Kamehameha Schools' Land Assets Division staff members – ecologist Nāmaka Whitehead and Hawai'i Island land manager Kamakani Dancil, at center facing the camera – review the map of watershed lands presented by Three Mountain Alliance coordinator Tanya Rubenstein. - Photo: Courtesy of Erika vonAllmen

By Dawn Farm-Ramsey / Special to Ka Wai Ola

Responsible stewardship and resource management on Hawai'i Island by Kamehameha Schools and eight other private, state and federal community collaborators resulted in national recognition from the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C., on May 7. The Three Mountain Watershed Alliance, or TMA, received the Partners in Conservation Award from the Secretary of the Interior.

The award is one of the highest conferred by the Interior Department in recognition of conservation achievements. Of the participating organizations of the TMA, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said: "Their achievements exemplify excellence in conservation. … They are an inspiration to us all, and we are grateful to their efforts. They share a deep commitment to conservation and community."

TMA coordinator Tanya Rubenstein said: "As the largest private landowner in the alliance, Kamehameha Schools' commitment to this collaboration has been instrumental to its success. KS lands provide an important link between native Hawaiian ecosystems on adjoining federal and state lands.

"KS has played a leadership role in the development and expansion of the collaboration as well as being innovative and responsible stewards of their lands. I don't believe the general community is aware of the key contribution made through the use of Kamehameha Schools' lands towards ensuring reliable water and protected natural environments for the community."

Begun in 1994 under another name, and one of the first watershed-protection consortiums of its kind in the state, the TMA now ranges over one million acres. Almost 238,000 acres of KS conservation- and agriculture-zoned lands are included in the management area in West Hawai'i, Ka'ū and Puna. KS and each of the alliance members retain ownership and control over their respective lands and resources.

In addition to the Three Mountain Alliance, Kamehameha Schools is a member of six of Hawai'i's nine watershed collaborations on the islands of Hawai'i, Maui, Moloka'i, O'ahu and Kaua'i.

Among other contributions, KS support of alliance initiatives includes redirecting its 30,000-acre Keauhou Ranch from cattle operations to other uses that focus on a combination of education, culture, conservation and sustainable economic initiatives.

KS ecologist Nāmaka Whitehead is committed to revitalizing and protecting native forests. "Our well-being as a people is connected to and dependent upon healthy, forested ecosystems," she said. "If the health of our native forests degrades, if the forests cease to be, we will no longer be the same people."

This belief is echoed in a key alliance principle: "The three mountains of Kīlauea, Mauna Loa and Hualālai are ancient, sacred to Hawaiians and critically important to the life, health and well-being of the native ecosystems and human communities that inhabit them."

Said Rubenstein, "Members of the Three Mountain Alliance agree that threats to the watershed occur across common land ownership boundaries and effective management is best achieved through the coordinated actions of all major landowners in the TMA area."

A unique aspect to the alliance success is the involvement of the state's Kūlani Correctional Facility and its inmates whose work on conservation projects includes native forest restoration and the installation of protective fencing. Concurrent with their work, inmates have also engaged in educational opportunities focused on Hawaiian culture and on native species protection and recovery.

In addition to Kamehameha Schools, TMA members include: The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and Department of Public Safety. Federal collaborators are: the National Park Service (Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park), Fish and Wildlife Service, Geological Survey Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Department of Agriculture Forest Service, and Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Dawn Farm-Ramsey is the integrated strategies manager of Kamehameha Schools Land Assets Division, Community Relations and Communications Group.