Protected Lands - Hawaiʻi Island
MAKUHONA NAVIGATION AND ECOLOGICAL COMPLEX
Protected in 2023 in partnership with County, State, Federal, and dozens of private partners, Hawaiʻi Land Trust’s (HILT) Mahukona Navigation and Ecological Complex is a 642-acre coastal and mauka area filled with historic sites and native species. It is a reminder of our ancestral past.
HILT is in the process of developing Mahukona Navigation and Ecological Complex’s long-term vision alongside our community partners to guide future use of the site in alignment with our original acquisition intent of supporting ecosystem restoration, cultural perpetuation, education, and community access. .
Ahupuaʻa: Kapaʻa Nui, Kou, Kamano, Mahukona, Hihiu, and Kaoma Moku: Hilo Size: 642 Acres
Year Protected: 2023
Land Protection Strategy: Owned and stewarded by HILT
Conservation Values: Archaeological and cultural preservation, habitat restoration, cultural practice and education
Land Features: Coastal and dryland forest habitats, historic sites
About Kūkūau Community Forest
Makuhona was once a historic training ground for traditional Hawaiian navigators and a home to 175 ancient cultural sites, including four heiau (places of worship). With its clear night skies free from light pollution and the combination of its calm bay and rough deep ocean waters, this created an ideal environment for star studying and training young navigators.
As abundant as Mahukona is in history and culture, it is equally abundant in native species. Mahukona’s clean turquoise waters teem with native fish, rays, dolphins, and whales. Endangered ʻŌpeʻapea (Hawaiian Hoary Bats) feed there, and native coastal plants such as Hinahina grow along the shoreline.
The public harbor, clear coastal waters, and coastal trail are important recreational resources for the Kohala community and are used and loved by Hawaiʻi island residents and visitors. Youth education programs at Mahukona are thriving, and community is planning for cultural use and community native reforestation.
The community is encouraged to get involved by participating in future volunteer days or free guided tours through our Talk Story on the Land environmental education series. For information on school visits at Mahukona, contact HILT Steward & Educators, Keone Emeliano or Kaʻāina Ishimine.
The land is forever restricted by a conservation easement held by the County of Hawaiʻi. Our partner, Nā Kālai Waʻa stewards navigational cultural sites, drydocks the sailing canoe Makaliʻi at Mahukona, and hold educational programs related to voyaging. Other partnerships for higher education, native coastal dryland reforestation, archaeological study, and more are forming.
HOW TO COME CORRECT
We acknowledge the importance of protocols, guidelines, and invitations to enjoy Mahukona. When Kohala stood up, standing shoulder to shoulder with HILT, they shared that this effort is about “protecting a lifestyle.” As part of a larger community, we are really just beginning to learn how to navigate building meaningful deep relationships with place and people of place that hold sacred life ways and generational relationships with a place and its finite resources. The following is a starting point:
Do Your Research & Study Up
Consider Your Intention for Visiting
Consider your Capacity for Reciprocity with the Land
Consider Your Own Place of Privilege
Cultural sites are stewarded by family and cultural practitioners. Please do not veer off the coastal trail unless invited through HILT programming, by HILT staff, by Nā Kālai Waʻa, or by a cultural practitioner with kuleana to Mahukona—and pass this along with others you know visit or enjoy Mahukona.
Celebrate being along this learning journey with us as we all navigate how to be in right relationship with the lands sustain Hawaiʻi, informed by the indigenous people of place.
We would like to mahalo Sogorea Te Land Trust as their work has helped to inform this starting point.
OLA MAHUKONA CAPSULE
Being of a place from Hawaiian perspective is to know the names of the hills, rains, and winds. Names assign importance and intimacy as kin. The elements of a name can be an exploratory into the characteristic of these natural features. This Ola Mahukona Gear features an ʻohe kapala design serving as a simple first step in learning about the winds and puʻu (hills) of Kohala. Inspired by a description of the ʻĀpaʻapaʻa wind of Kohala, the linear elements represent the wind movement through the famous puʻu (hills) of Kohala. Mahalo to Kuhao Zane of Sig Zane Kaiao for this design and story as we celebrate and gear up.
Check out the Ola Mahukona capsule at our online shop!
Mahukona Tote Bag
Mahukona 40oz Water Bottle
Mahukona Women’s Hooded Anetik
Mahukona Men’s Hooded Anetik
MAHUKONA: A THRIVING HAWAIIAN CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
The 642-acre Mahukona property includes the coastal regions of six ahupuaʻa (historic land divisions), from north to south - Kapaʻa Nui, Kou, Kamano, Mahukona, Hihiu, and Kaoma. This expansive cultural landscape with ancient cultural sites throughout, provides space for Hawaiian cultural practice and habitat for a variety of native marine animals and plants.
The cultural significance of Mahukona largely centers around its key location for traditional navigation, as its dynamic winds and currents provide ideal conditions for training. It is home to Koʻa Holomoana, a navigational heiau located on the bluffs of Kamanō bay. The heiau is known throughout the Pacific and to this day, visiting navigators often make a pilgrimage to the heiau upon arrival in the islands. As a young navigator, one is able to experience and train in ripping rough water currents and heavy winds as you near the ʻAlenuihāhā channel, and swiftly navigate back to the calmer waters and lighter leeward breezes of Mahukona.
To date, 175 ancient cultural sites have been identified including four heiau (places of worship), agricultural and housing villages and complexes, shrines, burials, and ancient trails including the alaloa. In addition to the ancient sites, many historic sites from when Mahukona harbor was the main sugar plantation port, and much of the land was ranched remain from the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Kohala community and partners are committed to preserving and sharing the stories and traditions of Mahukona from ka wā kahiko (ancient times) to the rise of sugar and ranching, to the restoration and revitalization efforts happening at Mahukona today.
Today, Hawaiian navigators have revived star and elemental study and ceremony at Koʻa Heiau Holomoana, and the Hawaiian voyaging canoe and many other canoes can be seen sailing in Mahukona’s waters. The public harbor, clear coastal waters, and coastal trail are important recreational resources for the Kohala community and are used and loved by Hawaiʻi island residents and visitors. Youth education programs at Mahukona are thriving, and community is planning for cultural use and community native reforestation.
Protected in 2023, the land is now owned for the community’s benefit by Hawaiʻi Land Trust. The land is forever restricted by a conservation easement held by the County of Hawaiʻi. Our partner, Nā Kālai Waʻa stewards Koʻa Heiau Holomoana among other sites, drydocks the sailing canoe Makaliʻi, and holds cultural navigational education programs at Mahukona. Hawaiʻi Land Trust and Nā Kālai Waʻa also partner with Kohala High School’s Naʻau ʻŌiwi Alternative Learning Program, and Kohala Middle School’s Kohala Unupaʻa after school program and hosts quarterly Talk Story On The Land events. Learn more about those here.
