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Debate Flares on Limits of Nature and Commerce in Parks
New York Times ^ | October 31, 2009 | Leslie Kaufman

Posted on 11/01/2009 2:56:15 AM PST by reaganaut1

POINT REYES STATION, Calif. — It seems a perfect marriage of nature and commerce. As boats ferry oysters to the shore, pelicans swoop by and seals pop their heads out of the water.

But this spot on the Point Reyes National Seashore has become a flashpoint for a bitter debate over the limits of wilderness and commercial interest within America’s national parks.

The National Park Service has said it cannot renew the permit to farm oysters in a tidal estuary here, which lapses in 2012, because federal law requires it to return the area to wilderness by eliminating intrusive commercial activity.

Kevin Lunny, the owner of the Drakes Bay Oyster Company, says he feels persecuted by the National Park Service and has sought legislation that could allow him to continue operating.

He argues that the 70-year-old oyster farm, which predates the park, is part of the historical working landscape of the area — and every bit as in need of protection as the harbor seals and eelgrass that share the bay.

...

Many people concerned with protecting the commercial tradition in parks see Mr. Jarvis’s desire to end the lease as evidence that he will usher in an era of antagonism.

“Half the parks have farms or working orchards,” said Gary Paul Nabhan, who served on the National Park System Advisory Board in the early 1990s. “This isn’t a side issue — it is fully as important as wilderness.”

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; US: California
KEYWORDS: nationalparks; oysters; pointreyes; pointreyesstation
America is blessed with natural resources. Why can't she use them? When unemployment is close to 10%, why throw more people out of work?
1 posted on 11/01/2009 2:56:16 AM PST by reaganaut1
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To: reaganaut1

it is fully as important as wilderness.

PC buzzword, “wilderness” is important, NOT!

More communist BS.

Folks, my forfathers spent their entire lives ridding this great nation of wilderness to the extent possible, to make it habitable for mankind to carry out HIS purposes.

Wilderness is dangerous, contains dangerous animals and is generally good for nothing, yes you heard me right good for nothing. Man has a destiny to conquer wilderness and make it safe and habitable for HIS purpose. Greenies be damned!

If you haven’t noticed, if you have a Constitutional heart, your ideals goals and purpose in life will be in direct conflict with the goals ideals and purpose of those who regard wilderness as the end all and be all of life.

I caution you to be extremely wary of those who would spit on the labors of our forefathers in their insane desire to return the earth to what it was before God place MAN on the earth. These folks would usurp the Creator’s place in creation direction, and control of earth. Despite the fact they have absolutely no power or authority to do so, only the power of money and control over God’s children.


2 posted on 11/01/2009 3:35:14 AM PST by wita
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To: wita

I live on the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. My father and his father and his father were watermen.

The oysters here have a disease that is killing them , the crabs are barely surviving and soon we will not have a viable water industry in this area.

To read about some a-hole closing the oyster grounds to waterman is deeply offensive to me.

The oyster isn somethingthat will thrive without being worked. The oyster beds need working for them to survive, or silt will wash over them and eventually silt them over and the oysters will die.

Watermen in boats tonging or dredging oyster will not harm a National park, it only wasyes a valuable resource.
These people who would stop them from working these oyster grounds are a pack of simpletons.The oysters are a vital part of the environment, they clean the water, if they die what will clean it then ? Reality faces the Envirowhacko and the envirowhacko needs to study the problem beofore shutting down an industry.


3 posted on 11/01/2009 3:53:15 AM PST by Venturer
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To: reaganaut1
“why throw more people out of work?”

Because out of work people will have to rely on the Government to live; making them dependent is the whole idea.

As for kicking out an oyster farmer or apple farmers, well that's a double whammy - not only is this action part of the dependency creation, but also part of the larger, four decades long ongoing war on natural resource harvesters.

Land and it's control belong only to certain political elite and their allies in the "environmental" community, not to just any Joe Blow.

So if they want to remove a bunch of farms owned by Joe Blows, they come up with a regulation or an "endangered" animal as reason to remove them; that this same "environmental" community is given first call on buying the land is of no account; if this same "environmental" community then continues to use some of the land as the displaced/evicted farmers did, erect their own homes on other parts of the land, and then sell the rest back to the Government for a profit, why just take no notice. See: American Rivers, The Nature Conservancy et al, Klamath Falls, Oregon. Or the San Jacquin Valley, California

Food production must be tightly controlled; they can't have Joe Blows running around producing food without proper supervision. Since these individuals tend to be rugged, resourceful, and believe in freedom, they are obviously unfit to take proper directions from their superiors. Hence, they are in the way of progress and must be removed.

Everyone knows food comes from grocery stores, so just relax and don't worry about some farmer, commercial fisherman, miner, or logger - you don't know them and really have nothing in common. They can always get a real job somewhere else, with the proper Government retaining for jobs that either don't exist or exist far away.

Real estate people just love this program because they get to sell what is now very expensive land for a huge profit, having bought the property for a song and dance at fire sale prices. See Clinton's Pacific North West Conference circa 1996.

When they came for farmers, commercial fisherman, miners, and loggers, most of the public was silent, now they are coming for you.

Capish?

4 posted on 11/01/2009 3:59:32 AM PST by PIF
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To: Venturer

Reality faces the Envirowhacko and the envirowhacko needs to study the problem

There is no problem, ergo, why study. Wilderness forever. Zieg Heil. meaningless, man, not them, the ones you are talking about.


5 posted on 11/01/2009 4:02:28 AM PST by wita
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To: Venturer

Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, has thrown her support behind the oyster farm.

This point should be noted.


6 posted on 11/01/2009 4:06:17 AM PST by wita
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To: wita

Foes of the provision also include the Sierra Club, the National Parks Conservation Association and the Point Reyes National Seashore Association here.

...and this is about as obvious as the direction the country is headed.


7 posted on 11/01/2009 4:08:19 AM PST by wita
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To: PIF

Thanks for your comments. I don’t know as much about the land use wars as you do, but I do understand that my cushy lifestyle with a white-collar job in Massachusetts depends on people

drilling the oil and natural gas
mining the coal
growing and harvesting the wheat and corn
raising the livestock

that I consume. Too many people, especially on the coasts, think it all happens by magic.


8 posted on 11/01/2009 4:12:23 AM PST by reaganaut1
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