Table Of ContentWAO KEL E O PUNA
Biological Management
Photo Courtesy Betsy Gagne
Plan
PROGRAM COOPERATORS
DIVISION OF
OFFICE OF PACIFIC
DLNR FORESTRY & WILDLIFE LEGACY LANDS HAWAIIAN COOPERATIVE
HAWAII ISLAND
AFFAIRS STUDIES
UNIT
Prepared by Julie Leialoha
DLNR Wao Kele O Puna Forest Reserve Coordinator
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WAO KELE O PUNA FOREST RESERVE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This plan is a site-specific plan prepared by the Department of Land and Natural
Resources (DLNR), Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) for Wao Kele O Puna
Forest Reserve – Hawaii County, State of Hawai‘i. This plan presents a brief history of
the forest reserve owned by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) but jointly manged
with DLNR-DOFAW along with descriptions of cultural, geological and natural
resources, and proposed management recommendations.
Wao Kele O Puna Forest Reserve was first established as the Puna Forest Reserve by
Governor’s Proclamation on June 29, 1911. At the time it consisted of 16,843.89
acres. A second parcel of land consisting of 8,890.275 acres was placed into the Puna
Forest Reserve by Governors Proclamation on December 22, 1928. These parcels
combined or, 25,856-acres, currently makes up the Wao Kele O Puna Forest Reserve .
However, since 1928, the reserve has undergone a number of administrative changes
beginning primarily in 1981. The convoluted history of these changes will be
addressed in detail in the land use (reserve history) section of this report. In short, the
reserve has gone from public land under the administration of the State’s Department
of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), to privately owned holding by Campbell Estate
in a controversial, though State supported land-swap, then back to public land currently
owned by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) and managed by DLNR’s Division of
Forestry and Wildlife (DLNR/DOFAW) in a joint memorandum of agreement signed in
June of 2006 (henceforth known as the “agreement”). The current agreement is
scheduled to expire in June of 2016. It is expected that OHA will then take full control
of all aspects to manage the reserve, unless otherwise mutually agreed upon by OHA
and DLNR.
The Wao Kele O Puna Forest Reserve is important for preserving Hawaii’s unique
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native forest ecosystems, its species, as well as its cultural significance. There are a
wide variety of rare or endangered plants and animals. Endangered birds for which the
continuing health of the Reserve may be a critical factor include the ‘I’o (Buteo
solitaries), Hawai‘i Creeper (Oreomystis mana) and Hawai‘i ‘akepa (Loxops coccineus),
including a known regular visitor to the reserve, the Newell Shearwater or a’o (Puffinus
auricularis newell). Rare plants found in the reserve include the ‘aku (Cyanea
tritomantha), an endemic species with a unique spiny-like (false thorns) features running
along its stems, and the nanu or na’u, or Hawaiian gardenia (Gardenia remyil), also
endemic to Hawaii’s forest ecosystems. The rare and endemic mammal, the Hawaiian
hoary-bat, or ‘ope’ape’a (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) is a known in inhabitant of the
reserve. In addition, surveys of cave dwelling arthropods by Bishop Musuem
entomologist have found rare organisms including the cave-dwelling-plant-hopper
(Oliarus polyphemus). Survival and recovery of these rare native plants and animals
depend upon preservation of habitat by reducing impacts from threats such as
ungulates, disease-bearing mosquitoes and other invasive insects, non-native
predators, introduced diseases and invasive plants.
The Wao Kele O Puna Forest Reserve contains resources that are vital for maintaining
Hawaiian culture and practices. Hawaiians consider native plants and animals as
family and have a strong spiritual connection to the mountain landscape and the forest
itself. Gathering plants such as ferns, maile (Alyxia oliviformis), flowers, fruits, and other
materials cannot be perpetuated into the future unless the forest remains relatively
pristine. Recent history of legal events in the reserve led to a land mark ruling
solidifying gathering rights for Native Hawaiians, which focused on access into
traditional gathering areas (Pele Defense Fund –vs- Campbell Estate). The ruling,
which directly affected the Wao Kele O Puna Forest Reserve, could have wider
implications on traditional gathering rights of Native Hawaiians at a state wide level.
