Kipahulu lost a true friend in Rockefeller

OFF DEADLINE
By VALERIE MONSON, Staff Writer

The Maui News
Tuesday, July 20, 2004

Kipahulu lost a true friend earlier this month when renowned philanthropist and conservationist Laurance Rockefeller died at the age of 94.

As his obituary circulated across the nation, Rockefeller's many contributions to keeping the world as natural as possible were cited one after another, but there was little mention of how he helped preserve one of the most precious parts of East Maui: the Kipahulu section of Haleakala National Park and the lower section of Kipahulu Valley, a place still so pristine that people can enter only with permission.

"The park wouldn't be the same without Laurance Rockefeller," said the park's superintendent, Don Reeser. "It was because of him that the park was able to stretch all the way from the mountain to the sea."

Rockefeller was a man as rare as the treasures of Kipahulu. Although wealthy beyond most of our dreams (this year he was No. 377 on the Forbes magazine list of 587 billionaires with $1.5 billion), he didn't simply live it up and forget about the rest of society to indulge his every fantasy. He used his good fortune to fund his good causes, his favorite being his love for Mother Nature's most unspoiled corners of the country.

In other words, Laurance Rockefeller put his money where his mouth was.

According to Russ Apple's 1975 history of how Haleakala acquired its lands, Rockefeller came to Kipahulu in 1961 when he was searching for the best location to build a resort in Hawaii. Unlike some of today's newly rich who buy up whatever they can on Maui and wall it off from the rest of the community, Rockefeller took in the magnificent glory of East Maui and declared it too special to belong to one person for the pleasure of the elite.

In Rockefeller's eyes, the area was simply "too scenic and East Maui generally too beautiful and rural a community for commercial exploitation, with the social, economic and environmental changes and other developments a major resort hotel would bring," wrote Apple.

So Rockefeller built his resort elsewhere (the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Big Island) and bought 52 acres along the Kipahulu coast. At no time did he ever plan to keep the land for himself.

In that same era, there were others with bottomless bank accounts who also were touched by the humble spirit of Kipahulu, including famed aviator Charles Lindbergh. Sam Pryor, the eccentric airline executive and close friend of Lindbergh, had the chance to buy the land where five of the legendary pools of Oheo dance down to the ocean, but he changed his mind when he learned how much the people of East Maui used the streams. Pryor bought another parcel and, eventually, Rockefeller purchased the two lots that are now considered the heart of the park at Kipahulu.

But even a Rockefeller couldn't just buy the land and hand it over to the National Park Service. Because of a clause that says that only "adjacent or contiguous" lands can be added to parks, Rockefeller needed to figure out how to link the mountain to the sea. In 1951, a portion of the upper Kipahulu Valley had been added to the park so Rockefeller met with Gov. John A. Burns and leaders of The Nature Conservancy to begin a fund-raising drive to acquire the lower valley that would abut his coastal tract.

The appeal to save Kipahulu went to the Mainland where other wealthy philanthropists heard the call and responded in kind. In Chicago, Apple reported, Marshall Field (of department store fame) and Philip K. Wrigley (of Chicago Cubs fame) sponsored a slide show to drum up cash. Pryor gave a cocktail party in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York that was attended by Lindbergh, Arthur Godfrey and Doris Duke.

The money was raised, the deal was forged and the Kipahulu section of Haleakala National Park was officially announced on Jan. 10, 1969.

Because of The Nature Conservancy's continued efforts and additional lands donated by the state, the total amount given to the park was more than 10,000 acres. While many people were part of the overall endeavor, Rockefeller was given credit for getting it off the ground - and seeing it through.

And he wasn't done yet. In 1997, he donated 50 acres at nearby Puhilele to The Conservation Fund with the intent that it become part of the park. Reeser said the parcel was sold to the federal government for half of its appraised value.

Following that, Rockefeller and his family were invited to attend a ceremony at Piilani Heiau by members of Pa Kui-a-Holo, a Native Hawaiian society of modern warriors skilled in the ancient discipline of lua (fighting). For his contributions to Kipahulu, Rockefeller was named an honorary member of the group and presented with a kihei (cloak) and ihe (spear).

Walter Pu, who has worked in the Kipahulu district of the park for seven years with the Hawaii Natural History Association, was there as part of Pa Kui-a-Holo.

"He was neat," said Pu of Rockefeller, then in his 80s. "Because of him, this area has been preserved and that's what we're all about. He pretty much saved the valley from being infested by too many people."

More recently, Rockefeller pledged $50,000 to help with the relocation of Lindbergh's house to the park.

So not only has Kipahulu lost a loyal friend who understood its inner nature, but wealthy people have lost a role model. With Maui being inundated by millionaires who scoop up property like they're playing Monopoly, wouldn't it be great if they would follow Rockefeller's example and acknowledge that there are some places just too beautiful to be private? Wouldn't it be great if they would give back to the island that has given them so much in return?

So mahalo to Laurance Rockefeller, a man who was rich in many ways.

Valerie Monson is a staff writer for The Maui News. "Off Deadline" is an occasional column that allows staff members to step back and reflect on issues of the day or to just talk story.

Copyright © 2003 The Maui News