Developers' bust proves a boon for land trusts
Smartsville, Yuba County -- The frog eluded the grasp of Erik Vink, who scrambled after it along the rocky shore of the Yuba River where chinook salmon were thrashing around in the riffles.
It was a joyous day for the boyish Vink, the project manager for the San Francisco-based Trust for Public Land, as he recently toured the 595 acres of oak woodlands and 2 miles of river in the Sierra foothills that he and his colleagues had just agreed to purchase and forever preserve.
The chaparral-covered land 15 miles outside of Marysville had been slated to be bulldozed for homes. But the bottom dropped out of the economy and the plan to build homes was yanked, allowing the trust to swoop in with a $4 million offer that was quickly accepted.
It seems like a rare opportunity, but all over California, tough economic times are forcing investors and developers to abandon housing projects and real estate deals that would have made them a fortune just a few years ago. Conservation organizations and trusts are moving in to buy the land, often at bargain basement prices.
"To have property with this combination of oak woodlands bordered by river is extraordinary," Vink said. "There aren't many properties like this out there, especially in this low foothills belt."