However, the intent here is to signify the importance of Wao Kele O Puna as an
important resource area for traditional Native Hawaiian gatherers and/or practitioners.
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Wao Kele O Puna Forest Reserve is an important area for public use which also
includes hunting, potential recreational opportunities, and educational programs and
activities. There is currently limited public access to most of this reserve. There is only
one legal public access route into the reserve located just above the town of Pahoa in
lower Puna. The access road traverses through neighborhood communities along a
county roadway and through a private parcel owned by Olsson Trust, of which OHA
owns road easement rights through Olsson Trust properties and into the reserve. The
legal access route is commonly referred to as the “geothermal access road”. Though
other limited access points are available, they require permission from private land
owners or written negotiations with community associations for access usually for a
limited period of time, prior to entering the reserve through these access points. Most
access roads, particularly those in the upper Puna sub-divisions leading to the reserve,
are privately held by community associations and its members. This has been a
source of contention from owners who are being trespassed upon by private
individuals, who use these access points without the permission of the land owner or
community association. Though the reserve itself is considered public-lands, the
majority of the reserve is surrounded by privately held parcels that buttress the reserve.
In essence, with exception being the legal access road in lower Puna, the reserve itself
is basically land-locked. There are two other public easements possible, but one would
require a day-long hike through the Hawaii Volcanoes National park to get to the
boundaries of Wao Kele O Puna, and the other route through the Kahau’ale’a Natural
Area Reserve, which is currently closed by the State and County of Hawaii due to the
continuous eruption of Pu’u ‘O’o. Though individuals have historically entered the
reserve this way, they too often exit and trespass onto privately owned parcels, which
has been a continuous source of disputation.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 8
II. PROJECT AREA DESCRIPTION ..................................................................................... 9
A. Location and Description ............................................................................................. 9
B. Land Use ...................................................................................................................... 12
II.B.1 Reserve History ............................................................................................... 12
II.B.2 SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES .......................................................... 16
II C PHYSICAL SITE DATA ................................................................................................................. 21
II.C.1 HYDROLOGY…………………………………………………………………..21
II.C.2 SOILS……………………………………………………………………………23
II.C.3 GEOLOGY……………………………………………………………………...26
II.C.4 CLIMATE………………………………………………………………………..33
II D Forest Ecosystems .................................................................................................. 33
II.D.1 Native Forest Communities and Flora……………………………………...33
II.D.2 Hyperspectral Imaging (LIDAR) and Field Study of Vegetion ................. 43
II.E.1 Native Wildlife ................................................................................................. 58
II.E.1 Passerines (Forest Birds) ...................................................................... 58
II.E.2 Procellariid (Seabirds)............................................................................ 64
II.E.3 Native Hawaiian Hoary Bat .................................................................... 66
II.E.4 Hawaiian Antrhopods ............................................................................. 71
II.E.2 Non-Native Wildlife
II.E.2.1 Pigs ...................................................................................................... 72
II.E.2.2 Goats ................................................................................................... 75
II.E.2.3 Black Rats and Mongoose ................................................................... 76
II.E.2.4 Introduced Birds ................................................................................... 76
III Public Access and Recreation ...................................................................... 77
IV Revenue .......................................................................................................... 78
V Threats ............................................................................................................ 80
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V.1 Invasive Non-Native Plant Species ............................................................... 80
V.I.I Miconia ................................................................................................. 81
V.I.2 Strawberry Guava ................................................................................ 89
V.1.3 Albezzia .............................................................................................. 97
V.2 Wildfire and Disease ........................................................................................... 98
V.3 Climate Change ................................................................................................. 100
V.4 Volcanic Activity ................................................................................................ 100
V.5 Illegal Human Activity ....................................................................................... 101
VI Management Goals and Objectives ................................................................... 101
VII Recommendations ............................................................................................. 102
VIII Bibliography ........................................................................................................ 104
IV Appendices ......................................................................................................... 109
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INTRODUCTION:
Wao Kele O Puna Forest Reserve is owned by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. OHA
entered into agreement with the DLNR to jointly manage the reserve. Since DLNR
possessed the expertise in managing natural resource lands, and Wao Kele O
Puna being culturally sensitive to Native Hawaiians and OHA being the expert on
cultural issues, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was developed between the
two agencies to assist in the overall management of the reserve until OHA can build
capacity to manage resources on their own including developing administrative
rules. Because OHA does not have any administrative rules for Wao Kele O Puna,
it was agreed that the reserve would be placed back into the State’s Forest Reserve
System under Forest Reserve Statues HRS Chapter 183 until such time that the
MOA expires. The MOA was signed on June 27, 2006, and anticipated to expire in
June of 2016 unless mutually agreed upon to extend the MOA beyond 2016 or end
the MOA prior to 2016.
