Haleakala National Park - The Conservation Fund

From the park’s low-elevation rainforests filled with waterfalls and rushing streams to the summit’s high volcanic deserts, you can pass through as many ecological zones on a trip from the shore to the crater’s rim as you would on a trip from Mexico to Canada.

With 80 percent of the park designated as Wilderness, Haleakala provides homes for some of Hawaii’s rarest plant and animal life, and is home to more endangered species than any other National Park Service (NPS) unit. These include the silversword, a rare plant found only in Hawaii, the nene (a native Hawaiian goose) and the Hawaiian petrel, a seabird that nests in colonies at the summit of the volcano.

OUR ROLE

With all the park’s biological riches, it’s no wonder that the NPS was eager to acquire the largest privately owned “inholding” within the park’s boundaries, a 4,100-acre ranch owned by James Campbell and stretching from the ocean to the crater’s rim. When Campbell died in 2006, the NPS approached us to buy his ranch and hold it until federal funds became available to add the land to the park. We acquired the land from Campbell’s estate for $3 million, and held it until 2008, when funds from the Land and Water Conservation fund LWCF were appropriated to transfer the property from the Fund to the Park Service.

WHY THIS PROJECT MATTERS

The Campbell ranch was the largest undeveloped, privately-owned parcel within Haleakala. Acquiring it added almost a mile of Pacific Ocean frontage within the park’s boundaries, and opened 4,100 acres to the public for the first time in more than 100 years. Significant portions of the property are located within the Kahikunui Forest Reserve, which includes remnants of the biologically diverse koa forest ecosystem that once dominated the island of Maui. The reserve provides critical habitat for the endangered po’ouli bird and Maui parrotbill. The lower elevations have intact, dry wiliwili forests that provide habitat for the endangered Blackburn’s sphinx moth and Hawaiian hoary bat.

Haleakala National Park Photo by Jon Degendhart/Flickr Hikers on Sliding Sands Trail, Haleakala National Park, Hawaii

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Shores Of Haleakala National Park Photo Peter Kemmer/Flickr The property added to the park included nearly one mile of frontage on the Pacific Ocean, closing a gap in the park's boundary

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Exploring Haleakala Photo by Vincent Ma/Flickr Visitors can explore Haleakala National Park in several ways, including by horseback.

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Haleakala: Kuapo Gap Photo by Conor Dupre-Neary/Flickr Rising up from the Pacific, Kaupo Gap is near the property The Fund added to the park.

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Haleakala: View From The Top Photo by Andrew Hall/Flickr Cloud level: View from 10,000 feet on the summit of the Haleakala volcano.

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Haleakala: Waterfalls And Forests Photo by Peter Kemmer/Flickr Haleakala National Park is full of beautiful vistas and one-of-a-kind experiences. Helping the national park acquire privately held land within its boundaries ensures the integrity of the park's ecosystems and makes for a better experience for visitors.

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Haleakala: Kipahulu Area Photo by Peter Kemmer/Flickr Unlike the dusty trails to the volcano summit, visitors hiking through the Kipahulu Area, or coastal area, will encounter tropical weather, waterfalls and green lush forests.

sand creek massacre national historic site

LEARN MORE

Haleakala National Park

Kaupo Gap. Photo by Conor Dupre-Neary/Flickr

AT A GLANCE

A trip from Haleakala National Park’s Pacific shoreline to the rim of the Haleakala crater will take you through as many different ecological zones as a trip from Mexico to Canada.
Haleakala NP is home to more endangered species than any other National Park Service site. These include the nene, a native Hawaiian goose; the Hawaiian petrel; many endangered birds of the honeycreeper family, and the Hawaiian silversword, a plant found nowhere else in the world.
80 percent of Haleakala NP is federally designated Wilderness, the highest level of protection available to U.S. public lands.

PROJECT PROGRAMS

Conservation Acquisition