Forestry | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

February 8, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Sowing Seeds In Hawai‘i Via The Airplane

In 1903, the Hawai‘i Territorial Legislature passed Act 44 establishing the Board of Agriculture and Forestry, predating the USDA Forest Service by one year.

The Forest Reserve System was created by the Territorial Government of Hawai’i through Act 44 on April 25, 1903. It was cooperative arrangement between the Hawai‘i Sugar Planters Association and the territorial government.

Plantations needed wood for fuel, but they also needed to keep the forests intact to draw precipitation from the trade winds, which in turn fed the irrigation systems in the cane fields below. (DLNR-DOFAW)

The first Territorial forester, Ralph S Hosmer, suggested that the forest had been declining in the uplands as a result of fire, grazing and insects. In order to preserve the forest, it was necessary to keep the ungulates out. From 1924 to 1926 hundreds of thousands of pigs, sheep, cattle and goats were reportedly removed from Hawai‘i’s Territorial forests.

Likewise, the watershed areas needed to be reforested. “The difficulty lies in the distribution of … seeds over the thousands of square miles of mountain land. …”

“It follows naturally that … seeds will germinate and develop into trees when sown in elevated position by birds, they should do the same if sown in positions by the hand of man. Therefore the experiment of throwing seed into such positions was started by the foresters when traveling through the forests on foot”.

“‘Why then,’ [Dr Harold L Lyon, superintendent of the Territory’s Department of Botany and Forestation] asked, ‘would it not be possible to fly over the decadent forests in an airplane, dropping … seeds wherever favorable conditions seem to exist for their reception?’”

“‘Naturally, most of the seeds so dropped would land in situations where it could not grow and thrive, but if one tree eventually matured for every 100,000 seeds so sown, the results would be worth the effort. …’”

“‘The air service of the US army has shown great willingness to assist us in this endeavor … We have learned many interesting and helpful facts regarding the culture and propagation …’ he concludes.”

“‘Our project has passed the critical tests and we can proceed with its further elaboration with every assurance that we are laying the foundation for a natural and permanent rejuvenation of our forests.” (SB, Jun 22, 1929)

Airplanes were not suggested just for reforestations in Hawai‘i, folks in Panama were seriously concerned about mosquitos and the malaria they carried.

“The definition of a Bombing Plane appears to be due for a revision – hurling bombs, dusting mosquitoes, sowing – what next?” (Army Corps News, September 18, 1931)

Then, several newspapers across the continent reported, “It might be called the story of the elephant, and the bombing plane. The wild beast of the jungles, with Its tremendous power of destruction, when once captured and trained, becomes the servant of man. Its lumbering hulk is put to work clearing paths through the wilderness transporting lumber and other cargo.”

“Under the guidance of its master its potential strength is turned to useful, peaceful pursuits to aid mankind. The Army Air Corps bombing planes, the greatest destruction machines in the Government’s military service, are being similarly ‘harnessed,’ on occasion, in peaceful pursuits.”

“Potentially capable or wiping out cities with the tons of bombs and poisonous gases they can carry, they are being used on errands of mercy, seeding of sugar plantations and in the Government’s ‘war’ on the malaria-carrying mosquito.”

“The most recent instance of these humanitarian services occurred during the hurricane which swept Belize, British Honduras, and caused widespread destruction and suffering.”

“Army planes were dispatched with first aid equipment and provisions supplies to help in caring for the injured and homeless.

Another recent case of the peaceful use of the army fighting planes has been the war on mosquitoes in Panama.”

“Contrary to prevalent belief, this was the first time dusting by airplane to kill mosquito larvae has been attempted in Panama or the Canal Zone.”

“Co-operating with the Health Department of the Panama Canal, the Air Corps has equipped a bombing plane with a ‘dusting’’ device and has attacked the breeding areas of the mosquito.”

