The Hawai‘i Experimental Tropical Forest
A Model for Cooperative Conservation Research and Management
What is the Hawai‘i Experimental Tropical Forest?
The Hawai‘i Experimental Tropical Forest is a partnership between the State of Hawai‘i,
Department of Land and Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service to establish the first
experimental forest in Hawai‘i. The forest will become a site for research on tropical forestry,
conservation biology and natural resource management.
The experimental forest is being located on 12,400 acres of State land in Laupahoehoe Forest
Reserve and Natural Area Reserve in East Hawai‘i and 35,540 acres of State lands at Puu
Waawaa in West Hawai‘i. One of the main objectives of the Hawai‘i Experimental Tropical
Forest is to provide information on science and management to restore and maintain Hawai‘i’s
forests.
Current Status of the Hawai‘i Experimental Tropical Forest
In April 2005, Governor Lingle requested the assistance of Secretary of Agriculture to establish
the experimental forest as authorized by the 1992 Hawai‘i Tropical Forest Recovery Act. In
June 2005, Secretary Johanns concurred and requested that the State and U.S. Forest Service
develop a report with recommendations on location and infrastructure needs.
In March 2006, Governor Lingle submitted a scoping report identifying the Laupahoehoe and
Puu Waawaa forest areas as the recommended sites. In May 2006, Undersecretary of
Agriculture Mark Rey concurred with suggestions and identified final steps for the
establishment. Currently, the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources and U.S.
Forest Service are developing operating agreements and finalizing the establishment record.
Unique Attributes of the Experimental Forest and its Role in Cooperative Conservation
The Hawai‘i Experimental Forests will be established on State lands. This will not require
purchase of additional federal lands or assumption of many land management responsibilities.
Currently, Hawai‘i is the only State without an experimental forest. The State will have coresponsibility for management and operation of the experimental forest. This partnership
arrangement provides for enhanced interaction between land managers and scientists and
opportunities to develop research projects that address the current most pressing State
management issues.
Conservation Benefits of an Experimental Forest in Hawai‘i
 Attract local and national researchers to work on Hawai‘i and Pacific Island regional issues.
 Address a wide range of conservation management issues due to the vastly different habitats
and ecosystems at the sites.
 Support development of a sustainable forest products industry in Hawai‘i and appropriate use
of native hardwoods and other tropical hardwood timber species.
 Provide research on long-term questions such as impacts of global change.
 Provide new opportunities for people to learn about and appreciate Hawaiian forests and
enable school kids of all ages to get into the forest.
 Promote development of local expertise in research and management.
 Provide new science that can be directly applied into State planning processes.
 Successful models developed in Hawai‘i can be exported to other states and countries.
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How Do Other Partners Get Involved?
Local Universities can get involved as partners and cooperators and are encouraged to integrate
the new Hawai‘i Experimental Tropical Forest into their research programs. The Experimental
Forest can be expanded and has the directive to develop demonstration forests on other islands.
The experimental forest provides the platform that private landowners can enroll their lands for
experimentation to obtain focused research assistance on specific management issues. With a
flexible structure, it can include other private and public lands for any time period needed to
address specific research and management questions.
Potential Research and Management Topics
 How to sustain and enhance water quantity and quality now and in future
 Development and testing of tools to restore threatened and endangered species, native species
and their habitats
 Development and testing of tools to control and eradicate invasive species
 Developing techniques for commercial production of Koa and other timber species
 Develop new forest products and sustainable harvest methods that can benefit private
landowners
 Developing standards for documenting and monitoring “ecosystem services” including
carbon credits, biodiversity credits and water credits
How Can Federal Partners Help?
 Provide dedicated funding to support the infrastructure and operational needs for the new
Experimental Forest.
 Provide research funding for baseline and long term monitoring studies such as the impacts
of global change (i.e. global warming, and invasive species), and large-scale habitat
restoration projects.
 Increase support for natural resource conservation programs such as the Conservation
Programs in the Farm Bill, Landowner Incentive Program, Forest Stewardship, Forest
Legacy and State and Private Forestry programs that fund innovative approaches now being
tested in Hawai‘i – these will provide funding for the “research by management” projects that
will be used on this forest.
 Use the Hawaiian Experimental Tropical Forest as a Model for development of Ecosystem
Services programs nationwide.
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