Nearly 200 acres of pristine watershed will be preserved with the purchase of Kawaikapu Ranch lands in southeast Molokai by the Molokai Land Trust.

The sale involves 196.4 acres of environmentally and culturally significant land stretching from sea level up a steep and rugged mountain to the 1,600-foot level, according to a Molokai Land Trust release. The trust will own the land, and it will grant a perpetual conservation easement to Maui County to protect it permanently as a habitat for native plants and animals and a location for subsistence gathering, archaeological preservation and education.

The trust obtained $767,976 from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Legacy Lands Conservation Program and $480,000 from the county open space preservation fund to complete the purchase from owners Tracy and Greg Gordon.

"A hidden gem on East-End Molokai will continue to be a place for subsistence gathering of food and plants for cultural and medicinal purposes," said Stacy Crivello, president of Ke Apuni Lokahi, a Molokai community development organization that provided support for the deal.

Land trust Executive Director Butch Haase said the agreement would protect "pristine watershed, riparian habitat for the recovery of native birds and vegetation, and important cultural and archaeological sites contained within the valley."

Greg Gordon said his family approached the trust about buying the property because it had become overwhelming to attempt to control invasive species, erosion and animal damage.

"This land needed a better future, and Molokai Land Trust offered a permanent solution by putting the land into conservation versus sold and developed," he said.

Molokai Land Trust President Colette Machado said the land trust's protection of the site would be an opportunity for planning and preservation in partnership with cultural and community groups, "and allow future generations to know and participate in caring for the land."

Preliminary study of the steep gulch area found many lo'i, or taro paddies, along the stream, according to the release.

"Kawaikapu means 'sacred waters,'" said trust board member Halona Kaopuiki. "This land has a rich cultural history that is slowly revealing its cultural treasures. Restoring and raising taro once again on Kawaikapu is now possible."
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