“Still another Instance in line with these peaceful pursuits of the Air Corps is the sowing of seeds in Hawaii. At the request of the Forestry Division of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association and the Territorial Board of Agriculture and Forestry, bombing planes have been utilized in planting seed over the mountain area of Oahu near Honolulu.”

“Several flights are made each year over areas difficult to plant by ground methods with highly satisfactory results. The Army Fokker plane Bird or Paradise, in which Lieuts Maitland and Hegenberger flew from Oakland, Cal to Honolulu in 1927, was used for a time, sowing as much as a ton on a flight.”

“Now smaller quantities are scattered from the rear cockpit of bombing planes.” (Brooklyn Eagle, Sep 27, 1931) “Several flights are made each year over areas difficult to plant by ground methods.” (Army Corps News, September 18, 1931)

October 22, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Barrier Forests

“Our native forests are being rapidly depleted through the operation of several factors. Opinions may differ as to the relative importance of these factors, but the undeniable fact remains that the forests are disappearing at an alarming rate and the denudation has already gone so far on many of our important watersheds as to jeopardize the water supply obtained therefrom.”

“Cattle and Hilo grass are the most potent factors in bringing about the final elimination of our native forest trees, shrubs, vines and ferns.”

“The first problem to be considered in any constructive forestry plan should be the protection and preservation of our native forests; in other words, we should take steps to keep what we still have.”

“To do this we must build fences to keep out animals and plant barrier forests of strong introduced trees to hold back and smother out the Hilo grass.”

“In selecting trees and shrubs for our forest planting, we should give preference to those that show ability to spread spontaneously through the free production of seed that will be carried by natural agencies such as wind and birds.” (Watt, McLennan, Knudsen & Lyon; Hawaiian Planters Record, Vol XX, 1919)

“There are water-conserving native forests still covering areas of considerable extent in these Islands …. These forests are doomed to destruction if prompt protective and constructive measures are not adopted for their preservation.”

“If we would save what is left of our native rain-forests we must eliminate the cattle now present in them, prevent their further invasion by stock with proper fences, and build barrier forests along their exposed edges.”

“These measures should be instituted at once, not in one small area only, but throughout the Islands wherever there is a native forest of any extent.”

“Some seem to think that reforestation in these Islands means the immediate replacement of the native trees with foreign stock. Such a course is altogether inadvisable.”

“We should first save what we still have in the way of forests and create our new forests on the large areas from which the native forests have nearly or quite disappeared.”

“At a recent meeting of the Committee on Forestry of the H. S. P. A., the following resolution was adopted: ‘RESOLVED, That it is the desire of this Committee that the preservation and extension of the native forest be the main consideration in all planting operations undertaken on our forest areas.’” (Hawaiian Planters Record, Vol XX, 1919)

“The primary object of all forest plantings on our watersheds must be to revive and create plant formations, including trees, shrubs, ferns and mosses, which will grow in a harmonious society and afford the greatest possible water-conserving capacity. No pure-culture forest can equal a mixed plant society in this respect.”

“Reforestation as commonly dealt with in text-books on forestry or as practiced by foresters in various parts of the world, aims at the creation of pure-culture forests.”

“Our reforestation problem is, therefore, unique; we have no precedent to go by. Ecological botanists have, however, supplied us with many careful analyses of such forest formations as we desire to create on our own watersheds.”

“Our problem is to build similar forest-formations, using such material as is already available in the Islands, and importing such additional material as is needed to round out our new plant societies.”

“The forest-formations which we must create are of two general types: barrier-forests and deep or interior rain-forests.”

“I employ the term barrier-forest to include the plant formations which must constitute the outer exposed edge of our forests and form the transition from denuded areas to rain-forest.”

“We should first concern ourselves with these barrier-forests, for such forest-formations must be built up along the exposed edges of all the existing remnants of our native rain-forests if these remnants are to be preserved, and they must also be constructed along the margins of any area on which we could create a new rain-forest.”

