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Kohala Watershed Partnership
Island of Hawai`iKohala Mts. looking toward Mauna Kea

Large, wet valleys drain the nearly 5,500-foot summit of the Kohala Mountains, supplying the northern end of Hawai`i Island with water for agricultural, commercial, and domestic use.

 

In 2003, the Conservancy helped bring together the area’s major public and private landowners to form the Kohala Watershed Partnership, which is working to protect the water resources, watershed functions, and the natural and cultural resources of the forested watershed.

 

The area managed by the partnership includes 68,000 acres of private and public lands consisting of                  Kohala Mountains looking toward Mauna Kea
mountain forests, bogs and streams.  These unique                                           © Rob Shallenberger/TNC

ecosystems support native birds, snails, arthropods,

and the endangered hoary bat -- many of which are

found nowhere else on earth but in Hawai`i. Endemic Hawaiian damselfly, Kohala

Our Approach
The partners work collaboratively to manage this critically important watershed.  In 2006, the partnership completed a draft watershed management plan that identified threats as well as resource protection and management strategies that guide conservation activities today.

How the Partnership Will Help the Watershed
The quality and quantity of water and the integrity of native forest ecosystems in the Kohala watershed are threatened by invasive plants and ungulates.  Other threats include wildfire, aquatic pollutants, human activities and climate change. The partnership has conducted cooperative fencing projects on private ranch lands, and weed monitoring activities within the state-owned Pu`u O Umi Natural Area Reserve. Fencing activities to protect the 30,000-acre core summit area from intrusion by ungulates are ongoing                        Endemic Hawaiian damselfly
                                                                                                                                        © Bill Mull

Partners
The following groups have worked together to understand and protect the rare and interdependent communities of plants and animals living in this unique ecosystem:

  • Hawai`i County Department of Water Supply

  • Kahuâ Ranch, Ltd.

  • Kamehameha Schools

  • Laupahoehoe Nui, LLC

  • Parker Ranch, Inc.

  • Ponoholo Ranch, Ltd.

  • State Department of Hawaiian Home Lands

  • State Department of Land and Natural Resources

  • Surety Kohala Corp.

  • The Nature Conservancy

  • The Queen Emma Foundation