Central Park would be layered 17 times over with buildings if all the proposals for development since its creation had been permitted.

How We Work: Case Studies

Case Study
California's Yuba River Goldfields — Public Land versus Private Interests

Challenge
The Yuba Goldfields, some 10,000 acres of riverside land just outside of Marysville are the legacy of the California Gold Rush. Decades of hydraulic mining in the Sierra Nevada washed millions of tons of sand and gravel down the Yuba River. This sand and gravel provides the largest supply of construction grade gravel in the West, currently estimated at over $15 billion. Over the last 50 years, private interests and government agencies have disputed who has rights to this land and its resources - gravel, water from the river, and the wildlife in the area, including one of the last genetically pure lines of Chinook salmon.

In 1992, a Texas-based mining company, Western Aggregates, constructed a gate blocking the public road to the Goldfields. The company claimed the road to be private, although historical records clearly show otherwise. This sparked outrage among local residents and land conservationists who took the matter to court.

Strategy
The Resource Renewal Institute, a nonprofit environmental organization based in San Francisco, set out to help find a multi-use sustainable solution and proposed the creation of a salmon sanctuary. Much needed economic growth Much-needed economic growth in the area would come from the sale of the gravel on public land and the creation of recreation-related jobs.

After extensive research and study, Defense of Place proposed a five-point plan of action and rehabilitation to meet the needs of all parties involved and "...to highlight integrated, systemic resource planning and the real successes that such forward thinking-management can achieve for society and environment," and to "be a model for public-private cooperation and comprehensive response to environmental problems."

Result
In mid-2003, the 3rd District Court of Appeals in California upheld an earlier ruling which deemed the road public. Western Aggregates has appealed to the California Supreme Court, which currently must decide whether or not to hear the case or uphold the earlier rulings.

The Resource Renewal Institute, through its Defense of Place project, is working to establish a parkway, allowing public access to the river and Goldfields. Defense of Place also intends to restore the Yuba River to its natural state, preventing the private sale of a public water supply and establishing the Carla Bard Salmon Sanctuary.

Which voters approved a measure to allow more public access to the Yuba River, including a key 9-mile stretch of river through the Goldfields. Improved public access is expected to generate revenues from increased tourism and recreation.

There are several proposals for the Yuba Goldfields. The proposed redevelopment project includes: trails for hiking and bird watching; access to the river for rafting, canoeing, fishing, camping and picnicking; salmon rehabilitation in the form of the Carla Bard Salmon Sanctuary; resolving local hunting rights issues; reclaiming the river by curtailing water diversions; enhanced and replenished natural habitats; sustainable removal of the valuable gravel on public land at a direct benefit to the people of Yuba County. There are still many compromises necessary to please the interests involved, but there is progress.

Defense of Place wants to ensure the land is managed for multiple uses. In addition to research and long-range planning, Defense of Place has helped in more direct ways as well. Defense of Place has provided funding for the legal motions that have ensued between Yuba Goldfields Access Coalition and Western Aggregate. Defense of Place also has been responsible for much of the publicity surrounding the controversy. Through a combination of press releases and advertisements (including a 1999 ad in the New York Times), Defense of Place has created public interest in a controversy that may have otherwise remained obscure.

Links
"Protecting the People's Right of Way: Public Access Advocate Bill Calvert"
High Country News - Dec 20, 2004
by Tim Holt

"Interior Attorney Pushed Land Deal"
Los Angeles Times - March 8, 2004
by Henry Weinstein

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