“It is then quite evident that the barrier-forest must be constructed first in any reforestation project we may undertake. It follows, therefore, that our first problem is to get together the proper components for a barrier-forest formation.”

“Experimental plantings looking toward the building of rainforest formations can be started as soon as plants are available for the purpose.”

“This work must progress more slowly than that in the barrier-forest formations and should be undertaken first on denuded areas where the native forest has nearly or quite disappeared.” (Lyon; Proceedings of the HSPA, 1919)

September 13, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mystery on the Mauna

It started like any other day … post the latest summary, check comments on the website and Facebook, and review emails. As is also typical, emails came in asking about the identity of a photo, map, or just a general history question.

Then, an interesting issue was raised about a post I did on rock walls. The question was, do I have any “knowledge about a structure at 11,000’ on Mauna Kea’s SW aspect. It’s a roughly rectangular wall, about five feet high with a perimeter of 3,300 feet.”

“I think of it as an exclosure because it has no openings. A single cedar tree stands near its upper corner – I believe it’s higher than any other on the mountain.”

That led to a frustrating series of inquiries with others trying to identify the “Rock Wall” (that was labeled as such on several old maps). It is situated above the tree line.

It was a structure that I had never seen before and was not aware of. And, the options of the who, what and why started to expand in the process – with no clear indication of an answer to any of those.

I reached out to several archaeologists and others who prepare cultural impact assessments for help. My first response was from a notable archaeologist who said, “I know nothing specifically … there were at least some bottles/bottle fragments inside the enclosure. Generally, there are several upland corral-like enclosures”.

Another early response from another archaeologist stated, “This feature is quite intriguing. Regrettably we have no information to provide, although the presence of the tree at the site suggests there may be a spring in that location. Springs are present around this elevation on other parts of the mountain.”

Corral, water … that led me to look into springs and ranching activities on the mountain. I looked through some reports and found …

“Ka-houpo-o-Kāne (literally, The-bosom-of Kāne), is the sacred region of Mauna Kea (between the 10,000 – 11,000 foot elevation), in which are found the springs fed by Ka-wai-hū-a-Kāne; by a rivulet from Waiau to the head of Pōhakuloa Gulch.” (Maly)

Ka Houpo o Kāne represents the springs of the island of Hawaii. (Vredenburg) “The area identified as Ka-houpo-o-Kāne is situated below Waiau, on the southwestern slopes of Mauna Kea, in the land of Ka‘ohe.” (Maly)

Another study addressing the springs at Houpo O Kāne noted, “One section of the valley is isolated by the steep walls of thick lava flows, above and below which are stone walls built many years ago as a trap in, which to impound wild cattle that frequented the spring area. The last of the wild cattle have been killed, but a few skulls were to be seen in 1939.”

According to another study, “there is reason to believe that [the cattle trap] probably dates to the same period of time (ca. 1820 – 1850).”

To help us understand the early cattle experience on the mountain, William Ellis wrote, “[Goodrich] saw at a distance several herds of wild cattle, which are very numerous in the mountains and inland parts of the island, and are the produce of those taken there, and presented to the king, by Captain Vancouver.”

“They were, at his request, tabued for ten years, during which time they resorted to the mountains, and became so wild and ferocious, that the natives are afraid to go near them.”

“Although there are immense herds of them, they do not attempt to tame any; and the only advantage they derive is by employing persons, principally foreigners, to shoot them, salt the meat in the mountains, and bring it down to the shore for the purpose of provisioning the native vessels.”

“But this is attended with great labour and expense. They first carry all the salt to the mountains. When they have killed the animals, the flesh is cut off their bones, salted immediately, and afterwards put into small barrels, which are brought on men’s shoulders ten or fifteen miles to the sea-shore.” (Ellis, 1820s)

Back then, wild cattle (bullocks) were captured in pits (typically one at a time) or shot at with rifles (that then scared the rest away). It was pretty inefficient. Kamehameha III had Spanish vaqueros brought to the islands to teach the Hawaiians the skills of herding and handling cattle.

