Description
DESCRIPTION
Waikamoi Preserve provides an important sanctuary for hundreds of native Hawaiian plants and animals that make up its high-elevation rainforest and alpine shrubland. Spectacular plants like the blue ʻōpelu, a native lobelia, as well as native ferns, herbs, shrubs and trees, some found only on Maui, comprise the lush forest. Twelve different native bird species thrive here, seven of them endangered. These include the increasingly rare ʻakohekohe and kiwikiu (Maui parrotbill) and the scarlet ʻiʻiwi, the crimson ʻapapane and the bright green ʻamakihi.
WHY TNC SELECTED THIS SITE
TNC established a preserve at Waikamoi to protect the fresh water source for the island and to provide a sanctuary for endangered plants, birds and hundreds of other native Hawaiian species. The preserve protects part of the 100,000-acre East Maui Watershed on Haleakalā, which provides 60 billion gallons of clean water annually to Maui's residents, businesses and agricultural community. This vast koa-ʻōhiʻa forest is the last stronghold for 63 species of rare plants and 12 species of birds, seven of them endangered.
WHAT TNC HAS DONE/IS DOING
Waikamoi Preserve harbors some of the healthiest native forest in all of Hawai‘i. TNC protects the native species living there by managing the invasive weeds and animals threatening their survival. On-the-ground land management, in partnership with landowners and communities, is at the heart of what we do.
Waikamoi Preserve became a reality in 1983 when the Haleakalā Ranch Company granted a conservation easement to TNC over 5,230 acres. The preserve was expanded in 2014 when landowner Alexander & Baldwin conveyed a conservation easement over an additional 3,721 adjacent acres, bringing the total to 8,951 acres and making Waikamoi the largest private nature preserve in the state.
As part of the East Maui Watershed Partnership, TNC, Haleakalā Ranch and Alexander & Baldwin work together to protect this remarkable landscape. Waikamoi Preserve is managed in partnership with the State Department of Land & Natural Resources through the Natural Area Partnership Program.