Hawaii

In the state of Hawaii, TPL is working to conserve iconic shoreline vistas and involve committed local communities with deep connections to the land.

We are working to purchase this taro farm on O'ahu and transfer it to Ka Huli O Haloa, a local nonprofit supporting Hawaiian cultural traditions and education.

Protecting cultural sites and landscapes important to Hawaiian communities.

In October 2018, The Trust for Public Land purchased nearly 2,900 acres of watershed and former plantation land in the Helemano area of Central O‘ahu from Dole Food Company and conveyed it to the State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (“DOFAW”). The property has appropriately been renamed the Helemano Wilderness Recreation Area and will provide outdoor recreational opportunities while securing important watershed and native habitat for the future.

Generations of local children have learned to fish and swim in the tidepools of Honu'apo, on the southern point of Hawa`i's Big Island. The bay is also used for community gatherings and by local fishermen who use traditional native Hawaiian throw-nets.

In December 2003, TPL helped Ka`ala Farm acquire this critical piece of property, ensuring permanent access and providing a land base for the farm's future growth.

The Trust for Public Land is helping the State of Hawai'i Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) purchase and protect Kamehamenui, on the north slopes of Haleakala. DOFAW will plant native hardwoods for sustainable forestry and open the property for public recreation. Reforestation will help the watershed recharge to ensure clean drinking water for the future. Protecting Kamehamenui will also preserve the area's majestic views and help the recovery of endangered species such as the Hawaiian petrel and Hawaiian hoary bat.

Cascading from the mountain peaks of the Koʻolau down to fertile soils, the life-giving lands that make up Kāneʻohe Pali (cliffs) to Loʻi (wetland taro fields), formed one of the largest traditional Hawaiian agricultural complexes on Oʻahu. The Trust for Public Land is assisting the Kāne‘ohe community, local farming nonprofits, and the State to protect approximately 1,000 acres in Kāne‘ohe, O‘ahu.

The remains of the ancient fishing village of Kauleoli lie just south of Pu‘uhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park on the Kona Coast of Hawai‘i Island.

The undeveloped shoreline at Kawa on the island of Hawai'i protects nesting areas for the critically endangered Hawaiian hawksbill turtle.

In May 2012, The Trust for Public Land helped protect 64 acres of coastal wetlands at Ka`ehu Bay, which includes numerous Hawaiian cultural sites including habitation structures, agricultural terraces, former fishponds, and shrines.

The Kona Coast on the island of Hawai'i is the site of the historic battle that led to the end of the traditional kapu religious system in the early 1800s. The Trust for Public Land worked with a local nonprofit organization, the landowner, and the community to preserve this special place for generations to come.

Imagine a 30-plus-mile multiuse path along O‘ahu’s South Shore connecting Waikiki to West O‘ahu that would provide some 600,000 residents with easy access to the island's shorelines and green spaces; a path where hikers, bikers, walkers, and runners could exercise and connect with nature in and around Oʻahu’s urban coastal neighborhoods.

Located on Kaua`i's north shore, just past the community of Hanalei, Lumaha`i has long been the image of a Hawaiian paradise depicted in postcards, photographs, and movies.

The Island of Oʻahu is home to the majority of Hawaiʻi’s population, but 85-90 percent of its food is imported, while suitable parcels for agriculture are increasingly difficult to find because of competition from development interests, real estate speculators, and agricultural uses unrelated to food production. 

Generations of residents of the Maui community of Hana have used gently
sloping Mu`olea Point to reach the ocean for fishing and swimming.
Dotted with ancient heiau (worship sites), the point is the setting for
numerous Hawaiian legends and contains the island's last grove of
Polynesian coconut palms.

Nearly a half-million visitors each year come to this park on Hawai'i Island to attend demonstrations of traditional Hawaiian arts and crafts, hike a historic trail to important archeological sites associated with the highest chiefs and priests, or just soak up the atmosphere of this sacred place.

Overlooking the world-class surf breaks at the Pipeline ('Ehukai) and Sunset Beach rises a 1,129-acre coastal bluff known as Pupukea-Paumalu.  In the 1990s, a community of more than 350 homes was approved for the bluff.

Forty-five minutes from Honolulu, a patchwork of small fields run from the Kamehameha Highway to the base of the mountains, where local farmers grow a bounty of delicious produce. 

In September 2019, The Trust for Public Land, community organizations, and the City and County of Honolulu announced the addition of a previously privately owned 9.5 acre lot to the City’s Wailupe Nature Preserve. The property serves as the trailhead for the Wailupe Valley Trail and the Honolulu Watershed Forest Reserve and allows people to connect with Wailupe Valley’s rich history and resources. 

In 2006, The Trust for Public Land helped the Office of Hawaiian Affairs reacquire the 1,875 acre valley, one of the last intact ahupua'a (traditional mountain to sea land division) on the island of O'ahu with special funding from the US Army.