The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-04-08
A FOREST FORCE
IS REQUIRED


Cattle. however. have absolutely des-
trOyed all the forests on the lower
slopes and are rapidly denuding the
forests ON the higher slopes In order
to save any of the remaining forests
they should be fenced off and protected
as soon as possible. on the lower slopes
which have been absolutely denuded
artificial restoration will be necessary,
"Some of the planters i'm this district
have fenced their forests, but concerted
action on the part Of the government
planters and ranChers will be necessary
in order to save the water supply,
South Kohala. The KOhala noun
tains extend along the northern portion
of this district. but here too the forests
have been very badly damaged by the
cattle The central and southern por-
ton include the Waimea plans and the
open grazing country west of Mauna
Kea on all sides of Waimea the COun-
try is a rolling plain which is unques-
tiOnably suited to agriculture and
should not be covered with forests. But
this fine agricultural land will be almost
useless unless "a constant water supply
is assured and this can only be accom-
plished bv carefully protecting the for
ests on the Kohala mountains, particu-
larly north of the village of Waimea.
AT present, cattle are being run on
this range and il is possible to ride
through a large portion of the forest
which a few years ago was impossible.
Here, as elsewhere, there is no necessity
for abandoning the cattle business but
it should be carried on with much more
system, with paddocks or an open range
on the plains and the mountain forests
protected from all grazing.
"KOna This district is covered to a
very large extent with lava flows a very
restricted area of land suitable for any
form of agriculture and no running
streams Of any Importance. Here the
need of protecting the forests is not so
| pressing as i'm many parts of the ISL
and, as there are no headwaters Of
streams to be protected and the chief
| value of a large area of forest land
will be to increase the rainfall and
maintain an equable climate.
Here lava flows are gradually being
| covered with a forest growth COmpOs-
ed chiefly of ferns and ohia which as
/ sist greatly i'm the rapid disintegratiOn
of the lava and the formation of a fair
| ly rich soil. Such tracts are naturally
suited to forest growth and as they are
not at present, capable of producing
any more valuable crop, they should be
used as forest reserves. Cattle grazing
on such lands does not yield sufficient
returns to justify the destruction of the
| young forests.
lest rains occur within the forests on
the higher slopes of the mountains.
Hence it is extremely important that
the forest growth should be encouraged
on Hualalai and the existing forests
! protected.
The combined area of the rocky
slopes and the lava flows is considerable
and the territorial government should
see to it that these sections are kept
Z q "a a n
less for any other purpose. Provided
such a definite policy is adopted, it
would be entirely safe to permit the
! clearing of all forest land for agriCul-
! ture within the district
"Kau. Formerly this was considered
! the driest district on the island Of Ha-
wall, but since the plantations and
ranches have commenced to preserve
the forests by means of fencing out the
| cattle the rainfall has increased mate
/ rally.
Great credit is due the gentlemen
who have been so far sighted and liberal
! thus preserving magnificent stretch
of forest over thirty-One miles of pro-
! lection fence have been built on the
! slopes of Mauna Loa back of the Paha-
! la plantation and ranch, and within five
years, since the fence has been con-
! struCted, the young growth, composed
| for the most part Of ferns and Ohia, has
come up in such dense masses that it is
almost impossible and the land is ra-
pidly regaining it's marshy character.
| This very satisfactory reclamation of
| a large forest belt which had been Sc
| veTely thinned out by both wild and
tame cattle within a few years speaks
for itself and points out the way both
for the government, corporations and
/ private owners who are all vitality in
terested i'm preserving the water supply
within this district. also notably, in
the vicinity of the crater of Kilauea,
are large tracts of land covered with
lava and upon which the young forest
growth which is struggling to gain a
foothold and make soil sOhuld be absO-
lutely protected The growth of all
species which are easily self sown, par
ticularly the pines should be encouraged
This is especially true on the mountain
slopes and higher elevations where it
is important to conserve the heavy rain
fall which, at present, is very largely
lost through the rapid evaporation on
soil which is exposed to the full force