SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — An internal government watchdog has found no scientific misconduct by the National Park Service in determining the environmental impacts of a Point Reyes National Seashore oyster farm.
The U.S. Department of Interior's Inspector General says there was no fraud, waste, abuse or misrepresentation of data by researchers who found that boats used by the Drakes Bay Oyster Co. had an impact on nearby harbor seals.
Oyster farm supporters claimed the park service failed to use the "best science available" when determining the farm's noise impact on the waterway.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar decided against renewing the facility's lease, saying the waterway should instead be returned to wilderness status, as Congress dictated in 1976.
Farm owner Kevin Lunny has sued the government in an effort to overturn Salazar's decision.
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