Volcano Park Gains 116,000 Acres

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has grown by 50% with the acquisition of a 116,000-acre ranch that includes lava flows and ancient Hawaiian archeological sites, an official said Friday.

The National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy paid $22 million for the sprawling Kahuku Ranch, which runs along the slopes of Mauna Loa volcano on the Big Island, said Suzanne Case, the conservancy’s director in Hawaii.

“It’s the conservation jewel in Hawaii,” she added.

The park already included 229,000 acres and encompasses the summits and rift zones of two of the world’s most active volcanoes, Kilauea and Mauna Loa.

Congress appropriated $16 million for the land’s purchase, including $8.5 million approved by President Bush on Feb. 20. The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit conservation organization, covered the $6-million shortfall. It will probably be reimbursed by the federal government next year, Case said. The purchase was completed Thursday.

Park Supt. Jim Martin said that adding the ranch to the park’s property has been its top priority since 2001. The ranch has “world-class qualities -- tremendous resources, tremendous beauty and tremendous value to global biodiversity,” he said.

The park has exclusive rights over the property’s management, Case said. Plans on how the land will be used are still in the early stages, but Martin has said that he hopes to have a park ranger or other continuous presence soon.

Another initial priority would be to construct fences around the most environmentally fragile areas, Martin said.

Park officials say the land has a number of rare and endangered plant and animal species, including the Hawaiian hawk, the Hawaiian nene goose, the Hawaiian hoary bat, five species of rare Hawaiian songbirds and the endangered Ka’u silversword plant.

The property -- formerly owned by the Damon Estate, the state’s fourth-largest landowner -- also has 100-year-old ranch buildings, a volcanic cone from which pure sulfur erupted and 10,000 acres of native koa and ohia forest.

The ranch is bordered by state and national forest reserves.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was established in 1916 and includes the 13,677-foot Mauna Loa, which is the world’s largest volcano.

The park is perhaps best known, however, for Kilauea volcano, which has been erupting for more than 20 years.