On Maui, 33 acres of the Hāna coastline in Mokae are now permanently protected for conservation and cultural practices.
This is one of the final phases to conserve over 150 acres of Maui’s windward coastline from Hamoa Beach to Makaʻalae Point and Waikoa Pond.
Nonprofit organization Ke Ao Hāliʻi purchased the land from Hana Ranch Partners.
The State of Hawaiʻi, Maui County, and Hawaiʻi Land Trust contributed over $3 million for the purchase.
"It's very relieving, especially because these lands are home to iwi kupuna. And so knowing that the lands are owned and stewarded by a community-based nonprofit out of Hāna, Maui is really reassuring," said Shae Kamakaʻala, the director of ʻāina protection and general counsel with the Hawaiʻi Land Trust.
Efforts for conservation protection of Hāna began in 2002 when Hawaiʻi Land Trust purchased Pōhakuloa Bay from Hāna Ranch Partners.
In 2018, members of the Hāna community established Ke Ao Hāliʻi to protect the undeveloped lands of Hāna.
"Ke Ao Hāliʻi has been doing such great work to properly care for this special place. And also knowing that Hāna families will forever be able to access the shoreline there is also very relieving in these times and days that we live in, as the coastline provides important subsistence gathering grounds for Hāna families," Kamakaʻala old HPR.
Now that Mokae is under the management of Ke Ao Hāliʻi, the lands can no longer be subdivided, and development is limited.
The final step of the land transfer involves a 7-acre parcel along the Hāna Highway.
