August 12, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Craig Noble (NRDC) - 415-875-6103
Bill Allayaud (Sierra Club) - 916-557-1100 x 103
Pam Heatherington (ECOSLO) - 805-544-1777
Linda Krop (EDC) - 805-963-1622 or 805-455-2392

Conservation Groups Call Hearst Ranch Proposal a Bad Deal
Improvements Needed to Protect the Environment and Taxpayers, Say Groups

SACRAMENTO - A coalition of environmental groups is urging the state to negotiate a better deal to preserve the Hearst Ranch off California's central coast. At a hearing today of the state Wildlife Conservation Board, the groups said the proposed deal is seriously flawed because it restricts public access, fails to protect natural resources and provides little enforceable state oversight. They called on the board to postpone any decision until their concerns are addressed.

Under the proposed deal, the state would pay the Hearst Corporation $95 million for an agricultural easement on 80,000 acres to limit most future development on the property. The corporation would still be able to use the ranch for cattle grazing, and it would be allowed to build 27 luxury homes. Public access to five of 18 miles of coastline would be severely limited, and the California Coastal Trail would bypass the scenic San Simeon Point. The groups, which include NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), California Coastal Protection Network, Surfrider Foundation, Audubon California, California League of Conservation Voters, Defenders of Wildlife, the Sierra Club and the Environmental Defense Center say the state would pay too much for too little.

"As currently written, this is a bad deal for the environment and California taxpayers," said Ann Notthoff, California advocacy director for NRDC. "If the public is paying to preserve this land, then the public should have access to the entire coast, not just part of it."

Another bone of contention is provisions for safeguards and monitoring to protect rare plants, animals and other natural resources on the property. Hearst would be responsible for writing baseline standards, but it wouldn't have to do so until a year after the transaction is funded. Monitoring would be done by a private trust, called the California Rangeland Trust, and the results would be kept confidential.

"Californians are not getting their money's worth," said Bill Allayaud of the Sierra Club. "Asking Californians to pay for this is like asking a person to buy a house before they can see the inside or inspect the plumbing or electrical systems."

The groups also oppose provisions allowing the housing development to be scattered across the property, rather than clustered in a single area to minimize the impact. And they are calling for a prohibition on water transfers, oil and gas exploration and drilling, and mining.

"This will undermine the public's confidence in future bond measures," said Pam Heatherington, director of the 33-year-old San Luis Obispo non-profit, ECOSLO. "We have fought for decades to preserve the Hearst Ranch, but this deal doesn't do it. There is no reason why the state can't negotiate a better deal."

"The proposed deal would undermine years of efforts to conserve the Hearst Ranch in a manner that is consistent with the California Coastal Act and preserves the public's right to coastal access, sound planning and protection of important scenic and natural resources," said Linda Krop, chief counsel of the Environmental Defense Center.

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has more than 1 million members and e-activists nationwide, served from offices in New York, Washington, Santa Monica and San Francisco.

The Sierra Club is California's largest member-supported environmental organization with 13 chapters and over 200,000 members statewide. Founded in 1892 by John Muir, the Club is involved in a wide range of environmental policy issues at the local, state, and national levels.

The Environmental Defense Center has been serving California's Central Coast since 1977 as the only nonprofit environmental law firm between Los Angeles and San Francisco, working with community groups and conservation organizations to protect our environment, health and quality of life.

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