10,000 acres of 'irreplaceable' scenic land up for sale

The Carmel Pine Cone July 27, 2001by Tamara Grippi

MULTI-BILLIONAIRE Craig McCaw's 10,000-acre Palo Corona Ranch, which stretches from Carmel Valley to Big Sur, is up for sale for $55 million and the Big Sur Land Trust is trying to find a way to buy it. McCaw purchased the 4,900-acre ranch from the heirs of Stuyvesant Fish for $11.5 million in 1996 and then bought the 4,800-acre Little Horse Ranch for $17.5 million from John and Joan Murphy in April 2000. McCaw also acquired six smaller pieces of property in the past few years, according to Mike Canning of the Mitchell Group, who is representing McCaw. The property has been listed for sale and Canning began marketing it July 23.

Corey Brown, executive director of the Big Sur Land Trust, said his organization places a high priority on the purchase of the ranch and is continuing talks with McCaw's representatives. "It's one of the most extraordinary properties in America and is a very high priority for conservation," Brown said. "It makes a very important connection from Point Lobos and the Carmel River all the way to the Ventana Wilderness." Brown said state and federal funding, as well as private donations, would be critical to the acquisition of the land. "We're working on a variety of funding strategies," Brown said "Private donors are very key in addition to public funding to make this happen."

So far, Canning said he's been talking with two conservation organizations and at least one-private entity. McCaw's spokesman, Bob Ratliffe, told The Pine Cone that McCaw prefers to sell the land to a buyer who will preserve it. "He's not going to sell to anyone who would dramatically alter the landscape and build on every parcel," Ratliffe said.   Canning estimated that there are somewhere between 70 and 80 legal lots of record on the 10,000-acre ranch. Ratliffe said he didn't want to speculate on what kind of preservation deal McCaw is seeking. "I really couldn't comment on that until we see what someone puts in front of us," he said.

At the very least,McCaw is committed to preserving a stand of old growth redwoods on the original property purchased from the Fish family, Ratliffe said. "We have made a commitment to Diana Fish, who we purchased the property from to preserve the redwoods," he said. "That will be done regardless." Brown called the 10,000 acre ranch a "critical environmental resource." "It links together several state parks and preserves owned by the land trust and includes irreplaceable wildlife habitat," he said.