Oʻahu: Sunset Ranch, Pūpūkea and Paumalū, Koʻolauloa

Size: 27 acres
Year Protected: 2010
Land Protection Strategy: Brokered, permanent conservation easement held by North Shore Community Land Trust
Conservation Values: Open space and agriculture
Land Features: Equestrian pasturelands

Sunset Ranch has been protected with one of Hawaiʻi’s first private conservation easements. As a result, this special property will remain preserved forever. Owner Greg Pietsch along with the North Shore Community Land Trust (NSCLT) and The Trust for Public Land (TPL), successfully raised funds for the purchase of the conservation easement from the Federal government’s Farm and Ranch Protection Program (FRPP), the State’s Legacy Land Conservation Fund (LLCF) and the City & County’s Clean Water and Natural land Fund (CWNL). Sunset Ranch remains one of the only properties in Hawaiʻi forever protected with federal, state and county grant funding.

Having made the promise to protect the land in perpetuity, Greg is now making productive use of the property in order to establish it as a model or platform to advance land conservation and sustainability in Hawaiʻi by offering farming, gardening, sustainable living, and horsemanship programs.

Sunset Ranch includes a fruit tree farm (Sunset Meadow), aquaculture site (Charlie’s Pond), bee hives, and an avocado orchard in the upper farming area.  Visitors also learn how backyard aquaponics systems are affordable, easy to use and can provide a meaningful food source.

Sunset Ranch is committed to providing education, restoration, and authenticity to the community by teaching Hawaiian culture, the importance of land conservation (native versus non-native species) and restoration (by eradicating invasive species and reintroducing native Hawaiian plants).

Sunset Ranch has dedicated a large portion of the property to equine operations. Specifically, the ranch has a twelve acre pasture, an on-site riding trail, a five acre riding field, and a 16 horse stable with a 10,000 square foot indoor riding arena, and offers specialized programs that incorporates personal growth, learning and healing for horses.