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Public Awareness Report Calls for New Era of Public-Private Cooperation and Investment to Save Hawaii's Native Forests

Honolulu, HI—April 22, 2003—A public awareness report issued today calls for a new era of public-private cooperation and investment to preserve the state's embattled native forests. 

Land Stand - the Vanishing Hawaiian Forest, released in conjunction with this week's 100th anniversary of the state forest reserve system, makes the case for renewing the public-private commitment to forest and watershed protection that sparked the creation of the forest reserve system a century ago.  

The report was produced by the Nature Conservancy in cooperation with the State Department of Land and Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Malama Hawai`i. 

"The long-term survival of Hawaii's native forests is at a critical historical juncture," said Suzanne Case, the Conservancy's Executive Director. "A decade of chronic budget shortfalls has left forest managers struggling to sustain watersheds, battle the nation's worst extinction crisis and stem a silent invasion of alien plants and animals. A new era of public-private cooperation and investment is urgently needed to secure our future water supply and ensure the long-term survival of our native forests - just as it was a century ago."   

Hawaii's native forests evolved over millions of years, yet since the onset of human arrival, 1,500 years ago, their history has largely been one of loss and destruction. The worst damage was inflicted during the 19th century when cattle and other introduced livestock were allowed to multiply and range unchecked throughout the Islands, laying waste to hundreds of thousands of acres of native forest.  

The situation became so dire that leaders of government and industry realized if the destruction continued there would be no water for growing sugar, the Islands' emerging economic mainstay. In response, on April 25, 1903, the Territorial Legislature approved Act 44, which created Hawaii's forest reserve system and became the basis for the largest public-private partnership in the history of the Islands. 

"Act 44 marked the beginning of a new attitude toward Hawaii's forests, a new determination to protect them," said Sam Gon, the Conservancy's Director of Science. "If not for these early efforts by sugar growers and territorial foresters, there wouldn't be much forest today for us to worry about saving."

During the early decades of the 20th century, public and private interests waged a massive campaign of fence building and feral animal removal that saved the Islands' remaining native forests. They also instituted fire-control and large-scale tree-planting programs and eventually placed more than 1.2 millions acres within the new forest reserve system.

Reforestation efforts reached a peak in the late 1930s when nearly two million trees were planted annually in the forest reserves.  Although most of these newly planted trees were fast growing non-native species, such as eucalyptus, the effort replenished the Islands' water supply and fueled the era of plantation agriculture in Hawai`i.

"Today, we reap the benefits of this investment but, ironically, no longer have a well-funded forest management program," said Case. "Public investment in watershed protection has dropped precipitously, and once again our watersheds are degrading and our native forests slowly disappearing."    

Already, more than half of the islands' native cover has been lost. While the historical impacts from agriculture, grazing, logging and development are responsible for much of this loss, the greater threat today is the destruction wrought by invasive weeds such as miconia and wild pigs and other feral animals.

Currently, more than one-third of the plants and birds on the U.S. Endangered Species List are from Hawai`i. When spiders, snails, and insects are included, nearly 60% of Hawaii's total native flora and fauna is endangered, by far the highest percentage of any state. Destruction and the loss of habitat are the primary causes of species decline.

The State of Hawai`i, which has the stewardship responsibilities for almost half of Islands' 1.5 million acres of forested lands, is currently spending less than 1% of its budget to protect and manage all of its natural and cultural resources. Hawaii's state-owned forest reserve system is the 11th largest in the country, yet we rank 48th in the nation for state spending on fisheries and wildlife.

The report's key recommendations are for lawmakers to provide dedicated funding for enhanced alien species prevention and for the recent statewide movement toward watershed partnerships. Watershed partnerships are voluntary alliances of public and private landowners committed to the common value of protecting large areas of forested watersheds for water recharge and conservation values.

The first watershed partnership was pioneered in 1991 on East Maui. It brought together the area's six major public and private landowners and the county government in a cooperative effort to protect a 100,000-acre forest ecosystem that is the island's primary source of water as well as habitat for the largest concentration of endangered forest birds in the Unites States. 

Today, the success of the East Maui Watershed Partnership has spurred the formation of similar watershed partnerships across the state. To date, nearly 300,000 acres of important watershed areas in Hawai`i have been placed within these unique public-private partnerships, with many new partnerships in the formative stages. 

"With ownership of forested lands in Hawai`i evenly split between public and private landowners, effective conservation can't be achieved without the cooperation of both," said Gon. "By bringing public and private landowners together around a shared interest, such as watershed protection, these partnerships enable public and private landowners to share expertise and resources and jointly manage our watershed forests across ownership boundaries in the most efficient and cost-effective manner."   

"Watershed partnerships represent our best hope for long-term protection of Hawaii's watersheds and native forest resources," said Case.  "But secure, dedicated public funding is essential for landowners to make the long-term commitment of their lands and resources necessary for the protection of this most precious public resource."

For a copy of Last Stand -- the Vanishing Hawaiian Forest contact the Conservancy at (808) 537-4508.