Muolea now in county hands

The Maui News
Sunday, February 20, 2005

By EDWIN TANJI, City Editor

WAILUKU – Muolea Point in Hana was formally conveyed from the Trust for Public Land to the County of Maui earlier this month.

The handoff is the final step in a long-running effort to protect the historic 70-acre property from development.

"It's finally at rest," said Josh Stanbro of the Trust for Public Land.

A panel of Hana residents has been convened to advise the county on management of the coastal property, which has been a gathering place for the community for generations.

Sen. Daniel Inouye, who helped secure federal funding for the purchase, called the acquisition a "success story" for the people of Hana.

"Muolea Point is an important landscape telling the story of our past, but it is also now a place where future generations will forever be able to carry on those traditions," he said in a statement.

The Trust for Public Land bought the property with borrowed funds in September. It held Muolea Point in trust while it waited for the approval of county grants to help pay for the purchase and conducted a fund-raising campaign to cover additional costs.

Mayor Alan Arakawa called the purchase a "collaborative effort" and thank-ed the people and groups that helped make it happen.

"But as grateful as I am, nothing will ever compare to the gratitude of generations to come, who will have these important coastal and cultural resources available and accessible to them forever."

The value of the land is estimated at more than $4 million.

The federal Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program contributed $2 million to the purchase; the County of Maui donated $1 million; the Office of Hawaiian Affairs donated $342,000; the state $100,000; and about $350,000 came from private donors in a TPL fund-raising campaign.

Major donors included the McInerny Foundation, LEF Foundation, Maui Electric Co., the Mellam Family Foundation, the Alexander and Baldwin Foundation and the Charles Englehard Foundation.

The trust covered the balance of the purchase costs out of its own funds.

The Muolea property includes a section of shoreline traditionally used by Hana residents for fishing, gathering and camping. It includes a number of archaeological and cultural sites, including a stand of Polynesian coconut trees planted centuries ago, and was used by King David Kalakaua as a summer home.

Archaeologist Patrick Kirch said it was "wonderful news" that Muolea had been acquired.

"This land is potentially a treasure trove of information and is quite unique in its mix of ethnobotanical and archaeological sites – even more so because so many local families and their knowledge still have ties to the area," he said in a statement.

Hana resident Daisy Lind said the area had been used to pass on traditions for generations.

"This place helps us maintain our traditional ways with the land and sea, and gives us the opportunity to pass that knowledge on to our children," she said in a statement.

Muolea also contains a number of native and endangered plants and animals.

Gov. Linda Lingle said public-private partnerships like the one that helped buy Muolea "make sense."

"This is a model that can help protect coastal lands for other communities throughout our state," she said in a statement.

State Sen. J. Kalani English, whose home at Hamoa is 3 miles away from Muolea, offered "congratulations" on the purchase.

"Future generations will remember this act as one of aloha and great foresight," he said in a statement.

State Rep. D. Mele Carroll, D-East Maui, Molokai, Lanai, helped secure county funding for the project when she worked as an aide in the mayor's office.

"This project was a labor of love for many of us in the Hana community, and I think this success illustrates the importance of having dedicated funding for land protection at both the county and state level to save critical places like Muolea," she said in a statement.

For more information about the Trust for Public Land, visit www.tpl.org/hawaii.

Ilima Loomis can be reached at iloomis@mauinews.com.

Copyright © 2005 The Maui News