The federal government recently paid $800,000 for almost 20 acres of forested hills along a stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway considered a flash point of suburban sprawl.

But critics characterized the purchase price as "ridiculously overpriced."

On March 25, parkway officials finalized their acquisition of 19.53 acres of pine, oak and mixed forest sloping uphill to the ridge line for about $40,000 an acre from orthodontist Charles Houghton, according to parkway officials and Roanoke County court records.

Parkway officials said the price for Houghton's land, which is just south of the parkway, and a 300-home development off Cotton Hill Road were appraised at fair market value.

Yet, the price tag for Houghton's land dwarfs the cost of an adjacent cow pasture expected to be donated soon to the parkway.

"I think it is ridiculously overpriced," said Richard Wells, president of the Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway and member of the Western Virginia Land Trust. "It's a shame that the federal government can't spend the money a little better than that."

The nearly 20 acres are along a scenic 28-mile stretch in the Roanoke Valley designated two years ago as a Last Chance Landscape by a group called Scenic America. Urban encroachment and other growth threatens the views along the 469-mile ribbon of motorway linking the Shenandoah Valley to the Great Smoky Mountains.

Parkway spokesman Phil Noblitt said the purchase was a top priority because of its high visibility for parkway visitors and its location in the Last Chance corridor.

"The largest challenge we face today in managing the Blue Ridge Parkway is to protect our scenic views,'' Noblitt said. "The tract that was purchased is very important to us in preserving the aesthetics."

U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, in November secured about $750,000 in funds from Congress for acquisitions to help preserve the beauty of the parkway, especially given its proximity to Roanoke, the largest metropolitan area along its route. The remaining $50,000 for the purchase from Houghton came from other National Park Service funds.

Goodlatte said Friday that he has requested appraisal information from parkway officials on the purchase from Houghton.

Until he was contacted by The Roanoke Times, "we were not aware of the sale or the sale price," Goodlatte said. "We are raising those questions with the Blue Ridge Parkway because we thought the federal money was to be used for the purchase of three parcels of land."

Parkway officials dispatch appraisers to determine the fair market value of highly visible lands from the motor way. Most acquisitions are done to protect the views or eliminate direct access, said Sheila Gasperson, realty specialist for the Blue Ridge Parkway.

She said the price for Houghton's land was determined by appraisers hired by the parkway. An offer was made Dec. 16 to Houghton, which he accepted on March 3.

Houghton, who owns a home on the spine of the ridge above the 20 acres he sold to the parkway, didn't return several phone calls for comment.

By contrast, a 63-acre cow pasture will be donated in the next few weeks to the parkway by the Western Virginia Land Trust. The gift of the land originated from Radford Homes.

Vice President Frank Radford said he paid $15,000 an acre for the donated land, which abuts acreage that his company will develop soon into 347 homes on 251 acres on the northern edge of the cow pasture. He said the development, known as Mason's Crest, is shielded by forests and ridges from the parkway.

Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway's Wells wondered how Radford would react to Houghton's sale. "His gift to the Blue Ridge Parkway makes him look like Santa Claus," Wells said.

Radford said he doubted that Houghton would have achieved the $40,000 price per acre without his donated land, which is between the parkway and the orthodontist's former hillsides.

"We all have to do what we have to do," Radford said. "It doesn't bother me at all. My gift isn't a gift if it doesn't cost me anything."

Environmental activist Pam Berberich said as a taxpayer she wishes the acreage purchased from Houghton hadn't cost so much, but it is important to protect the parkway vistas from becoming marred by development.

"I think Dr. Houghton is getting a premium price, and lucky him," she said.