Conservation Success Story - 2022
Pōhue Bay, Hawai’i
One of the best parts of my role at The Conservation Alliance was sharing conservation successes with our members and supporters on our website, email, and social channels.
The piece below is a 2022 success story from TCA grantee The Trust for Public Land. I wrote this piece and worked with the grantee to ensure it was facutal and accurately represented the success and The Conservation Alliance’s role in the project.
In addition to writing the web copy, I also created the email content, social graphics, and social media toolkit that was shared with over 270 TCA members to help them amplify this success across their own channels.
SUCCESS STORY 2022
Pōhue Bay
IMAGE COURTESY OF TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND
PROJECT NAME: Pōhue Bay
GRANTEE: The Trust for Public Land
RESULT: 16,456 acres protected, including 5.5 miles of shoreline
Hawaii’s Volcanoes National Park has just grown thanks to grantee Trust for Public Land. Working in partnership with the National Park Service (NPS), TPL purchased 16,456 acres, including 5.5 miles of shoreline, at Pōhue Bay on Hawai’i Island. The land has now been transferred to NPS and will be permanently protected as a part of the national park system, where it is known as the “Kahuku-Pōhue parcel” in reference to the Hawaiian place name, Kahuku.
The parcel is closed to the public while an interim management plan is being developed. The plan will explore future opportunities for public use that balance the needs for resource protection of this special place.
The Kahuku-Pōhue parcel is home to many significant Hawaiian cultural sites, including the largest recorded abrader quarry in Hawaiʻi, ancient lava tube burials, mauka-makai trails, fishing shrines, remains of once-thriving coastal villages, and petroglyphs. A well-preserved portion of the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail or Ala Loa, an ancient coastal trail system, hugs the coastline.
The coastline is also critical habitat for federally listed endangered Hawaiian species, including the Hawaiian hawksbill turtle (honu‘ea) and Hawaiian monk seal. Rare endemic ʻōpaeʻula (red shrimp) live in the area’s anchialine ponds, and the bay is often frequented by native and migratory birds, including ʻiwa (frigate bird), koaʻe kea (white tailed tropic bird), kōlea (golden plover), ʻūlili (wandering tattler) and ʻaukuʻu (black crowned night heron).
The protection of this land is a huge win for the Native Hawaiian community, as the future of the Kahuku-Pōhue parcel is now guaranteed. The newly protected area will ensure that the delicate cultural sites that abound are safeguarded with respect while also providing a safe haven for wildlife to flourish.