When it comes to preserving scenic open spaces on O'ahu, the bottom line is always the same: money.

The most recent debate revolves around a developer's plan to build vacation cabins on two parcels of undeveloped land in East O'ahu.

Area residents, preservationists and some lawmakers are fighting hard against any development, rejecting an offer from QRM LLC to give up its property across from the Makapu'u Lighthouse trail in exchange for clearance to build in the valley near the Hawai'i Kai Golf Course.

QRM's attorney, William McCorriston, complained: "It seems like everyone's against something without any concrete proposal to work something out."

That "something" is the same thing: Building a tourist resort on untouched scenic land and losing it forever.

And McCorriston's "proposal to work something out" just means figuring out how QRM will get paid — either by profiting from tourists or selling the land to the state for a tidy sum.

That's the bottom line. In 2001, the state paid $12.8 million for 300 acres of oceanfront land in the Ka Iwi area. McCorriston says QRM's 181 acres are worth $20 million.

Whatever the final cost, the current effort to preserve pristine scenic lands on O'ahu is a long-term one. Future generations will thank us for it, long after QRM, and its profits, are forgotten.