(BIVN) – A plan to establish a koa canoe management area in Kaʻū reached a milestone Friday, with an approval from the Hawaiʻi Board of Land and Natural Resources.

The land board voted in favor of a management plan and associated Environmental Assessment for the Kapāpala Koa Canoe Management Area (KKCMA), a 1,257-acre koa and ʻōhia forest on the southeastern slope of Mauna Loa.

“The primary management objective for the area is to provide a sustainable, long-term supply of koa for the traditional and cultural use of constructing koa canoes, while minimizing impacts on the natural and cultural resources in the area,” the management plan states. “This parcel is the only state land in Hawaiʻi specifically zoned for the purpose of producing koa canoe resources.”

This video from May 2023 covers the proposed KKCMA as the plan came together:

Under a harvest plan, koa trees will be extracted while the resources are regenerated on a 100-year timeframe.

Various canoe club leaders and foresters submitted testimony in favor of the plan.

“This is a well-thought-out management plan for the Kapāpala Koa Canoe Forest,” wrote Nicholas Koch of Siglo Tonewoods. “It is my professional opinion that if the actions in this plan are implemented in full, the Division of Forestry and Wildlife will achieve its goal of producing koa canoe logs consistently and in perpetuity while also improving the native forest.”

During the same meeting, the BLNR also approved an allocation process for Koa Canoe Log Harvest permits from the same KKCMA.

Using a Kapāpala Koa Canoe Allocation Protocol, applications to harvest koa resources will be reviewed and scored by DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife staff and Kapāpala Koa Canoe Working Group members.

From the Kapāpala Koa Canoe Management Area (KKCMA) management plan

A land board submittal outlined the process:

• 1) DOFAW staff will determine what koa canoe resources are available and open an application period.
• 2) Interested organizations submit applications for Koa canoe resources.
• 3) Applications are reviewed by an evaluation committee, consisting of members of Canoe Working Group. The Working Group delivers results to DOFAW.
• 4) DOFAW makes final decisions on the allocations and the award of permits for canoe logs to selected applicants.
• 5) DOFAW awards a preliminary Special Use Permit for the harvest of koa canoe resources from KKCMA.
• 6) DOFAW works with awarded applicants on the canoe log harvest process, ensuring organizations follow their harvest plan and all applicable rules and regulations.
• 7) Koa canoe resources are put into a tracking system that ensures koa resources will be used for the purpose described on the permit and to prevent logs from being lost, stolen, or sold.