Conservation drive on Maui wins more time
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
The deadline to purchase East Maui's Mu'olea Point and save it from development has been extended until the end of the year.
Theresa McHugh, project manager with the Hawai'i office of the Trust for Public Land, said last week that landowner Hanahuli Association Ltd. offered an extension after it became clear more time was needed to raise money.
The 70-acre property — described as rich in natural and cultural resources — is priced at $4.05 million. The Trust for Public Land and the Hana-based Ho'onipa'a No Hana Foundation originally faced a March 31 deadline to come up with the money.
The campaign gained impetus recently with a $2 million federal appropriation through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program. According to McHugh, $200,000 for the land deal has been committed by foundations and in individual gifts, with other potential donations in the works.
If fund raising is successful, the Trust for Public Land will purchase the land and give it to Maui County. The Ho'onipa'a No Hana Foundation will hold a conservation easement restricting development and requiring local input in land management.
On the coast between Hana and Kipahulu, the land was once a place of respite for royalty. King Kalakaua maintained a summer home there until his death in 1891, and it was passed to his sister, Queen Lili'uokalani.
Archaeological features include the remnants of a fishing village and a heiau. Hana residents fish on the coastline; endangered monk seals frequent the shore. Native goby fish called 'o'opu as well as shrimp, or 'opae, are found in Ala'alaula Stream at the property's edge.
The land is being used for pasture. But rural zoning could bring development of up to 140 homes, according to state Sen. J. Kalani English, D-6th (Hana, Moloka'i, Lana'i), a member of the Ho'onipa'a No Hana Foundation board of directors.
The Trust for Public Land is a nationwide land trust that has been involved in several recent high-profile land deals in Hawai'i, including one that added 1,500 acres at Ka'apahu, Maui, to Haleakala National Park in 1999, and another that put 40 acres at Lumaha'i Beach, Kaua'i, into a state coastal reserve in 2001.
