OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- A federal judge has rejected an 11th-hour attempt to keep open a popular Northern California oyster operation.
Drakes Bay Oyster Co. closed its cannery in July after the U.S. Department of the Interior refused to renew its 40-year lease along the Point Reyes National Seashore because of environmental concerns.
A group of farmers and restaurants filed a lawsuit arguing that the farm's closure would harm the local economy.
On Tuesday, the judge said the arguments in the suit were the same as the ones made by Drakes Bay's owners, which she heard and rejected last year.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports the judge denied the plaintiffs' request for an injunction to let oyster operation continue while the Interior Department further examines the environmental effects of oyster harvesting.
