Volcanoes park
adds 116,000 acres
HILO >> The National Park Service and Nature Conservancy announced the completion of the purchase of the 116,000-acre Kahuku Ranch for addition to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park yesterday. The purchase is the largest conservation transaction in Hawaii's history, the agencies said.
The addition enlarges the park by more than 50 percent. It creates a huge sweep of parkland that arches from the lava flow areas near Puu Oo to the top of Mauna Loa and down the southwest rift of Mauna Loa through lava fields, native forests and pasture lands.
"This property is a conservation jewel for the state of Hawaii," said Suzanne Case, the Hawaii director of the conservancy.
"There are extensive areas of native forest," she said. "Even the areas in lava have rare Hawaiian insects in them."
The conservancy helped in the purchase of the land from the Estate of Samuel Mills Damon for $22 million.
If the buy had not gone through, there was speculation the land would have been cut up for sale as "gentleman estates."
U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye acquired $16 million for the purchase, with the Nature Conservancy providing "bridge financing" of the remainder. Congress is expected eventually to provide funds to reimburse the conservancy for that financing.
The purchase includes all of Kahuku Ranch above the Hawaii Belt Road, thereby excluding a small piece of the ranch below the road where ranch headquarters sit.
Volcanoes park Superintendent Jim Martin said the new area represents a "real management challenge."
The first year of so will involve taking public comments on how to use the area, he said.
The most likely scenario is active uses such as camping, hiking and horseback riding in the lower areas, he said. The upland area, up to 12,600 feet, would likely remain as wilderness.
The park has no additional money to manage the area, he said, adding, "It's not going to cost us a whole lot more right now."
The property is a working ranch which had 4,500 cattle when Damon proposed the purchase four years ago, he said.
Purchase of Kahuku was the top priority in the nation for the National Park Service, which has been interested in the ranch since 1938, Martin said.