HILO, Hawaiʻi – A stewardship agreement for the county-acquired property by the Waipi’o Valley Lookout, Koaʻekea, will continue.

The Hawaii County Council approved a $94,500 grant to the non-profit Pōhāhā I Ka Lani during an April 5 meeting in Hilo. It is the same group that was awarded the first ever Hawaiʻi County Public Open Spaces and Natural Resource Preservation Commission (PONC) Stewardship Grant for the same property last year. The parcel was once commonly referred to as the Rice property.

Jesse Kulia Potter testified on behalf of the non-profit working to protect and preserve the land parcel.

“The long range vision of Pōhāhā I Ka Lani is to transform and integrate TMK 4-8-04:06, and possibly lands in the Waipiʻo Preservation Buffer, into a permanent Hawaiian Preservation Buffer and Learning Zone, which preservers the rural, Hawaiian character of the Waipiʻo Lookout and Kukuihaele area and protects historic Waipiʻo Valley,” states Pōhāhā I Ka Lani on its website.

The Hawai‘i County Charter allows for funding stewardship grants to mainatain and preserve properties purchased by the PONC fund.

Work day at at Koaʻekea in 2016