This particular plan, hence forth known as “The Biological Management Plan”, is a
partial component of the overall Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) being
developed by OHA. The Biological Management Plan has been developed by
DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife- Hawaii Island Branch. It follows protocols
set forth by DOFAW with regards to management actions of all its Forest Reserves
statewide. These efforts serve to assist in organizing field management as well as
assisting in budgeting and funding planning.
The Biological Management Plan was developed using a number of formats
including but not limited to:
DOFAW’s standard management plan format
Review of DOFAW historic and current files (both at the Administrative and
Hawai‘i Branch office) and documents obtained from the Land Division,
Survey Division, Bureau of Conveyances, as well as State Archives
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Reviewing State of Hawai‘i Geographic Information Systems (GIS) maps
of biological, historical, and environmental resources in the forest reserve
Reviewing other plans that identified the forest reserve or the area, such as
USGS-Biological Resources Division Forest Bird Inventory Data, the
Hawai‘i Biodiversity and Mapping Program reports, NRCS Soil Inventory,
USGS-HVO Geological Mapping Data, U.S. Forest Service research
published and unpublished material, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Recovery Plans et.al.
Input from DOFAW staff from all program areas both at the Hawai‘i Island
Branch and Administrative offices
This particular plan will address the biological aspects of the reserve including but
not limited to:
Native forest ecosystems
Native flora and fauna
Threats, including invasive species, disease, climate change and ungulates
Human activity (recreational and illegal activities)
Management actions taken by DOFAW including partnership research
actions (addendums will include all action reports to date)
II PROJECT AREA AND DESCRIPTION
II.A Location and Description
The Wao Kele O Puna Forest Reserve is a 25,856-acre assemblage of two
separate land parcels (TMK: 1-2-10:2 and TMK 1-2-10:3) located in the district of
Puna on the island of Hawaii. The reserve sits in the middle of Kialuea Volcano’s
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east rift zone and is currently subjected to intermittent lava flows due to the current
activity along the rift zone that run along the southwest boundary of the reserve.
The last major intrusion took place in March of 2013. The reserve slopes across a
westerly-to-easterly axis from an elevation of 2,280 feet to 1,120 feet approximately
and is within the Conservation State Land Use District. The reserve is
characterized by dense forest to bare lava fields.
WKOP consist primarily of ‘ohi’a-fern dominated forest, providing critical habitat for
a number of rare, threatened or endangered plant, bird, and anthropod species as
well as the ‘opea’pe’a or Hawaiian Hoary-bat. If left undisturbed the ‘ohi’a-fern
dominated forest is considered one of the most stable ecosystem type in Hawaii. In
higher elevations of the reserve the most common fern associated with ‘ohi’a is the
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Description:divisions which include, Fern Forest, Hawaiian Acres, Kopua Farm Lots and .. Liverworts and mosses are abundant and form thick cushions on the.
