Hawai‘i Forest Legacy Program
E malama i ka ululaʻau
Care for the forest
OVERVIEW
The Forest Legacy Program is a Federal grant program that aids States in identifying important private forest lands thatare threatened by development or fragmentation. Through the program, interested landowners are provided with alternatives to selling their land for development in order to cover costs associated with increased taxes, management of the land, among others by selling the land or a conservation easement on the property to a government organization. For more about the National Forest Legacy Program please visit the USDA Forest Service website.
Goals
Hawaiʻi Forest Legacy Program targets forest lands as identified in the Hawaii Forest Legacy Program Assessment of Needs (AON) and contribute to overall program goals, including:
- Protect Hawaiʻi’s unique and fragile environmental resources
- Encourage the protection of rare and/or endangered species
- Promote the preservation of aesthetic beauty in Hawai‘i
- Preserve watershed health and protect the sustainable yield of fresh water
- Protect working forests as economic assets for the state and counties of Hawai‘i
- Protect traditional and cultural forest practices and resources
- Protect recreational forest practices
Process
Interested parties should contact the state Program Manager several months prior to the July deadline to determine if the proposed acquisition project is eligible. State agencies will then work with applicants to submit proposals for review and ranking. After a project is approved by the state, it will then be reviewed and ranked at the national level before final approval on funding by Congress. The entire application process takes approximately two years before there is a determination on funding awards.
The deadline for draft applications for federal funding to be submitted to the state is July 31st annually.
Our Current Projects
Current projects and descriptions can be found here.
Contact
Please contact the Program Manager, Tanya Rubenstein, for examples of applications at (808) 333-6803 or via email.
