Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 32, Number 4, 1 April 2015 — Forest land protected from development [ARTICLE]

Forest land protected from development

About 1,000 acres of forest land on Hawai'i Island that was onee slated for residential development and a golf course is being protected

to permanently restrict developments and to maintain harvest levels. A conservation easement held by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources would protect the parcels from future development in the native forest that would preserve the habitat of native birds and safeguard water quality into the watershed that drains into Kealakekua Bay. The U.S. Forest Service's Forest Legacy Program worked with the DLNR to protect the lands. "The partnership we have with DLNR is invaluable as we look to restore and protect these critical resources," said U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Regional Forester Randy Moore. The land located 20 miles south of Kailua-Kona, known as the Ka'awaloa Forest and Kealakekua Heritage Ranch, will be permanently protected through conservation easement acquisitions for less than the appraised value. The Ka'awaloa easement will protect ecosystems that support several Hawaiian birds.