The clock is ticking on a possible lease for Taylor Shellfish’s Totten Inlet geoduck farming operations. Washington’s Department of Natural Resources is considering granting the Shelton, Wash., company a lease to harvest the large clams it raised on what turns out to be state land. DNR completed its environmental review and will make a decision in January following a 14-day comment period, according to yesterday’s Seattle Times.
Taylor spokesperson Bill Dewey said the company didn’t know it trespassed on state lands when it bought what it believed was private property in 1972. The company stopped harvesting the geoducks in the spring and applied for a lease to harvest the 300,000 clams it planted.
However, a local politician is crying foul over the possible lease deal for Taylor. Incoming state Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark is charging that his predecessor, Doug Sutherland, is trying to push through a last-minute decision on the lease before he leaves office on Jan. 13, according to a Seattle Times story today.
Taylor officials donated more than $3,500 to Sutherland’s campaign.
