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| Hawaiʻi Natural Area Reserve System | |
|---|---|
| Name | Hawaiʻi Natural Area Reserve System |
| Location | Hawaiʻi, United States |
| Nearest city | Honolulu |
| Area | ~109,000 acres |
| Established | 1973 |
| Governing body | Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Board of Land and Natural Resources |
Hawaiʻi Natural Area Reserve System is a network of protected areas established to conserve native ecosystems, endemic species, and unique geological formations across the Hawaiian Islands. The system encompasses montane forests, coastal cliffs, alpine deserts, wet bogs, and lava flows on islands such as Hawaiʻi (island), Maui, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi. It is administered through state mechanisms linked to territorial law and interfaces with federal programs, indigenous stewardship, and international conservation agreements.
The reserves were created to protect habitats for endemic flora and fauna including Laysan duck, Hawaiian honeycreeper, Hawaiian monk seal, Nēnē, and numerous rare plant taxa such as ʻŌhiʻa lehua and Hapuʻu ferns. Sites include high-elevation ecosystems on Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Haleakalā as well as coastal preserves like Kīpahulu and Moliʻi. Management links the Department of Land and Natural Resources (Hawaii), the Division of Forestry and Wildlife (Hawaii), and advisory bodies such as the Hawaiʻi Board of Land and Natural Resources, while partnerships involve The Nature Conservancy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Native Hawaiian organizations like Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
Conceived amid rising concern for endemic extinctions and habitat loss in the 1960s and early 1970s, the reserves were authorized by the Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes and formalized through state action influenced by environmental movements and scientific assessments from institutions such as the Bishop Museum, Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, and university researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Early conservation precedents included Puʻu Waʻawaʻa, Hāʻena State Park advocacy, and federal designations like National Natural Landmark recognitions that guided reserve selection. Legal instruments intersected with native rights discussions involving entities such as Kamehameha Schools and community groups active in ʻāina stewardship.
Governance rests with the Division of Forestry and Wildlife (Hawaii) under the auspices of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (Hawaii), with policy shaped by statutory frameworks including the Hawaii State Constitution and state land management rules. Co-management arrangements and memoranda of understanding have been developed with Native Hawaiian entities including Ke Kula ʻO Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu-affiliated groups and community non-profits like Hui Mālama. Interagency coordination involves U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and regional programs such as the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative. Funding and oversight draw on grants from foundations such as the Kamehameha Schools, federal conservation funds, and private philanthropy managed in partnership with The Nature Conservancy (Hawaii).
Reserves protect critical habitats for representatives of Hawaiian biogeography including endemic birds (ʻIʻiwi, Kākāwahie), plants (Silversword, Pritchardia palms), and invertebrates (Hawaiian damselflies). Geological features include volcanic summits like Mauna Kea, lava deserts on Hawaiʻi (island), sea cliffs at Nā Pali Coast State Wilderness Park, and wet montane bogs on Haleakalā. Ecological processes preserved encompass watershed protection for streams feeding systems such as Waiāhole, pollination networks involving Hawaiian honeycreepers, and refugia for endangered species listed under the Endangered Species Act managed with input from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recovery plans.
Notable units include the high-elevation Mauna Kea Ice Age Reserve (summit ecosystems), Kīpuka Puaulu and Kīpuka O Kī remnants of native forest, Haleakalā National Park border areas with conservation overlap, coastal preserves such as Mākua Valley and Kalaupapa adjacent buffer zones, and other designated tracts on Kauaʻi and Molokaʻi. Each reserve connects to scientific resources at institutions like the University of Hawaiʻi, conservation NGOs including Island Conservation, and federal research programs from NOAA Fisheries and USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
The reserves face invasive species pressures from organisms such as small Asian mongoose, Feral pig, Feral goat, and invasive plants like Miconia calvescens and Albizia saman. Climate change impacts include altered precipitation regimes documented by Hawaii Climate Change Portal research, threats to alpine specialists on Mauna Kea and Haleakalā, and sea-level rise affecting coastal reserves near Kīlauea. Pathogens such as Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death have decimated key tree species, while regulatory and resource constraints complicate eradication and restoration efforts managed with partners like Conservation International and local watershed partnerships such as Kauaʻi Watershed Alliance.
Access varies by reserve: some areas are open for regulated recreation and cultural practice in consultation with Native Hawaiian stakeholders, while fragile sites require permits administered by the Division of Forestry and Wildlife (Hawaii). Educational programming is delivered through collaborations with Bishop Museum, ʻImiloa Astronomy Center, Kūpuna programs, and university extension services at University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. Research priorities involve biodiversity inventories, restoration ecology trials, invasive species control studies coordinated with USDA Forest Service, and community-based monitoring by groups like Friends of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
Category:Protected areas of Hawaii Category:Environment of Hawaii Category:Conservation in the United States