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The Fortuna City Council unanimously voted Monday to approve the purchase of nearly 244 acres of undeveloped land along the Lower Eel River — most of which will be returned to the Wiyot Tribe.

At last night’s meeting, the council approved a purchase agreement for four parcels — 236 acres on the west side of the Eel River and 7.2 acres at Riverwalk Drive and Alamar Way, behind Eel River Brewery — to improve public access and preserve riparian habitat along the Eel River. The land, owned by Troy Elbert Land and Trudy Marilyn Ehmke, will be purchased using grant funds.

Fortuna City Manager Amy Nilsen said the city has been wanting to buy the 7.2-acre swath of land for “over a decade.”

“The city would retain this piece of property with the intent for this to become a park with river access,” she said, adding that the 236 acres will be returned to the Wiyot Tribe. “There is a public benefit for both acquisitions and these include but are not limited to protecting the sensitive riparian and open space environments, supporting long-term ecological conservation and expanding and enabling future public access to the Lower Eel River.”

Nilsen noted that the city has already secured $1.9 million in funding through the California River Parkways Grant Program and the California Coastal Conservancy to cover the purchase price, which will be determined through an independent appraisal. 

“I just wanted to also say — because these questions come up a lot [and] the city doesn’t have a lot of money — that this is being purchased with grant funds,” Mayor Pro-Tem Tami Trent reiterated for the audience. “It doesn’t come out of the General Fund at all.”

Fortuna resident Tina Christensen, the only member of the public to comment on the agenda item, congratulated the council on the land deal and underscored the need to “revitalize Fortuna.”

“I think it’s a great purchase,” Christensen said. “I think Fortuna needs to move forward. We’ve lost a lot of industry in this county, and something can happen down there that could be truly amazing.”

Altogether, the agenda took up less than 10 minutes, with little discussion among council members. The purchase agreements passed in a unanimous 5-0 vote.

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