2,183 Acres on O`ahu and Hawai`i Protected for Sustained Agriculture

2,183 Acres on O`ahu and Hawai`i Protected
for Sustained Agriculture
Collaborative Deal Marks First for Newly Formed
Hawaiian Islands Land Trust

Honu‘apo (Hawai‘i Island)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Honolulu, Hawai`i – A land preservation agreement between Hawaiian Islands Land Trust and landowner Ed Olson ensures 1,276 acres at Honouliuli on O`ahu, and 907 acres at Honu`apo on Hawai`i Island are to continue in perpetuity as working ranch and farm lands. The newly formed Hawaiian Islands Land Trust worked together with The Nature Conservancy to secure the agreement that protects this land in perpetuity.

On O`ahu, cattle grazing predominates on the 1276 acres of land situated on the eastern slope of the Waianae Mountains. The parcel is in close proximity to the Waianae Kai Forest Preserve and creates a continuity of natural areas, preserving a significant expanse that dominates downtown Honolulu’s `Ewa view. Olson’s voluntary land preservation agreement secures the land for continued agricultural use and safeguards the property’s numerous cultural sites and pockets of healthy wildlife habitats.

HILT Board President Announces New Agricultural Land Conservation on Hawaii News Now

Did you catch HILT’s board president Helen Nielsen on Howard Dicus’ Hawaii News Now show yesterday morning? She appeared with John Henshaw from the Nature Conservancy. In case you missed it, click here to watch the clip!

We’ve Officially Become One!

Hana Ranch, Maui, 41-acre conservation easement. (Photo courtesy of Ron Chapple)

MEDIA RELEASE

Four existing conservation land trusts representing all counties within the state are combining to form the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust (HILT), a new statewide land conservancy.

Official on Jan. 1, 2011, the merger creates an organization with the sustainability and resources to safeguard existing protected lands and dramatically grow conservation lands in Hawaii.

Participating in the collaboration are Kauai Public Land Trust, Oahu Land Trust, Maui Coastal Land Trust and Hawaii Island Land Trust.

A Rising Tide Floats All Boats: Next Steps

Hawaiian Islands from Space

Over the next few months we will transition to a unified statewide conservation organization. An interim board of directors will be chosen to codify the policies of the new organization, help raise expansion funding and recruit the permanent statewide board. In addition to the statewide board which will have representatives from across the state, there will be local Island Councils that will focus on the identification of potential projects on their islands and cultivation of their local constituencies.