Interior bill includes Point Reyes oyster farm provision

The $32.2 billion appropriations bill, which President Obama signed into law Friday, included the provision at the request of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a longtime supporter of the Drakes Bay Oyster Co.

Feinstein's original amendment to the Interior Department's funding bill would have required the National Park Service to extend the oyster farm's special use permit by a decade. After New Mexico Sen. Jeff Bingaman objected to the measure, however, Feinstein agreed to leave the decision in Salazar's hands.

Park Service representatives said they did not know whether Salazar would make a decision about the oyster farm directly or delegate that decision to the Park Service.

"We have not reviewed the language of the bill," said Holly Bundock, a spokeswoman for the National Park Service's Pacific West region. "We are waiting for the activation memo to come through the director's office, and then we will act on its direction."