Kīpuka Coalition

Kīpuka Coalition
Name	Kīpuka Coalition
Formation	21st century
Type	Nonprofit coalition
Location	Hawaiʻi
Focus	Environmental conservation, cultural preservation, land stewardship

Kīpuka Coalition The Kīpuka Coalition is a Hawaiʻi-based nonprofit alliance focused on protecting native ecosystems, cultural sites, and traditional practices across volcanic landscapes on Hawaiʻi Island and surrounding islands. It engages in habitat restoration, legal advocacy, land stewardship, and community partnerships to defend wahi kapu and ecological corridors threatened by development, invasive species, and land-use change. The Coalition works alongside federal, state, and Native Hawaiian institutions to integrate customary rights with contemporary conservation science and land-management policy.

Overview and Purpose

The Coalition seeks to safeguard kīpuka and ʻaʻā landscapes by coordinating restoration projects between National Park Service, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Land and Natural Resources (Hawaii), Hawaiian Homes Commission, and community groups such as Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action and ʻAhahui O Nā Kānaka Maoli. It advances stewardship that honors ʻāina by collaborating with cultural practitioners associated with Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Kamehameha Schools, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Bishop Museum, and local moku councils. Activities align with legal frameworks including Native Hawaiian Reorganization Act, Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and statutes administered by the Hawaiʻi State Legislature and United States Congress.

History and Formation

Formed in the early 21st century by land stewards, cultural practitioners, scientists, and attorneys, the Coalition emerged from networks active in campaigns around Mauna Kea, Puʻu Waʻawaʻa, Pōhakuloa Training Area, Kaʻūpūlehu, and restoration efforts tied to Kīpahulu, Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, and Pū ʻUlaʻu. Founding members included leaders from The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, Conservation International, Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission, and community organizations such as Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation and Kaʻōhao Community Association. Early initiatives intersected with litigation and policy actions connected to Mauna Loa, Haleakalā, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, and contested land transfers involving Bureau of Indian Affairs precedents and Department of the Interior decisions.

Conservation and Land Management Activities

On-the-ground work integrates practices used by Hawaiʻi Agricultural Research Center, US Geological Survey, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, and researchers at SOEST and Hawaiʻi Pacific University. The Coalition conducts invasive-plant removal, ungulate control in coordination with US Forest Service, native-plant propagation with National Tropical Botanical Garden, wildfire mitigation informed by Federal Emergency Management Agency guidance, and watershed restoration tied to projects by Office of Planning (Hawaii). Conservation science collaborations referenced methods from Nature Conservancy Pacific Islands Program, IUCN, Society for Conservation Biology, and technical guidance used in Endangered Species Act recovery plans for species found in Hawaiian honeycreepers habitats and endemic Hawaiian tree snails locales.

Legal and Political Advocacy

The Coalition participates in administrative rulemakings before Hawaii Land Use Commission, litigation filings in United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, and amicus briefs filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals involving disputes tied to Mauna Kea Access Road, DLNR Public Access Board, and contested permits under National Historic Preservation Act reviews. It coordinates with legal advocates from Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council, Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, and impact litigators associated with Aloha ʻĀina Legal Defense Fund to assert customary-use rights recognized under precedents such as Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs and federal trust obligations articulated by the United States Supreme Court. Advocacy extends to legislative lobbying before the Hawaiʻi State Legislature and testimony to congressional committees overseeing Department of the Interior programs.

Partnerships and Community Engagement

The Coalition forms formal memoranda of agreement with Hawaiʻi County, City and County of Honolulu, County of Maui, and County of Kauaʻi agencies while working with nonprofit partners including Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo, Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center, Surfrider Foundation, and Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate affiliates. Community outreach features workshops at Hawaiʻi Community College, cultural protocol training with kumu from Hoʻomau Ke Ola, and joint volunteer events with AmeriCorps VISTA, Student Conservation Association, and local charter schools. Engagement includes data-sharing with Hawaiʻi Data Collaborative, participatory mapping with UH Sea Grant, and coordination of cultural-impact assessments alongside State Historic Preservation Division.

Impact and Outcomes

Outcomes include measurable restoration of native forest fragments adjacent to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, reduced invasive ungulate pressure near Puʻu Waʻawaʻa, and legal protections secured through settlements with Department of the Interior and permit conditions imposed by Hawaii Land Board. The Coalition’s programs have supported species recovery efforts aligned with USFWS Recovery Plans, enhanced cultural-access arrangements with tribal stewards involved in Kānaka Maoli practices, and influenced state policy changes debated in the Hawaiʻi State Legislature. Scholarly collaborations resulted in publications through Pacific Science, Conservation Biology, and reports contributed to International Union for Conservation of Nature and regional climate-adaptation networks.

Category:Non-profit organizations based in Hawaii