California oyster farm evicted from national seashore can stay in business until end-of-year

A popular oyster farm that has been evicted from the Point Reyes National Seashore in Northern California will be allowed to keep operating until the end of the year under an agreement with the federal government.

The National Park Service and Drakes Bay Oyster Co. announced the settlement Monday. It ends a yearslong battle over the farm's fate that pitted environmentalists against scientists and even divided California's U.S. senators.

The estuary where the farm sits has been home to commercial oyster harvests for decades, but the Department of the Interior decided nine years ago to return it to wilderness.

Drake's Bay owner Kevin Lunny unsuccessfully sued to stop the ouster, taking the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The farm originally was supposed to shut down at the end of July.