intended to continue under potentialwilderness designation, with no clear endpoint or expiration date. For instance, in the1974 Final EIS for Proposed Wilderness(page 56), the NPS wrote, “This is the onlyoyster farm in the seashore. Control of thelease from the California Department ofFish and Game, with presumed renewal in-definitely, is within the rights reserved bythe State on these submerged lands ... andthere is no foreseeable termination of thiscondition.”
In response, the Sierra Club wrote a let-ter of comment, including (page A-51):“The draft Environmental Impact Statementimplies that none of the Drakes Estero canbe classified as wilderness because of John-son Oyster Farm. This is misleading. Thecompany's buildings and the access road
must be excluded but the estero need not be.The water area can be put under the Wilder-ness Act even while the oyster culture iscontinued --- it will be a prior existing, non-conforming use.” No suggestion of even-tual termination was included.
Ms. Meyer’s own CAC subcommitteesuggested the following at their meeting onAugust 5, 1975: “Specific provision shouldbe made in the legislation to allow the fol-lowing uses to continue unrestrained bywilderness designation: a. Operation of thatportion of the Murphy ranch that fallswithin the proposed wilderness … b. Oper-ation of Johnson's Oyster Farm includingthe use of motorboats and the repair andconstruction of oyster racks and other ac-tivities in conformance with the terms ofthe existing 1,000 acre lease from the Stateof California.” (They also recommended,“the preamble of the wilderness legislationshould clearly state the atypical nature ofwilderness at Point Reyes.”)
These recommendations were expresslyendorsed in Congressional testimony bylegislative co-sponsors Senator Cranston,Senator Tunney and Representative JohnBurton. In addition, letters from the Envi-ronmental Action Committee of WestMarin, the Marin Environmental Forum,the Inverness Association, and from JerryFriedman as Chair of the Marin CountyPlanning Commission all specifically en-dorse the recommendations of the CAC.Nowhere in the 1976 hearings does anyonemake a specific objection to the oysterfarm, nor give any indication that they ex-pected wilderness designation would behindered by its continued presence, nor dis-cuss an end to its operation in the future.
Since passage of the wilderness bill, the1980 General Management Plan for PRNSincluded management objectives, under Nat-ural Resources Management, “to manageseashore activities in the pastoral and estuar-ine areas in a manner compatible with re-source carrying capacity,” and specifies “Tomonitor and improve mariculture operations,in particular the oyster farm operation inDrakes Estero, in cooperation with the Cali-
fornia Department of Fish and Game”; andunder Cultural Resources Management, “tomonitor and support productive land uses andactivities which are consistent with historicpatterns,” and specifies “to ensure that agri-cultural and maricultural activities are con-sistent with the historical evolution of landand water use in Point Reyes.” In the Assess-ment of the Alternatives, the summary tableof development proposals lists Johnson’sOyster Farm as both the existing and pro-posed uses at that location; in other words,the EIS did not consider the possibility of theoyster farm shutting down.
These historic documents, plus the re-newal clause in DBOC’s lease, suggest thatclosure of the oyster farm was not widely an-ticipated as a result of potential wildernessdesignation. My research findings on thisissue are similar to those of John Hart, whosebook, An Island in Time: 50 Years of PointReyes National Seashore, has just been pub-lished. Again, if anyone has additional docu-
ments to share, I would very much like toread them.
Laura Watt is an associate professor ofenvironmental studies and planning atSonoma State University, specializing in en-vironmental policy.
Citizen’s Forum
Page 2 • West Marin Citizen • October 4, 2012
Herd Out WestBy Larken Bradley
Couldn’t help but hear:
“That was Robert Redford’sson... Good thing you were niceto him.”
–Customer to checkout clerkat Good Earth Natural Foods inFairfax.
______________________
Citizen readers: When you hear or
observe something amusing in
West Marin, over the hill, while on
vacation or a business trip or pe-
rusing blogs, we want to join in
the fun. E-mail submissions for
publication to Larken Bradley at
telephone: 454-3552. Please pro-
vide your name, town and contact
information for correct attribution.
The nature of wilderness - past intentions for oyster farm’s future
Hanging culture racks of oysters at Drakes Estero. Photo by Gwendolyn Meyer (gwendolynmeyer.com)
By Laura Watt
![Amber D. Abbasi [CSBN 240956] CAUSE OF ACTIONcauseofaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/...“wilderness” in PRNS, with or without Drakes Estero. 3. Ms. Muldoon also fails to note](https://static.fdocuments.net/doc/165x107/5f08e0ef7e708231d42429ac/amber-d-abbasi-csbn-240956-cause-of-aoewildernessa-in-prns-with-or-without.jpg)
