Four Hawaii conservation land trusts merge

Four nonprofit conservation land trusts, one from each of Hawaii’s four counties, merged on Jan. 1 to form a new statewide land conservancy, the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust. The merger of Kauai Public Land Trust, Oahu Land Trust, Maui Coastal Land Trust and Hawaii Island Land Trust creates a sustainable organization with resources to safeguard existing protected lands and increase conservation lands in the state. The organization’s central office is based initially on Maui. 

The decision to merge was based on shared missions and a common vision. “Our passion is preserving land, our promise is to protect it forever,” said HILT Executive Director Dale Bonar, the former executive director of Maui Coastal Land Trust. “By joining forces we are a stronger and more professional organization capable of sustaining that commitment of perpetuity.” 

Each organization’s conservation easements and fee lands are now held by the new Hawaiian Islands Land Trust which will oversee 15, 229 acres of conservation land across the state, including: 188 acres on Hawaii Island; 11,810 on Maui; 3,057 on Molokai; and 174 on Kauai.

With its statewide scope, HILT is better able to attract the financial support and resources needed to significantly increase local conservation lands. With active negotiations with landowners on Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Island now underway, HILT expects to announce thousands more conservation acres in early.

For example, HWLT adds 82 acres of rare Maui wetlands and dunes at Nuu Landing on the southern flank of Haleakala to the land it manages. The trust is using federal, state, county and private grants to buy the land from Kaupo Ranch for $4 million on Feb. 1. The area is home to Hawaiian stilts, coots, ducks, nene and native vegetation and archaeological sites.

HILT will retain offices staffed by existing island directors on Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii Island. All ten employees have been retained. “In some cases, entire operations of an island were falling on one person. A tremendous benefit of our collaboration is that now each staff member can be more highly specialized,” Bonar said. From its inception, Hawaiian Islands Land Trust has national accreditation, a status originally earned by Maui Coastal Land Trust in 2009 that carries over to the new organization.