HUNTINGTON BEACH : U.S. Still Wants to Buy Wetlands, Official Says

The U.S. government has not given up its effort to purchase the Bolsa Chica wetlands to create a wildlife refuge, a high-ranking official said Thursday.

“We are still very eager to consummate a deal,” said George T. Frampton Jr., assistant interior secretary, during a stop in Los Angeles. “We have not given up hope.”

The plan has been in limbo since Koll Real Estate Group informed the U.S. Department of the Interior on Oct. 9 that its $17.5-million offer was unacceptable because it was lower than an undisclosed price agreed upon earlier.

“If we had more money, we would have offered it,” Frampton said Thursday.

Meanwhile, Koll is still considering a request from a nonprofit group, said Lucy Dunn, a Koll senior vice president.

News of the stalled deal dismayed environmentalists, who want a refuge at Bolsa Chica, the largest unprotected wetlands south of San Francisco.

Under the federal plan, the Interior Department would buy and restore about 1,000 acres of wetlands, while Koll built 2,500 homes on a nearby mesa.

Koll’s own plan calls for building more homes--3,300--on the mesa and on a portion of the wetlands. In return, Koll would spend $48 million to restore the remaining wetlands.