Lengthy Talks to Preserve Hearst Ranch Collapse

But Hearst Corp. officials said Monday that they have entered talks with another environmental partner and fully expect the new negotiations to succeed.

"I remain confident that we will be able to preserve the beauty of the ranch forever," said Stephen T. Hearst, vice president and general manager of the firm's land and livestock division. "This is not a failure from where I sit. I think this is going to come together rather quickly."

For the first time, Hearst revealed details of a proposed final settlement. If completed, the deal would ban golf course and resort construction at famed San Simeon Point, restrict new development in Old San Simeon Village, and create 18 miles of trails running the length of the 82,000-acre ranch.

Despite the breakdown in negotiations with the Nature Conservancy and the Conservation Fund, some officials in nearby San Luis Obispo said they remain hopeful.

"I'm pretty excited" about the chances for success, said San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Shirley Bianchi.

The group that the corporation has brought in is the American Land Conservancy, which has worked on a number of properties in California.

The public commitment by Hearst not to proceed with plans to develop San Simeon Point, directly on the coast, was greeted enthusiastically by environmentalists.

At the same time, "the devil is in the details," said Susan Jordan of the California Coastal Protection Network.

At stake is one of the largest remaining undeveloped swaths of California coastal property. For decades, Hearst officials planned to build resorts and homes on the property, which is still a working cattle ranch. For almost as long, those plans were stalled by environmental concerns.

Then last year, Hearst officials announced that they had entered into negotiations with the two conservation groups to find a way to preserve the land in exchange for either money or the rights to develop a portion of it.

It was estimated that a deal to preserve the entire ranch could involve one of the largest financial settlements of its kind in history, possibly more than $300 million. It was expected that the conservation groups would raise the money from public and private sources.