Conservation easement saves Hearst coast, creating one of the Pacific's largest elephant seal rookeries

The Hearst family retired development rights on 80,000 acres behind a permanent conservation easement in 2005, preserving 18 miles of coastline for public access while the cattle operation continues. The untouched shoreline allowed thousands of elephant seals to establish a major rookery on Piedras Blancas Beach, a natural reclamation that outlived the resort plans and now defines the coast’s wild, viewable landscape.