So, if this applied to the “Rock Wall,” I did more research into Hawai‘i’s early ranching efforts … The vaqueros found the Hawaiians to be capable students, and by the 1870s, the Hawaiian cowboys came to be known as the “paniola” for the Espanola (Spanish) vaqueros who had been brought to the islands (though today, the Hawaiian cowboy is more commonly called “paniolo”). (Maly)

“One of the most important contributions of the vaqueros was their introduction of the rawhide lasso.” A report stated, “‘The use of the rawhide lasso drastically changed the movement of cattle closer to market and into confinement for eventual domestication.’”

“‘The Spanish method replaced the labor-intensive system of packing salt to the mountain and hauling kegs of salted beef (i‘a kōpī or pipi miko) back to the shoreline communities. As part of the method, the bullock was roped in the remote range, snubbed to a tree, and tethered snugly over a night or two for a cooling-off period. This process is called po‘owaiū by the paniolo.’”

“‘At the appropriate time, usually at daybreak, the bullock was shorn of his horn tips (‘oki hau), and then led (alaka‘i) by a single head rope or two to a central corral. These corrals were often located at a rudimentary camp or village (kauhale).’” (Bergin; Cultural Surveys)

As part of an oral history project, some of the ‘old time’ Parker Ranch employees were interviewed; one stated, “When you’re looking from here it’s all mountain, but when you get up there it’s nice big flats and hollows, it’s cinders. The old people used to make traps, Pāloa, and they used to drive, mainly horses. Hit the sand and it goes right down to the corrals.”

More corral reference … was this one of those corrals?

Throughout this investigation, I had in the back of my mind the CCC. My oldest map noting the “Rock Wall” was dated 1937. That meant there was a possibility that the wall could be associated with Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).

After a decade of national prosperity in the Roaring Twenties, Americans faced a national crisis after the Crash of 1929. The Great Depression saw an unemployment rate of more than twenty-five percent in the early 1930s. (pbs)

To make work, Franklin D Roosevelt proposed in his New Deal (1933) the creation of “a Civilian Conservation Corps, to be used in simple work, not interfering with normal employment, and confining itself to forestry, the prevention of soil erosion, flood control and similar projects.”

It was estimated that 8 to 10 percent of Hawaiʻi’s young men were enrolled by the Civilian Conservation Corps during its tenure from 1934 to 1942. There were CCC camps on Oʻahu, Maui, Kauai, the island of Hawaiʻi and Molokai. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, NPS)

One of those project sites was at Pōhakuloa. Seven cabins were built around the base of the mountain at the present location of Gilbert Kahele Recreation Area run by the County (formerly, the Mauna Kea State Park.)

In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) undertook fencing, road building and visitor facilities on Mauna Kea. The CCC built a stone cabin at Hale Pōhaku, which gained its name (house of stone) from that structure. The cabin at Hale Pōhaku provided a shelter for overnight hikers, hunters and snow players.

This fit in with the timeline, based on the mapping I had … however, this alternative was soon dropped, as I found a 1926 USGS ‘Ahumoa’ mapping that showed the “Rock Wall,” (suggesting it was probably not part of a Civilian Conservation Corps project). But that did not explain the who, what and why.

I literally shot-gunned my request for information – I sent out lots of email requests, seeking information. I followed up on every recommended reference. No clear indication came up, until …

Mystery solved … the Hawai‘i District Manager from DLNR-DOFAW responded in an email saying, “I reached out to some of our retired foresters, Charlie Wakida, Ernest Pung and Libert Landgraf. “

“Charlie and Ernie thought it was for experimental plantings. Libert did as well, and said that LW Bryan had the exclosure made in the late 20’s or early 30’s to exclude feral sheep and plant different trees. He said Bryan had experimental plantings at various locations on Mauna Kea.” (Hawaii Branch Manager, DLNR-DOFAW)

Leicester Winthrop ‘Bill’ Bryan, a native of Boston, Massachusetts, reached Hawaii’s shores shortly after World War I; he was a forester on the Island of Hawai‘i.

