Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan - U.S. Fish and Wildlife ...

Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge
Comprehensive Conservation Plan
Honohina and Maulua tracts. The HFU is accessed by taking Mauna Kea Summit Road to Keanakolu
Road, which is an unpaved road that follows the upper elevation boundary of the Refuge.
The HFU was established on October 29, 1985. The current acreage was purchased over a series of
years from various entities including W.H. Shipman LTD, The Nature Conservancy, Lili‘uokalani
Trust, Robertson, and the World Union. In addition, a 1.65 ac easement was purchased from the
Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL).
The specific purpose of HFU is “to assure the perpetuation of native forest habitats of the Upper
Hakalau Forest for the protection of a number of endangered animals and plants endemic to the
area.” The environmental assessment for Refuge acquisition states that the purpose “is to sustain the
naturally evolving mid-elevation rain forest of this area and, as necessary, allow for the management
of this forest and its assemblage of native and non-native plants and animals” (Stine 1985).
Furthermore, the 500 ac Pua ‘Ākala Ranch portion of the Refuge unit was added to the unit in 1995
in order “to protect and rehabilitate significant native forest habitat, provide for recovery of
endangered and threatened species, and to establish a Refuge boundary that would improve
management capabilities.”
Historically, the Refuge area above 6,000 ft was used as rangeland. This area encompasses 4,950 ac.
Domestic grazing occurred in the Upper Honohina Tract (Lili‘uokalani Trust) until April 1996. This
1,034-acre area was leased by Parker Ranch. A private landowner leased 500 acres known as Pua
‘Ākala Ranch until 1997.
Currently, DHHL and the Hawai‘i Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) are two adjacent
land owners of the HFU. DHHL owns the land bordering the west boundary of the Refuge, including
the 514 ac Kanakaleonui corridor. Domestic grazing no longer occurs on the land. In a partnership
between the Refuge and DHHL in the area immediately adjacent to and above the Refuge (195 ac),
DHHL is pursuing a koa forest restoration project that was designed to plant koa to contain the
spread of the gorse infestations. At the northwestern corner of the Upper Maulua tract, a 40 ac parcel
and two 40 ac parcels are owned by two private landowners.
The DOFAW owns and manages the Forest Reserves and Natural Area Reserves adjacent to the
Refuge. Land uses on the Laupāhoehoe Natural Area Reserve include hiking, wildlife observation,
and hunting (HAR § 13-209-3). The adjacent sections of the Forest Reserve System are utilized by
the public for camping, collecting, commercial harvesting, hunting, and other special uses (HAR §
13-209-3). The Pīhā Section of the Hilo Forest Reserve, located between the Honohina and Maulua
tracts, is primarily used by the public for hunting.
More distant land areas include the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve and Mauna Kea Ice Age Natural Area
Reserve, located west of the property at the summit of Mauna Kea. In addition, Pu‘u O‘o Ranch is
located south of the Pua ‘Ākala area and Parker Ranch is located west of the Refuge boundary.
The Districts of North and South Hilo encompass 174,377 and 252,960 ac, respectively. Almost
69 percent of the North Hilo District is defined as Conservation by the State of Hawai‘i Land Use
District Boundaries Map, while 67 percent of the South Hilo District is considered Conservation
(County of Hawai‘i 2007). The majority of the upper portion of the HFU is designated as Agriculture
by the State of Hawai‘i Land Use District Boundaries Map. The lower portions of the Refuge, as well
as the southwestern corner of the Refuge, are classified as Conservation. Areas in the immediate
3-14 Chapter 3. Physical Environment