Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 16, Number 8, 1 ʻAukake 1999 — Land as gift [ARTICLE]

Land as gift

As trustee of the Robert F. Greenwell Estate, I would like to do something special for our eommunity. The estate includes several tracts of land but little cash. One of these tracts is an 84-acre pasture forest at the top of the ahupua'a of Honokōhau Nui near the end of Kaloko Drive, North Kona. In 1991, the estate initiated a koa reforestation program whieh today has been accepted and promoted by the forest industry and environmentalists as an eeonomie and cultural example. Due to plummeting land prices, the estate has been unahle to meet its tax obligations. I am asking that you support my request that the IRS allow gifting the forest to a nonprofit organization so we may continue the reforestation program and make it an outdoor classroom. Not all the heirs agree. Some see reforestation as lowering the value. However, I measure its value by its impact on our culture. I am not asking for tax credits or compensation, simply that I be allowed to remove this parcel from the estate and give it to a eommunity organization to manage and keep it open for our children. Kelly Greenwell Kailua-Kona