In 2005 a longstanding legal dispute nearly led to development of this valley on the north shore of O`ahu. The site of 300-year-old temples, Waimea Valley is viewed by Native Hawaiians as a deeply spiritual place. A cultural learning center at the mouth of the valley offers visitors the opportunity to explore Hawaiian cultural sites, sunlit paths, a botanical garden, pools, and a famous waterfall. When state and city funding to resolve the lawsuit and purchase the land came up short, The Trust for Public Land helped recruit $3.5 million from the U.S. Army, which sought to prevent develop- ment near one of its training areas.
Lapakahi State Historical Park
This coastal park on Hawai`i Island boasts some of the finest remaining examples of Hawaiian cultural sites dating prior to European contact. For years, successive landowners have marketed a 17-acre parcel within the park for development that would threaten cultural sites as well as water quality in an offshore ocean conservation district. Working with the state parks department, The Trust for Public Land recently acquired this land for the park. It was one of several recent projects to protect five miles of coast- line in the North Kohala district on the island’s northwest shore.
Hawea heiau complex and Keawawa wetland
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Rediscovered about six years ago, this five-acre heritage site in an upscale neigh- borhood on O`ahu includes petroglyphs, a spring, burial sites, possible house struc- tures and agricultural terraces, a possible Tahitian-style heiau (temple), one of the oldest coconut groves on the island, and a wetland inhabited by endangered `alae `ula (Hawaiian moorhen). To protect the site, The Trust for Public Land is currently working with the state, county, and the nonprofit Livable Hawai`i Kae Hui, which has been stewarding the property and using it for Hawaiian cultural practices while researching its history.
Suzanne Westerly
Big Island Visitors Bureau/Bob Coello
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