The Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival is dropping its plan to buy about 10 acres of land in West Tisbury from the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society to use as a permanent campus.

In a brief announcement that went out by email Friday, film festival leaders said the deal is off because “state environmental studies were more restrictive than we had anticipated.”

The proposed land deal was hailed earlier this year as a win-win for the festival, which has long looked for a permanent home, and the cash-strapped Agricultural Society, which has struggled to retire a burdensome debt acquired some years ago.

The land had not been on the market when the agreement between the two nonprofits was first announced in April. Agricultural Society president Brian Athearn said at the time that the film festival approached the society to buy it. The agreed-upon price was $1.8 million, according to a copy of the offer to purchase.

The money would enable the society to pay off debt and establish an endowment, Mr. Athearn told the Gazette at the time.

Film festival leaders had no comment beyond the brief announcement, and said they would continue to seek a location for a permanent campus.

Established in 2001, the festival holds a popular four-day film series in Chilmark in March, along with a full schedule of summer programming, including the popular Cinema Circus, a variety of film screenings and speakers.

In a brief statement emailed to the Gazette Monday, the Agricultural Society said it wished the film society well. “Although we are disappointed that the project they envisioned could not come to fruition at our location, we wish them the best of luck finding a new home and look forward to collaborating on projects in the future,” executive director Kristina West said.