Pālamanui Community Forest (also known as the Pālamanui Forest Preserve) is a forest preserve located in

Kailua-Kona Kailua-Kona is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. It is most commonly referred to simply as Kona (a name it shares with the district to which it belongs), but also as Kona To ...

on the

island of Hawaii Hawaii is the List of islands of the United States by area, largest island in the United States, located in the Hawaii, state of Hawaii, the southernmost state in the union. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcani ...

. It is collaboratively managed by two state government entities: the

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System is a public college and university system in Hawaii. The system confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven community colleges, an employment training center, ...

and the

Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is a part of the Hawaii state government dedicated to managing, administering, and exercising control over public lands, water resources and streams, ocean waters, coastal areas, miner ...

Division of Forestry and Wildlife. The government's goal is preserving Hawaii's lowland tropical dry forest, protecting plant species that are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the islands of Hawaii, and reducing invasive flora species.

History

The Pālamanui Forest Preserve was established for the goal of preserving and protecting the native trees of Hawai’i. By 2030, Governor David Ige’s goal for the forest preserve is to replant, restore and conserve these native trees and their ecosystems across the Islands. This restoration effort is seen as crucial for maintaining biodiversity and supporting the natural habitats of the region. The University of Hawaii and the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) agreed to use the dryland forest was as an "outdoor laboratory" learning center for surrounding communities to learn about Hawaii's ecosystem and native trees. The project for this preserved forest received $60,000 in legislative funding to contribute to the protection of wiliwili trees with fences and weed control.

Ecology

Many plants located inside the Pālamanui Community Forest are endemic to the Hawaiian islands. These include

wiliwili Wiliwili (''Erythrina sandwicensis'') is a species of tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is Endemism, endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the only species of ''Erythrina'' that Indigenous (ecology), naturally occurs there. It is typically ...

, halapepe, ko’oko’olau, kauila, noho kula, maʻaloa, and ‘aiea. Several invasive plants are also located within the preserve. These include haole koa,

silk oak ''Grevillea robusta'', commonly known as the southern silky oak, silk oak or silky oak, silver oak or Australian silver oak, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae. Despite its common names, it is unrelated to true oaks, whic ...

, and fountain grass, with the goal of removing these invasive species to make room for Hawaii's native flora.

Culture

In the Hawaiian kingdom before the United States of America colonized Hawai’i – Big Island, native Hawaiians used an Ahupua’a system. This system was a traditional geologic and subdivision of land native Hawaiians used to divide land into different communities. This system allocated land from the mountains to the sea, encompassing various ecosystems that ensured sustainable resource usage and balanced community needs. In some beliefs, Ahupua’a originally started with

ʻUmi-a-Līloa ʻUmi-a-Līloa (fifteenth century) was the supreme ruler Aliʻi-ʻAimoku (High chief of Hawaiʻi Island) who inherited religious authority of the Hawaiian Islands from his father, High Chief Līloa, whose line is traced, unbroken to Hawaiian "crea ...

who was the son of the great high chief

Līloa Līloa was a ruler of the island of Hawaii in the late 15th century. He kept his royal compound in Waipio Valley, Waipi'o Valley. Līloa was the firstborn son of Kiha-nui-lulu-moku, one of the ''noho aliʻi'' (ruling elite). He descended from Hān ...

. As the belief goes, ʻUmi-a-Līloa took over control of the land and divided it into Ahupua’a for communities to utilize. Another belief comes from communities coming together to divide land equally to share water usage. With the Ahupua’a coming together for communities, each part of land started from the top of the volcano to the bottom where the shore meets the ocean. A drainage system is created for each piece of land for water usage, and each piece of land has its own mala, or cultivated area. For each land division, an aliʻi would overlook the Ahupua’a. In the Ahupua’a divisions, Palamanui’s ‘ili (small section of land) would be located in Hamanamana, Haleohiu, Maka'ula and Kau.{{Cite web , title=Hawaii Statewide GIS Program , url=https://geoportal.hawaii.gov/datasets/07624815fc7d42d4b23c527d20ad2f58/explore?location=19.727356,-155.980063,12.62 , access-date=March 28, 2024 , website=geoportal.hawaii.gov , language=en-us

References

Wikipedia Student Program Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Forests of Hawaii University of Hawaiʻi 2014 establishments in Hawaii