Scientific Review of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement

Scientific Review of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 86
Release: 2012-10-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 030926166X

In May 2012, the National Park Service (NPS) asked the National Research Council to conduct a scientific review of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to evaluate the effects of issuing a Special Use Permit for the commercial shellfish operation in Drakes Estero for a ten year time span. Drakes Bay Oyster Company (DBOC) currently operates the shellfish farm in Drakes Estero, part of Point Reyes National Seashore, under a reservation of use and occupancy that will expire on November 30, 2012 if a new Special Use Permit is not issued. Congress granted the Secretary of the Interior the discretionary authority to issue a new ten year Special Use Permit in 2009; hence, the Secretary now has the option to proceed with or delay the conversion of Drakes Estero to wilderness. To inform this decision, the NPS drafted an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the DBOC Special Use Permit. Under the National Environmental policy Act (NEPA), as EIS is prepared to inform the public and agency decision-makers regarding the potential environmental impacts of a proposed federal action and reasonable alternatives. The Department of the Interior commissioned a peer review of the DEIS that was released in March 2012. Scientific Review of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement: Drakes Bay Oyster Company Special Use Permit reviews the scientific information presented in the DEIS that is used to determine the potential environmental impacts of a ten year extension of DBOC operations. In particular, this report responds to the following tasks given to the committee: assess the scientific information, analysis, and conclusions presented in the DEIS for Drakes Bay Oyster Company Special Use Permit, and evaluate whether the peer review of the DEIS is fundamentally sound and materially sufficient. Scientific Review of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement: Drakes Bay Oyster Company Special Use Permit focuses on eight of twelve resource categories considered in the DEIS: wetlands, eelgrass, wildlife and wildlife habitat, special-status species, coastal flood zones, soundscapes, water quality, and socioeconomic resources.

The Paradox of Preservation

The Paradox of Preservation
Author: Laura Alice Watt
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 366
Release: 2017
Genre: History
ISBN: 0520277082

Point Reyes National Seashore has a long history as a working landscape, with dairy and beef ranching, fishing, and oyster farming; yet, since 1962 it has also been managed as a National Seashore. The Paradox of Preservation chronicles how national ideals about what a park “ought to be” have developed over time and what happens when these ideals are implemented by the National Park Service (NPS) in its efforts to preserve places that are also lived-in landscapes. Using the conflict surrounding the closure of the Drakes Bay Oyster Company, Laura Alice Watt examines how NPS management policies and processes for land use and protection do not always reflect the needs and values of local residents. Instead, the resulting landscapes produced by the NPS represent a series of compromises between use and protection—and between the area’s historic pastoral character and a newer vision of wilderness. A fascinating and deeply researched book, The Paradox of Preservation will appeal to those studying environmental history, conservation, public lands, and cultural landscape management, and to those looking to learn more about the history of this dynamic California coastal region.