“He supervised planting of more than 10 million trees island-wide, preservation of scores of endangered plants, introduction of hundreds of exotic plant species, establishment of arboreta. He helped develop the island’s network of weather stations, its parks.” (UPI)

May 19, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mahalo ʻAina

Mahalo ‘Aina: Give Back to the Forest is a program of the Hawai‘i Forest Institute (an entity established in 1989 to promote healthy and productive forests and a sustainable forest industry through forest management, education, planning, information exchange and advocacy.)

In partnership with the Hawai‘i Forest Industry Association (HFIA) and others, the goal of the Mahalo ‘Aina program is to expand community partnerships and gain support for the protection and perpetuation of Hawaiʻi’s forest ecosystems.

Click HERE to get to the Mahalo Aina website.

The philosophy of Mahalo ʻAina is simple: to help ensure a thriving future for forest restoration and education programs. The forest provides us with environmental, economic and cultural benefits, but we must also understand that we must give back to the forest.

Key Objectives of the Mahalo ‘Aina: Give back to the Forest program include:

Participate in forest restoration projects;
Raise awareness of reforestation efforts in Hawai‘i;
Develop demonstration forests;
Plan for future sustainability of forest ecosystems;
- Raise awareness of forestry practices;
- Illustrate forestry conservation practices; and
- Develop long-term partnerships
Engage the public to become involved

This is a fundraising effort; please consider donating – click HERE to do so.

Funds raised through Mahalo ‘Aina are helping to support: Propagation, outplanting, and long-term care of plantings; Site maintenance; Cultural and environmental education programs; and Coordination and promotional activities.

Mahalo ‘Aina is not simply a tree planting program, in addition to planting trees, it is helping to support total ecosystem management and providing forest stewardship opportunities and educational programs at project sites throughout the state.

Mahalo ‘Aina will initially benefit the following projects:

Ka‘upulehu Dryland Forest, Hawai‘i Island
La‘i‘Opua Dryland Habitat Preserve, Hawai‘i Island
Kaloko Makai Dryland Forest Preserve, Hawai‘i Island
Pana‘ewa Zoo Discovery Forest, Hawai‘i Island
Palamanui Dry Forest Preserve, Hawai‘i Island
‘Aina Mauna Christmas Tree Demonstration Project, Hawai‘i Island
Kapapala Canoe Forest, Hawai‘i Island
Honolulu Zoo Children’s Discovery Forest, O‘ahu
Hawaiʻi’s WoodshowTM, Na La‘au o Hawai‘i, O‘ahu
Hawaii Wood Guild, Hawai‘i Island
Keauhou Bird Conservation Center Discovery Forest, Hawai‘i Island
Kua O Ka La Public Charter School, Hawai‘i Island
Hawai‘i Island Native Hawaiian Seed Bank Cooperative, Hawai‘i Island
Honokohau National Historical Park & Pu‘uhonua O Honaunau Restoration, Hawai‘i Island
Kakeʻe Area Restoration and Reforestation Project, Kaua‘i
Maui Bird Conservation Center Discovery Forest, Maui (in exploration phase)

Tune in to the Mahalo ‘Aina Hawaiʻi Public Radio (HPR) Radio Series on HPR-1 Monday through Friday at 8:18 am, now through Friday, July 31st.

Click HERE to catch up on prior broadcasts.

The 65 episodes will re-run on HPR-2 starting in August 2015.)

I am honored and proud to serve as a director on the Hawaiʻi Forest Institute (HFI,) an organization dedicated to promote the health and productivity of Hawaiʻi’s forests, through forest restoration, educational programs, information dissemination and support for scientific research.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Mahalo Aina

February 27, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Food Forest

It’s not food for human use – it’s a forest managed to provide habitat and food for recovering endangered bird species.

