I have no sympathy for them. They were operating a business that was on property leased from the government.
Barring any clauses in the lease regarding rights of renewal, the government has every legal and moral right.
.... snip .... “one day before his company’s 40-year lease was set to expire — that he had three months to clear out. On Tuesday, he announced he’s suing. .... snip ....
Where does the U.S. government get any moral or legal right to own land?
“Barring any clauses in the lease regarding rights of renewal, the government has every legal and moral right.”
Moral right?!
Are you serious? Since when is oyster farming immoral? And since when is it considered a good idea for governments to “own” property?
It seems to me that our country “belongs” to those who end up paying for it, through all the various forms of taxation that we endure.
And it also seems to me that we have some right to enjoy and in some cases, even exploit it as long as we demonstrate a reasonable amount of stewardship.
Our various levels of government have no “moral” right to withhold huge sections of real estate from the citizenry, no matter what justification may be currently in vogue.
First, the lease doesn’t say that it isn’t renewable. Second, the congressmen who helped form the Point Reyes National Seashore have firmly stated that their intention was to ensure the continued operation of the small farms that were occupying the land.
Yet the Interior Department has ignored the statements of former California Reps. Pete McCloskey and John Burton (a former California Democratic Party chairman).
The Park Service ignored another inconvenient fact: It doesn’t control fishing rights in the disputed area. Those are controlled by the State of California
The oyster farm had been there operating just fine for almost 100 years.
There was absolutely no reason to shut them down.