Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1911-01-17
HEARING ON
KONA RESERVE
Board of Agriculture to Listen
to Discussion BY the
Public.


hearing to consider the setting apart
of certain government lands in the
; District of South Kona, Island Of
I Hawaii, as forest reserve.
/ To show the reasons why the
lands proposed to be included in this
reserve should be set apart, the Su-
perintendent of Forestry, Ralph Hos
mer, has prepared a comprehensive
report which has received the ap-
j prevail of the Board of Agriculture
and Forestry.
Following are extracts from Mr..
| Hosmers report:
The area proposed to be set apart
includes the greater part of the sec
ton of forest land from the land Of
Waiea to and including the land of
Manuka, just over the boundary line
in the Kau district, lying between the
upper limit of the area that has been
cleared for agriculture and the boun-
dairy of the land of Kahuku, well up
on the slope of Mauna Loa. For
convenience in description, this pro-
posed reserve has been divided by the
surveyor into two sections, Waiea-
Kipahoehoe and Kapea Manuka.
| These are separated by a block of
priyately-o land. in part home
steads that it is not deemed advisa-
Bile to include at present in the pro
posed reserve. For these two areas
! | propose the name South Kona For
est Reserve.
Proposed Reserve.
The proposed South Kona Forest
Reserve is made up of both govern
ment and privately owned land. The
total area is 50,612 acres. OF this,
1,730 acres, or SO per cent, belongs
to 'the Territory. considerable
part of the government land (13,915
acres) is not under lease, so that 1t
can be set apart at once uncondi-
tionally. The remainder will come
into the fully reserved class upon the
expiration of the existing leases.
"The boundaries of the South Kona
Forest Reserve have been so drawn
as to include practically all the valu-
able forest still belonging to the gov
eminent in South Kona, with such
private tracts of like character as lie
, between the strips of government
land. From a glance at the map
showing government holdings it will
be seen that with the exception of
one or two small pieces in the center
of the district, the government lands
in Kona are pretty much together at
the south end. But they are not in
a continuous block, being instead
series of strips, alternating with 9TH
er lands of varying width in private
ownership.
Forest in Two Belts.
The forest in the proposed South
Kona Forest Reserve consists of two
sharply-defined belts From the low
er boundary up to about 1000 feet,
ohia lehua is the predominant tree,
in mixture with others of the less
important native species. In spots
and strips, especially toward the
south end of the district, usually on
old aa flows, are pure stands of ohia,
of good size and height and excellent
quality. The trees in these stands
are USUALLY from IS to "a inches in
diameter breast high, and from 80
to 100 feet tall. Unfortunately these
good stands are all limited in area.
No exact survey of them has ever
been made, nor any careful estimate
as to the yield per acre.
Above the elevation of 1000 feet
throughout South Kona-and the line
is sharply markets. belt of near
ly pure koa. The trees are of good
size, from three to five feet in diam
eter, and of fair height-sixty to
eighty feet. This belt is approx
mately a mile wide. The large trees
do not extend much above $500 feet
in elevation.
ut is unfortunate, but true, that
throughout the Kona district there
are no streams and only a few
springs that actually deserve the
name. IN the proposed South Kona
Forest Reserve special attention was
paid to locating all the known
sources of water and Mr.. Wright's
original map shows the various
waterholes.
Object of the Reserve.
The purpose Of creating the South
kona Forest Reserve is essentially To |
bring these government forest lands
under the department of the Terri
torial Government especially charged
with caring for the forests in order
that plans for their wise use may the
more easily and effectively be put
into execution.
1t goes almost without saying that
the, first need in South Kona as in
other Hawaiian forests is to safe
guard in an adequate way all the
present known sources Of water. and
also such localities as give promise
Of being possible Of development.
These areas should be kept perma-
nently under a dense forest cover
for their chief value is as producers
Of water.