Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.

Volcanoes park
may acquire
Kahuku Ranch

---

By Rod Thompson
Big Island Correspondent

HILO -- A bill passed by Congress this week could permit the dramatic expansion of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Park Superintendent Jim Martin said public hearings are likely early next year on a possible expansion of the 229,000-acre park by purchasing the 117,000-acre Kahuku Ranch from the Damon Estate.

Martin said the park became aware of the Damon Estate's desire to sell the ranch this year, but had to wait for authorization to buy the land before making a proposal, he said.

"This bill allows us to think forward. It's an incredible opportunity," he said.

Kahuku Ranch contains world-class geology, Hawaiian cultural resources and important ecosystems, Martin said.

Not all of the land might become part of the park. Some land might be managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and some by the private Nature Conservancy, he said.

President Clinton is expected to sign the bill, U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka said in a statement.

Another bill authorizes the addition of the 600-year-old Ala Kahakai Trail, which circles three quarters of the Big Island, to the National Trail System.

Approval of federal status for the Ala Kahakai trail brought praise from Big Island hiker Toni Thomson.

"I'm just ecstatic that thing passed," she said.

Thomson, 77, was the only person to hike all of the approximately 50 segments of the 175-mile trail, which hikers walked in 1998 to publicize it.

Federal officials have said there is more history connected with the Ala Kahakai Trail, such as associations with Kamehameha and Captain James Cook, than any other national trail.

Of the 175 miles of trail, 144 miles are already protected, or subject to protection, by federal, state, and county governments and private agreements, Akaka said. Trail preservation by private landowners for the remaining 31 miles would be voluntary.