The Keauhou Bird Conservation Center (KBCC) Discovery Forest is a project and part of Hawaiʻi Forest Institute’s (HFI) Mahalo ʻĀina: Give Back to the Forest Program.

HFI’s Mahalo ʻĀina: Give Back to the Forest program seeks to expand public and private partnerships to gain support for the protection and perpetuation of Hawaii’s forest resources.

The objectives of the KBCC Discovery Forest are to:
• Restore an endemic forest canopy with koa;
• Restore an endemic forest understory with fruiting trees and shrubs;
• Improve habitat quality for endemic wild birds;
• Provide hands-on experiential education for local students; and
• Provide forest materials (fruits, browse, and perching) for captive birds KBCC.

Using captive propagation and release techniques, KBCC is reestablishing self-sustaining populations of critically endangered Hawaiian birds in the wild.

The Hawai‘i Endangered Bird Conservation Program breeds endangered Hawaiian birds in captivity, for release back into the wild.

For Phase I, HFI began work with KBCC and other community partners to create the Discovery Forest with 1,200 koa and other native trees. This project is providing service learning opportunities for youth volunteers and helping to develop habitat and food for native birds.

Koa trees are an essential part of native Hawaiian forests. They improve soil quality through a chemical process called nitrogen fixation, allowing other native plants, like the fruiting trees necessary for native bird life, to grow in the nutrient-poor, lava-based soil.

In addition, koa are the dominant crown cover in some areas, providing watershed protection and playing a large part in Hawaiian culture.

Koa is important from a conservation perspective because it provides habitat for native plants and animals. Although birds do not eat koa fruit, they forage on insects on and within the tree itself, and use cavities in koa for nesting.

Once a koa forest is established, understory fruiting species that are key to the diets of rare bird species can be planted in the area. Fruiting species include hōawa, kōlea, maile, māmaki, māmane, ‘ōhelo, ‘ōlapa, pilo and ‘ie’ie. (San Diego Zoo)

Notable long-term program efforts and successes include:
• Nēnē – (the State Bird) recovering from fewer than 50 birds to nearly 2,000
• ʻAlala – captive flock that has grown to 95
• Puaiohi – recovering from only a few dozen to approximately 500 (found only on Kaua‘i)
• Palila – a new population has been established on the north slope of Mauna Kea

The trees planted school groups are the beginning of a new native tree forest that will support the native bird species in the future.

This site, at an elevation of about 4,000-feet, was once grazed by cattle and was primarily covered in non-native kikuyu grass; forest restoration helps add to the existing collection of native species.

The land is owned by Kamehameha Schools and leased to KBCC, which is part of the Hawaiʻi Endangered Bird Conservation Program, a partnership between the San Diego Zoo Global Institute for Conservation Research, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife.

The project to re-establish the koa forest has been funded through the support of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation and the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority. The koa seedlings were donated by the Three Mountain Alliance.

HFI was awarded a DLNR Division of Forestry & Wildlife (DOFAW) Forest Stewardship Program grant to develop a forest stewardship plan for the approximately 200-acre Discovery Forest site. (HFI)

Click the following link for more on Mahalo ʻĀina: Give Back to the Forest Program.
http://www.mahaloaina.org

I am honored and proud to serve as a director on the Hawaiʻi Forest Institute, an organization dedicated to promote the health and productivity of Hawaiʻi’s forests, through forest restoration, educational programs, information dissemination and support for scientific research.

Among other projects The Mahalo ‘Āina: Give Back to the Forest will benefit Kaʻūpūlehu Dryland Forest, LaʻiʻŌpua Dryland Habitat Preserve, Kaloko Makai Dryland Forest Preserve, Panaʻewa Zoo Discovery Forest, ʻĀina Mauna Christmas Tree Demonstration Project and Honolulu Zoo Children’s Discovery Forest. (Lots of information and images here is from HFI.)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger