For many people, Hawaii is a paradise. With its balmy weather, pristine beaches and breathtaking views of volcanoes and native plants and animals you can't find anywhere else, Hawaii is a place to escape to, a place to explore.

It's also a place to protect.

The Conservation Fund works with the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and private landowners to protect nearly 5,000 acres of Hawaii's most treasured coastal and mountain landscapes.

Haleakala National Park

When the National Park Service requested our assistance, we helped to expand Haleakala National Park by more than 4,100 acres. This addition protected habitat for threatened species and opened land for public enjoyment for the first time in more than 100 years.

Haleakala National Park, on the island of Maui, is more than 30,000 acres—80 percent of which is designated wilderness—and extends from sea level to more than 10,000 feet at the volcano summit. Within the park are fragile native Hawaiian ecosystems, rare and endangered species, numerous cultural sites and Haleakala volcano.

We assisted the National Park Service in acquiring the largest undeveloped privately-owned parcel in the park.  The property, a former ranch, adds almost a mile of frontage on the Pacific Ocean and rises more than 6,000 feet to the rim of the Haleakala Crater.

Significant portions of the property are also within the Kahikunui Forest Reserve, which includes remnants of the biologically diverse koa forest ecosystem that once dominated the island. The reserve provides critical habitat for the rare po’ouli bird and Maui parrotbill. The lower elevations have intact, dry wiliwili forests that provide habitat for the endangered Blackburn’s sphinx moth and Hawaiian hoary bat.

In addition to providing habitat to threatened species, the property also has three recorded heiau, or ancient Hawaiian temples, that are both historically and culturally significant.

Our work expanding Haleakala preserves and protects a valuable part of our nation’s heritage and offers excellent recreational opportunities and breathtaking views to nearly 2 million visitors each year.

Photo:  Jon Degenhardt/Flickr  (top); Kaupo Gap, Maui/Photo: Conor Dupre-Neary (bottom)

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  View of Haleakala National Park
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  Exploring The Volcano Area
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  Kuapo Gap
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  Shores of Haleakala NP
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  Kipahulu Area
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  Waterfalls and Forests