Posted on: Saturday, November 20, 2004

Ka'u land to grow koa trees for canoes

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

HILO, Hawai'i — The state is moving ahead with plans to set aside more than 1,200 acres in rural Ka'u to grow towering koa trees suitable for fashioning into traditional koa voyaging canoes.

Forestry officials plan to thin and prune trees in the existing koa stands at Kapapala to encourage them to grow straight and sound so that canoe makers will again have the raw materials they need to carve traditional koa canoes.

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources yesterday authorized staff to develop a plan to manage the Kapapala Koa Canoe Forest Management Area, an isolated tract about 10 miles from the ocean and midway between Pahala and Volcano, about 45 miles from Hilo.

It takes 125 years or more to grow a koa log large enough for a canoe, which generally needs to be 35 to 45 feet long with a diameter of 48 inches or more.

The Polynesian Voyaging Society was unable to locate koa logs large enough to fashion into canoes because the suitable trees had already been harvested, according to a staff report to the board. If traditional canoe-building practices are to survive, steps need to be taken now to grow and manage suitable trees, according to the report.

The 1,257-acre property extends from the 3,640-foot elevation of Mauna Loa to 5,100 feet. It is next to the state-managed Kapapala and Ka'u Forest Reserves, and is covered with young and old koa trees, although the trees aren't yet suitable for canoe building.

The report to the land board estimates the first trees may be ready to harvest for canoe construction in 20 years, and most of the trees will be ready within 40 years.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 935-3916.