Nicholas learned that the problem was due largely to the fact the ranch had rarely, if ever, consulted with the community on its plans, instead choosing to isolate itself in dealing directly with Maui County.

"I swore that I would never go to another meeting like that ever again," he said.

Two years later it appears old wounds are healing as the company has thrown open the question of future development in a process that has involved a large cross-section of the community.

The effort, aided by volunteers with the nonprofit Moloka'i Enterprise Community, has brought former enemies to the table and resulted in a tentative plan in which 85 percent of the ranch's 64,000 acres would be dedicated to conservation, open space and agriculture. The ranch has also agreed to protect Hawaiian cultural areas, historic sites and public-access points.

While those offers have gained praise in the community, another ranch proposal — to develop 200 luxury home sites on the island's southwest coast — may stand in the way of ultimate peace and harmony.

The ranch wants to subdivide La'au Point to underwrite a $35 million rehab of the aging Kaluako'i Resort, including the 144-room hotel that closed in 2000 to add to the economic woes of an island already suffering from double-digit unemployment.

Nicholas said the subdivision plan is essential to make Moloka'i Ranch and its ventures viable.

"We can't stay the way we are. We can't continue to lose in excess of $3 million a year," he said.

But critics such as Walter Ritte Jr. say La'au Point is too precious for the people of Moloka'i to give up.

"It's the Penguin Banks," he said, referring to the biologically rich ocean region to the west of the island. "No, we would be giving up on a jewel that could feed our generations forever."

The proposals are detailed in a draft master plan developed by the Conservation Fund, a Washington-based nonprofit that works to protect the environmental integrity of large tracts of land across the country.

The plan, created following six months and more than 100 meetings involving more than 1,000 Moloka'i residents, proposes that Moloka'i Ranch donate 26,170 acres to a new Moloka'i Land Trust and allow the trust to hold easements over another 24,950 acres dedicated to agriculture (14,118 acres) and "rural reserve" (10,832).

The ranch would retain control of 13,880 acres, including the Lodge at Maunaloa, the Beach Village at Kaupoa, the Kaluako'i Hotel and Golf Course and 1,000 acres of shoreline property around La'au Point.

The Moloka'i Enterprise Community has been holding meetings to present the draft plan, and it hopes to arrive at a final plan by the middle of next year. After that, any proposals would have to go through the county, starting with the Moloka'i Planning Commission.

Moloka'i Enterprise Community President Stacy Helm Crivello said much of the plan is being embraced by a community that wants to kick-start the economy while preserving open space.

"We're trying to find solutions to our stagnant economic woes. There's no denying that," she said. "But people here also value the rural landscape we have."

The La'au Point proposal is a point of contention, prompting the formation of a separate committee looking at alternatives.

"We figured if we hit a wall and there's no support (for La'au Point), there might as well be a Plan B," explained committee member Matt Yamashita.

Yamashita said the panel, among other things, is looking into persuading a land trust to buy the land and to protect it as open space. To buy the land, however, the trust would have to come up with many millions of dollars to compensate the ranch for its lost revenue.

While a land-trust sale might sound unrealistic, it's not unprecedented. Yamashita noted that the Peninsula Open Space Trust in California has raised nearly $200 million to buy 13,000 acres of prime rural coastline near the Bay Area.

Nicholas' response: "Good luck. Years of experience tells me it's difficult to find someone to buy something. It's a challenge."

As for other development options on the island, any other project generating as much revenue would result in five times as many people and require much more water, he said. "The community doesn't want that."

Nicholas said many have accepted the ranch's La'au Point plan. As proposed, 200 one-acre lots would be developed in a 500-acre area, leaving another 500 acres for protected archaeological and cultural sites, flood zones and steep slopes.

As proposed, lot owners would pay for the hiring of eight people, including three charged with protecting coastal resources and making sure fishing is reserved for locals only in a quarter-mile subsistence fishing zone. Three others would work to revive the native ecology of the area. One person would oversee cultural sites and another would write grants to enhance the area's conservation and protection efforts.

The subdivision's covenants and restrictions might also be written to require that homeowners receive an education about the Hawaiian culture and such things as the access rules.

"This would be a very unique subdivision," Nicholas said. "I'm convinced the resources will be protected more than they are now."

Ritte doesn't think its going to work.

"The ranch says that it can be both a place for millionaires and a place where we can feed our families. I don't believe that."

And neither do quite a few others, said Ritte, a Moloka'i Enterprise Community board member who has polled audiences at recent meetings and found about half opposed to the La'au Point development.

Whatever happens, residents and others who have been watching the process say the new dialogue is a blessing for a community that has been torn apart by contentiousness.

John Sabas, deputy director of Honolulu's Office of Community Services, was born and raised on Moloka'i. He describes himself as a strong critic of the ranch. But now, he said, it's gratifying to see the company finally listening to the people.

"There's hope. There's plenty of hope," Sabas said.

Certainly, it's bordering on a minor miracle that Ritte and other veterans of fierce battles with the ranch are even meeting with Nicholas face-to-face.

"I'm beginning to trust him," Ritte said. "I just don't like his deal. It's not level yet."