Keith Robinson is an American environmentalist who is the co-owner of Niʻihau, the second-smallest of the eight principal Hawaiian Islands.

Early life

Keith Robinson was born c. 1941 to Lester Beauclerk Robinson (1901–1969) and Helen Matthew Robinson (1910–2002). He has a brother, Bruce Robinson. He attended the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

, graduating with a degree in agronomy and ranch management.

Career and land ownership

After college, Keith served in the US Army. Subsequently, he returned to Hawaii, where he initially worked at the Ko’olau Ranch on

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

seven years and then operated a commercial fishing vessel on Kauaʻi for another seven years. Robinson and his brother Bruce own the approximately island of Niʻihau in the Hawaiian island chain, which has been in the private possession of their family since their great-great-grandmother Elizabeth McHutcheson Sinclair (1800–1892) purchased it from King

Kamehameha V Kamehameha V (Lota Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiōlani Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui; December 11, 1830 – December 11, 1872), reigned as the fifth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipaʻa": immovable, firm, s ...

for

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

10,000 in gold. He is also the manager of a private

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

on the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi.

Conservation work on Niʻihau

Robinson has been credited for keeping numerous Hawaiian plants from becoming extinct, including '' Cyanea pinnatifida'', which is considered

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

in the wild.

Contemporary activities

Robinson has repeatedly expressed his desire to keep Niʻihau privately owned so as to preserve the environment and traditions of its 150 to 200

native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

inhabitants, and has occasionally taken large financial losses to do so. Robinson's grandfather, Aubrey, largely closed Niʻihau to outside visitors in 1915. His grandsons have maintained this practice, though a few hunters and other tourists are admitted each year—but with limited or no contact with the islanders. The Robinsons continue to ban radios, televisions and mobile phones on the island, in an effort to preserve as much of the indigenous island culture as possible. In 1997, Robinson estimated that between $8–9 million was spent to keep people employed, not counting the free housing and free meat provided to the 150–200 Niʻihau islanders. After 135 years of operation, the ranch on the island shut down in 1999, rendering all its inhabitants unemployed. Robinson expressed concerns about his family's ability to continue to maintain their ownership of Niʻihau, due to pressure from the federal and state governments and environmental groups. Taxes on the island have taken much of the profits from the Robinsons' interests in agricultural companies. In 2005 a documentary on him was released titled '' Robinson Crusader''.

Family tree

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Keith 1940s births Living people American environmentalists American landowners Niihau People from Hawaii People from Niihau University of California, Davis alumni Year of birth missing (living people)