Which sensor bus best to use?
CAN for the Phy (physical) layer would be good for several thousand feet. You can use whatever baud and protocol on the CAN layer you like within reason. I am assuming (maybe in error) that they all communicate on the same bus. This CAN Phy was designed for this. It would be possible for you to write your own protocol and simply address each by a unique number or whatever. There is also the option of using a CAN controller but I think that would be a lot of time not needed to design your solution. By placing a Atmega8 at each sensor opens up a lot of possibilities for you.