Family sold 53,000-acre California island for $30m, stayed 25 more years
In 1986, the U.S. government purchased Santa Rosa Island from the Vail & Vickers ranching family for $29.5 million, ending decades of private agricultural use. The island, which has a history spanning 13,000 years of human habitation, is now part of the Channel Islands National Park.
Why it matters
The transition of private land to public national sanctuary status reflects evolving priorities in land conservation and historical preservation.
In December 1986, the United States federal government completed a deal to buy Santa Rosa Island for $29.5 million. The 53,000-acre island, located 26.5 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, was bought by the National Park Service from its longtime private owners, the Vail & Vickers ranching partnership. Under the deal, the ranching family kept a 25-year reservation of use and occupancy covering a seven-acre area at Bechers Bay. This allowed cattle operations and commercial hunting to continue for a limited period while the island moved towards full public management as part of Channel Islands National Park. The deal ended decades of private farming and ranching on the second-largest island in the Channel Islands.
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