Hawaii

Preserving Hawaii's working agricultural and forest lands for food and energy production.

The remote northern end of the island of Moloka'i offers a modern view of an ancient culture. Local residents began restoring lo'i (terraces) and 'auwai (canals) in 1997, and reintroduced taro to Halawa Valley, which had been grown by the very same system for several hundred years up until the middle of this century.

Shoppers at the Costco store in the town of Hawai‘i Kai in East Honolulu might be surprised to learn that there's an environmental and cultural treasure nearby. The Hāwea heiau complex reflects the land’s cultural history in its ancient walls and petroglyphs, and agricultural terraces.

The Preserve is a lowland diverse forest on the eastern slope of the Wai'anae Mountain Range where 35 threatened and endangered species live, including 16 found nowhere else in the world.

The Trust for Public Land worked with partners to protect the land from development and ensure that the area's natural beauty and cultural sites will be preserved for everyone to enjoy.

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.

Kauhola Point has been used as a gathering place since ancient times and is still used for camping, fishing, swimming, and surfing.

Kaunamano means “multitudes are placed here,” reflecting the thriving Hawaiian fishing community that once lived and trained in lua (traditional Hawaiian martial art) on the southeastern coast of Hawai‘i Island.

Stretching five miles from Kawela Bay to Kahuku Point, the land surrounding the Turtle Bay Resort embraces one of the last undeveloped wild shorelines on O'ahu.

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.

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.

The Trust for Public Land worked with its partners to purchase and protect this former pineapple plantation for use by local farmers on O'ahu.

Growing fresh produce, self-sufficiency, and young leaders at a community-run farm in Hawai'i.

MA'O Organic Farm is located along the Wai'anae Coast on O'ahu in one of Hawai'i's poorest and most under-served communities. Substance abuse, homelessness, and crime are serious problems, as are preventable, diet-related diseases such as diabetes.

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 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.