A controversial and unprecedented deal that would have privatized 280 acres of state-owned Bandon State Natural Area have fizzled out thanks to new requirements from the Bureau of Land Management.
"Golf course developer Mike Keiser has abandoned plans to build a golf course on state park land on the southern Oregon coast," reports Kelly House.
An earlier article by House broke the news that new Bureau of Land Management requirements for the purchase of the land threatened the deal. Those requirements would have added an additional $450,000 to the price tag for the land. Keiser cited the new requirements and a lack of water on the park property as reasons for the deal's demise.
Describing the significance of the proposal, House writes: "The announcement marks the demise of a lengthy, complicated and controversial deal that also would have been unprecedented in Oregon. Until Keiser made his offer, the state had never considered shedding active state park land at the behest of a private entity."
As for why the project was ever even considered: "The Oregon State Parks Commission agreed in 2014 to give Keiser a chunk of the 878-acre park in exchange for $2.5 million, 216 acres of land elsewhere on the coast and money to control an invasive plant known as gorse." Additional context on the proposal is available in more coverage from House and The Oregonian in May.
FULL STORY: Golf course developer abandons plans to buy Oregon state park land
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