Division of Forestry and Wildlife: Forestry Program

Hawaiʻi’s rich soils, abundant rainfall, and year-round growing season make it an ideal place for growing trees. In the last century, timber plantations were planted on state and private forest lands. Today, these mature plantations offer wood for local use if local buyers and end users knew about the beauty and benefits of locally grown wood.

Hawai‘i has over 40,000 acres of timber plantations available for use in the local economy. More than 100 million board feet of usable timber are growing in the state’s Timber Management Areas (TMA) alone. Thousands of acres of timber stands have not been managed regularly due to a lack of market for this wood, which has left overstocked forests that could contribute to wildfire risk. The Division of Forestry aims to support the development of a local wood market, utilizing Hawai’i-grown timber species to benefit Hawai’i’s local environment and economy.

Eucalyptus in Kōkeʻe Timber Management Area

Wood is a renewable, biodegradable, natural material that stores carbon. Products made from locally grown wood continue to store the carbon sequestered during the lifetime of the wood products – an eco-friendly choice for Hawaiʻiʻs building and material needs. Sourcing locally reduces shipping emissions, supports the local economy, and creates jobs.

Many people who care about deforestation may believe that wood products contribute to forest loss. This is a misunderstanding. There are still parts of the world where forests are cut and converted to other land uses or forest operators who don’t follow good practices; however, today in the US, there are lot of tools and transparency that help consumers understand where their wood comes from and how its managed. Responsible forest stewardship often requires that trees are removed in a manner that minimizes the impact to ecosystem services and managed for the long term health of the trees. Therefore, markets for wood products that originate from responsibly managed forests are very important.

The management of local forests is important for land management activities and can, in some circumstances, reduce wildfire risk and invasive species.

The harvest of our local wood reduces the fuel load and wildfire risk. Wildfires burn about 20,000 acres in Hawaiʻi annually. More than 25% of the state has been invaded by non-native, fire-prone grasses and shrubs. That percentage grows each time a fire burns a native forest. As a result, wildfires are increasing in frequency, size, and severity on all islands, which threatens communities, agricultural lands, natural resources, and ecosystem services.

Local wood usage reduces the carbon footprint of construction projects by avoiding the need to import materials – helping to prevent new invasions by non-native species, such as the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle or Little Fire Ant.