Federal Government Purchases Santa Rosa Island, Grants Ranchers 25-Year Use Rights

In December 1986 the federal government finalized a $29.5 million transaction to transfer Santa Rosa Island, a 53,000-acre landmass 26.5 miles off Santa Barbara, to the National Park Service. The Vail & Vickers ranching partnership, owners since 1904, negotiated a 25-year reservation covering seven acres at Bechers Bay, permitting continued cattle operations and commercial hunts for introduced deer and elk. This deal concluded decades of private agriculture on the Channel Islands' second-largest island and facilitated its integration into Channel Islands National Park.

Environmental concerns led to the removal of all cattle by 1998, and the non-native game was eliminated when the occupancy term ended in 2011. Since then the island has been managed entirely by the Park Service, supporting rare plant species, archaeological sites, and attracting about 20,000 visitors annually.