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Lunny says it would be an environmental mistake to close the oyster farm, which produces so much food for the locals. The Lunnys do not sell out of state, choosing to sell only to local restaurants and shops in the Bay Area. If such a large producer of oysters is forced out of business, Lunny says, it will increase the need to ship in oysters, thereby causing more pollution during transport.

Lunny also points out that the oyster farm is an environmentally clean operation that produces more than 30 times the protein per acre than a typical livestock farm. One of the benefits of his farm, Lunny says, is that he grows his oysters from seed — microscopic larvae that he purchases — rather than shipping in tiny oysters to grow. There is no transporting of oysters and therefore no increased risk of inadvertently bringing in invasive species.

The sound environmental practices of his farm and its production of high-quality local food is why the controversy over the farm’s future is an “environmental cross-roads,” says Lunny. To pro-duce local, organic food, wilderness areas sometimes must be used, he says. Helge Hellberg, executive director of Marin Organic, agrees. His group believes the farm should stay.

“If the alternative is to ship oysters from thousands of miles away into the Bay Area, we are just pushing the problem onto another area,” says Hellberg. “You cannot just close it down without assessing what consequences it will have on our ecological footprint in Marin County and the larger area.” But Bennett, and the Sierra Club, say that, at least in this case, wilderness trumps the environmentally friendly farm.

“Some people are confused because they look at the Sierra Club and the environmentalists as supporting sustainable (agriculture), and here’s a guy who does sustainable ag in the estero,” says Bennett. “They do not fully understand. In this specific spot, there is something more important than sustainable ag; it is the congressionally protected wilderness area.”

Bennett points out that Drake’s Estero is the only estero in the country that would have wilderness status in 2012. The other esteros are filled with boat piers, berms and levees. He also adds that more than 50 percent of the continental U.S. land mass is dedicated to agriculture. “That’s where we need to push for more sustainable agriculture,” Bennett says.

And there’s one more thing, Bennett adds. Lunny knew the estero was slated to return to wilderness in 2012 when he bought the operation. “That’s the bargain that was struck. That’s the bargain that we want to honor and respect,” says Bennett. All this begs the question — why did Lunny buy the operation in 2005, knowing it was scheduled to convert to wilderness in seven short years?

“We did know the plan was not to renew (the lease) because it was an environmental nightmare,” says Lunny. “But we knew this could be done right. We could come in and clean this place up, and it would be an exciting place to visit. People could take a different view and reconsider (the lease).”

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