Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 34, Number 2, 1 Pepeluali 2017 — WAO KELE O PUNA -- ʻĀINA I KA HOUPO O KĀNE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

WAO KELE O PUNA -- ʻĀINA I KA HOUPO O KĀNE

By Office of Hawaiian Affairs Staff Puna, ka 'āina i ka ī \ houpo o Kāne. Puna, I I the land on the ehest V J of Kāne. This 'ōlelo no'eaudeseribesthe lush and verdant beauty of Puna, said to be the land beloved by Kāne. Today, it is still easy to see a multitude of Kāne's various kinolau in Wao Kele o Puna, from the mist and fog to the forest plants themselves. With its exeeptional and

unique forest traits, Wao Kele o Puna remains a region known for its high biodiversity. Wao Kele o Puna is one of the few remaining lowland, mesie rainforests left in Hawai'i. The 'ōhi'a tree is the most eommon species, dominating both the canopy and subcanopy levels. Other native canopy species include kāwa'u, kōpiko and olomea.

These trees provide habitat for many native birds such as the 'i'o and 'akepa. At the sub-canopy level, there is a greater diversity of plants, including hāpu'u, kōlea, pilo and 'ie'ie. Native groundcover species include ferns like 'ama'u, palapalai, kupukupu and uluhe, and the subshrub wāwae'iole. Wao Kele o Puna is also home to some of Hawai'i's most rare and endangered species, such as rare Hawaiian lobelias like the hāhā and 'akū, a species of endemic hibiscus called ma'o hau hele, and the Hawaiian gardenia, nā'ū. Unfortunately, Wao Kele o Puna is gradually becoming overrun by invasive species, with waiawl

(strawberry guava) being the main aggressor. But under careful management and care, the forest and its inhabitants will be protected in perpetuity and the houpo of Kāne will continue to live and breathe in the forests of Wao Kele o Puna. To achieve this goal, OHA is in process to create a Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) for the forest. On January 5, 2017, OHA held a puhlie community meeting in Pāhoa to seek additional eommunity input for this plan. Utilizing

an "open-house" format, attendees received information on the research eonducted in Wao Kele o Puna thus far, and provided OHA's planning team with plaeebasedknowledge from eommunity members' personal experiences on i m p o r t a n t management subjects, suchas invasive species, access, regulation, traditional and customary practices, and

rapid-'ōhi'a death. Despite several concerns regarding the past management of Wao Kele o Puna, community members left the meeting indicating an overall support of the process and urged OHA to quickly begin, or eonhnue, interim management actions, such as educational programs and invasive species management. With a weahh of community input, OHA will soon complete a draft CMP, whieh will be presented to the community for comment at a follow-up puhlie meeting, tentatively scheduled for mid-summer. For more information, visit http://www.oha.org/ aina/waokele-o-puna. ■

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Photo: Ama Johnson