The public will soon have vehicle access to part of a massive forest reserve on the southeastern slopes of Mauna Loa.
An access route is being established along three miles of road along the lower boundary of the Ka‘u Forest Reserve, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources announced Thursday. The plan is to make areas of the 61,000-acre reserve more accessible for public use, including hunting, recreational opportunities, cultural uses, personal gathering and educational programs and activities.
To be known as the “Olson Forest Access,” establishment of this route was accomplished through a collaborative effort by the Ka‘u community, local hunters, private landowners, public land managers and natural resource conservation partners.
The public access route was formally agreed to on June 22, when landowner Edmund C. Olson signed a memorandum of agreement with DLNR Chairwoman Suzanne Case to establish a public access route to the forest reserve over lands owned by the Edmund C. Olson Trust No. 2.
It’s not known how long the access will take to construct. First, the Land Board will have to approve an easement over Edmund C. Olson Trust property, and then construction will commence on improvements to the area, said DLNR spokeswoman Deborah Ward.
“The soonest would be by the end of this year,” Ward estimated.
The area will include fencing, signs, roadway improvements and an informational kiosk, said Nohea Kaawa, of Three Mountain Alliance Watershed Partnership, one of the partners in the project.
“It will be weekend work done by our community,” Kaawa said of the volunteer project. “We’re helping people get into the forest and reconnect with something that’s in our DNA as Hawaiians.”
Volunteers will also provide ongoing maintenance.
Providing public access is called for in DLNR’s Ka‘u Forest Reserve Management Plan (2012) which can be found at http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/forestry/files/2013/02/Kau_FR_Mgnt_Plan_2012.pdf.
DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife won competitive grants to establish the public access route from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Improvement Program) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (Hunting Heritage Partnership).
Other key partners who will be involved in addition to Three Mountain Alliance include the Hawaii Department of Agriculture; Kuahiwi Contractors Inc.; The Nature Conservancy; Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and the County of Hawaii Game Management Advisory Commission.
A permit will not be required for entry; however, DLNR rules may require a permit or license for certain activities within the forest reserve.