Officials representing state, environmental and business interests have launched the negotiations in hopes of resolving a bitter and protracted battle over how best to protect 20,000 miles of freshwater and saltwater shorelines.

The state Department of Ecology adopted new rules in November that are designed to limit home, industrial and dock construction on shorelines.

The goals: better protection of salmon habitat and less erosion, flooding and pollution.

But the state Shorelines Hearings Board tossed out the new rules on Aug. 27 after businesses, local governments -- including Thurston County -- and property rights groups successfully argued that the state improperly used the rule to implement the federal Endangered Species Act.

The process the state agency used to adopt the rules was flawed as well, the opponents said, and the board agreed.

At the same time, the hearings board acknowledged that the 30-year-old shoreline rules were outdated and Ecology has the legal authority to update them to better protect shorelines.

Former state Supreme Court Justice Richard Guy and Seattle mediator Bill Ross have agreed to help launch the negotiation effort.

Parties to the case remain far apart. Basic decisions, including who should be at the table and what issues are open to further talks, have not been settled.

"We've always been willing to talk and work on the issues," People for Puget Sound spokesman Bruce Wishart said. "But we won't allow backsliding on the substance of the rules."

Wishart was referring in part to buffer zones along the shoreline and requirements to restore damaged shorelines.

The goal of the parties is to find common ground and avoid a lengthy court battle, said Don Brunell, president of the Association of Washington Business, which is one of the groups that appealed the Ecology guidelines.

"At some point, there are going to be shoreline guidelines," Brunell said.

The Building Industry Association of Washington, another group that challenged the shoreline rules, said the coalition should negotiate from a position of strength.

"The rules were invalidated," building industry attorney Jodi Slavik said. "We won the case."

All the parties involved have filed their appeals in Thurston County Superior Court in case the talks don't bear fruit.

The case could be headed to the state Court of Appeals for direct review, said Tom Bjorgen, an Olympia attorney representing the Washington Environmental Council.