Green groups rescue Donner Summit

A coalition of environmental groups saved 3,000 acres of Sierra Nevada peaks, forests and meadows from development by purchasing the Royal Gorge Cross Country Ski resort.

Bay Area developers had bought the resort in 2005 for $35 million and proposed construction of 950 additional condos and single-family homes on Donner Summit, but defaulted on a $16.7 million loan from Armed Forces Bank in June 2011, according to The Sacramento Bee. The property was assumed through court-ordered receivership by Douglas Wilson Companies of San Diego, which agreed to sell the land to conservation groups Truckee Donner Land Trust, The Trust for Public Land and the Northern Sierra Partnership for $11.25 million. The groups have until escrow closes in December to raise the funds.

The resort, billing itself as the largest cross-country ski resort in the nation, will stay open under management from the nearby Sugar Bowl resort.