Kevin Lunny, the former owner of Drakes Bay Oyster Company, visited the White House this month as a guest of President Donald Trump to criticize the federal government for forcing his oyster farm out of business.
On Oct. 10, after Mr. Lunny and other business owners who have faced costly federal oversight told their stories, the president signed two executive orders that increase federal government transparency. An “improved agency guidance documents” executive order requires government agencies to seek public input on the most important guidance they issue, and a “transparency and fairness” executive order prohibits agencies from enforcing rules they have not made publicly known in advance. “Americans will no longer be subject to the rules of hidden games that are played on the public,” Mr. Trump said.
“This is non-partisan,” Mr. Lunny told the Light. “It has nothing to do with Democrats or Republicans—it has to do with honesty, and it has to do with accountability.”
At the White House, Mr. Lunny cited the eight-year National Environmental Policy Act process that ended with the closure of his oyster farm; he urged the president to ensure that federal policies are managed in a way that family farmers and ranchers can survive. “So they’re not just for federal agencies that have pre-decided what they want before the process [has] even begun and for professional litigants that abuse the process,” he explained.
Mr. Trump asked him if the business is gone. “It is gone—20 million oysters destroyed,” Mr. Lunny said.
“Kevin, I know what you’ve been through,” Mr. Trump responded. “I read a little bit about it. And I’ve heard about it, also. And it’s very sad.”
Mr. Lunny, a third-generation rancher in the park, also expressed fear that a similar fate could visit the 24 historic family ranches and dairies in the Point Reyes National Seashore. In August, the park service released the draft environmental impact statement for an amendment to the Point Reyes National Seashore’s general management plan, with the preferred alternative granting lease terms of up to 20 years for the ranches and setting a population threshold for the Drakes Beach elk herd. Although Mr. Lunny believes the plan is generally good, he says it misses the mark when it comes to agricultural issues such as diversification. The park expects to release the final environmental impact statement early next year.
“We’re going to have somebody right here in the White House looking at it, Kevin, so this doesn’t happen to other people,” Mr. Trump said.
He later quipped: “No American should ever face such persecution from their own government—except perhaps your president. Do not feel bad Kevin: they treated you better than they treat me.”