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| Puʻu Makaʻala Natural Area Reserve | |
|---|---|
| Name | Puʻu Makaʻala Natural Area Reserve |
| Location | Hawaii Island, Hawaiʻi County, Hawaiʻi |
| Nearest city | Hilo, Pāhoa, Keaʻau |
| Area | 6,100 acres (approx.) |
| Established | 1983 |
| Governing body | Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife |
Puʻu Makaʻala Natural Area Reserve is a protected high-elevation conservation area on the windward slopes of Mauna Loa, within Hawaii Island. The reserve preserves montane wet forest, native shrublands, and cultural sites important to practitioners of Native Hawaiian religion and communities in Hilo, Keaʻau, and Pāhoa. It is managed to support endemic species, watershed protection, and traditional gathering while balancing pressures from invasive species, feral ungulates, and adjacent land uses such as Hawaiian Home Lands and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park-neighboring parcels.
Puʻu Makaʻala sits within the East Rift Zone of Mauna Loa and forms part of the island-wide network of Natural Area Reserves created under Hawaii law to conserve native ecosystems. The reserve boundary abuts lands administered by the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and privately held parcels historically associated with hapuʻu and ʻāina aloha stewardship. Designation in 1983 followed recommendations from the Hawaii State Legislature and stakeholders including the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, and community ʻohana.
The reserve occupies steep terrain on the eastern flank of Mauna Loa at elevations roughly 1,000–1,600 meters, characterized by deep soils developed on ʻōhiʻa lava flows and volcanic ash from episodic eruptive events such as those recorded in the Mokuʻāweoweo summit eruptive history. Topography includes ridges, gulches, and the namesake cinder cone feature, shaped by regional processes involving the Pacific Plate and hotspot volcanism associated with the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain. Soils show weathering sequences similar to those studied in Hawaiian soil taxonomy research conducted by teams from the United States Geological Survey and University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Puʻu Makaʻala contains some of the most intact examples of montane mesic and wet koa-ʻōhiʻa forests on Hawaii Island, supporting canopy dominants such as Metrosideros polymorpha (ʻōhiʻa lehua), Acacia koa (koa), and understory elements including Gunnera petaloidea and Leptecophylla tameiameiae (pukiawe). The reserve hosts endemic avifauna like Hawaiʻi ʻAmakihi (Chlorodrepanis virens), ʻApapane (Himatione sanguinea), ʻÅkepa relatives, and remnant populations of Hawaiian honeycreepers vulnerable to avian malaria vectored by Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes introduced via trans-Pacific routes tied to Honolulu Harbor shipping and 19th–20th century transport. Native invertebrates include endemics studied alongside taxa in collections at the Bishop Museum and the Smithsonian Institution Pacific research programs. Threatened plants such as Hibiscus arnottianus subspecies and Cyanea spp. occur within cloud-impacted microclimates comparable to sites in Haleakalā and Kauaʻi highlands.
The landscape contains traditional Hawaiian land divisions and features associated with ʻāina practices familiar to descendants from Hilo, Keaukaha, and Puna District. Oral histories recorded by researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and collections at the Bishop Museum reference ritual use of highland shrines, resource rights adjudicated under the Mahele era, and pathways connecting to sacred sites such as Puʻu ʻOʻo and Pohakuloa. Historic interactions with 19th-century figures documented in Hawaiian archival sources—missionaries archived by the Hawaii Mission Houses and Kamehameha lineage references—reflect changing tenure and use patterns, including ranching associated with Parker Ranch-era movements and subsequent conservation actions influenced by environmentalists like Lucy M. Thurston-era chroniclers.
Primary management is by the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources in coordination with partners including the The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and community groups in Puna and Hāmākua. Conservation objectives emphasize invasive species control (targets include Miconia calvescens, Felis catus, feral pigs, feral goats), native plant restoration similar to projects in Waimea and Kīpuka Kanaio, and watershed protection for streams feeding into the Wailuku River and coastal fisheries near Hilo Bay. Funding and policy instruments have involved mechanisms under the Endangered Species Act, state Natural Area Reserves statutes, and collaborative grants from foundations such as the Kamehameha Schools and Aloha ʻĀina funders.
Public access is limited to protect sensitive habitat and cultural sites; permitted activities often require coordination with the DOFAW and local kīpuka stewards. Nearby recreational corridors link to trails and lookouts used by visitors traveling from Hilo and Pahoa; regional trail networks connect with routes in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Mauna Kea access roads, and community hiking associations such as the Hawaii Trail and Mountain Club. Recreational guidelines reference the Native Hawaiian Rights Settlement frameworks and customary gathering permits issued under state rules.
Long-term monitoring involves partnerships with scientific institutions such as the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, Bishop Museum, and federal agencies including the United States Geological Survey and National Park Service research programs. Studies focus on avian epidemiology (avian malaria and Plasmodium relictum dynamics), invasive plant mapping for species like Clidemia hirta, hydrologic modeling of cloud interception as in Haleakalā research, and restoration techniques used in projects supported by Conservation International and the National Science Foundation-funded collaborations. Citizen science initiatives have engaged Hawaiian Civic Clubs and volunteer networks to survey native plant recruitment, track feral ungulate impacts, and evaluate fence efficacy modeled on projects in Kīpuka Puaulu.
Category:Protected areas of Hawaii County, Hawaii