Drakes Bay Oyster Company Special Use Permit Environmental Impact Statement

On November 29, 2012, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar issued a decision that will allow the Drakes Bay Oyster Company's operating permit to expire at Point Reyes National Seashore in California according to its terms, and will return the affected area to wilderness. The decision also ensures that, in keeping with the historic use of the land, existing sustainable ranching operations within the national park will continue.
Department of the Interior press release
Secretary Salazar's decision memorandum (4, 746 KB PDF)

Final Environmental Impact Statement
The NPS has used the NEPA process to engage the public to evaluate the effects of issuing a Special Use Permit (SUP) for the commercial shellfish operation of Drakes Bay Oyster Company at Point Reyes National Seashore. As the culmination of the NEPA process, the NPS is making available the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) assessing four alternatives and identifying the environmentally preferable alternative. However, it should be noted that Section 124 of Public Law 111-88 provides that the Secretary's decision whether to issue this permit is "notwithstanding any other provision of law." As such, the NPS has not identified a preferred alternative in the Final EIS.

The Draft EIS was available for public and agency review and comment between September 23, 2011, and December 9, 2011. An electronic copy of the Draft EIS was posted at www.parkplanning.nps.gov/PORE. Copies of the document were distributed to individuals, agencies, and organizations, and were available in local public libraries, at the public meetings, and upon request. This Final EIS provides responses to substantive agency and public comments, and incorporates those comments and suggested revisions, where necessary.

Click here to access the Final Enviornmental Impact Analysis for Drakes Bay Oyster Company Special Use Permit.

 

DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT PUBLIC COMMENTS
Please see our Drakes Bay Oyster Company Special Use Permit Draft Environmental Impact Statement Public Comments page to read the Preliminary Content Analysis Report, including all correspondences received during the public comment period.

 

DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
Please see our Drakes Bay Oyster Company Special Use Permit Draft Environmental Impact Statement page for details on the draft release phase of this NEPA process.

 

INITIAL PUBLIC SCOPING
Please see our Drakes Bay Oyster Company Special Use Permit Environmental Impact Statement Initial Public Scoping page for details on the public scoping phase of this NEPA process.

 

PUBLIC SCOPING COMMENTS
Please see our Drakes Bay Oyster Company Special Use Permit Environmental Impact Statement Public Scoping Comments page to read the Public Comment Analysis Report, including all correspondences received during the public scoping period.

 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Please see our Drakes Bay Oyster Company Special Use Permit Environmental Impact Statement Background Information page for background information relevant to this NEPA process.

 

NEWS RELEASES
Please see our Drakes Bay Oyster Company Special Use Permit Environmental Impact Statement News Releases page for all news releases related to this NEPA process.

 

QUESTIONS
If you have questions regarding the Drakes Bay Oyster Company Special Use Permit Environmental Impact Statement, please call Outreach Coordinator Melanie Gunn at [phone].

The Citizen's Guide to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a useful resource for those that are not familiar with NEPA or Council on Environmental Quality Regulations. This 45-page guide, published in December, 2007, describes the NEPA process and provides information on how citizens can get involved.

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