Elysian Valley -- It's not exactly clear what he can do with it, but Steven Appleton, who runs a kayaking business, is now also owner of 4.5 acres of the L.A. River channel, reports the L.A. Times.

Appleton used $15,000 from a donor to purchase one of the approximately 500 pieces of the L.A. River channel that are privately owned. There's not much one can do with these river properties -- not even preventing the public from walking or boating through it.

But perhaps it might give Appleton more standing when it comes to influencing the restoration or uses of the river near his newly purchased parcel. Michael Atkins, spokesman of the Friends of the L.A. River, says of Appleton:

“Both his business and his heart are in it for ecological restoration."