73 



On reaching the edge of the forest many of the smaller streams 

 now dwindle away until only the dry beds are left. If the forest 

 came further down the slope the water in the streams would also 

 be found lower down. This is not because the rainfall would be 

 increased, but because forest is a better cover for a watershed 

 than is open grazing land, because it helps to keep the flow in 

 the streams regular and to prevent loss through rapid run ofif and, 

 to some extent, evaporation. There is some evidence tending to 

 show that formerly the area of light showers reached further 

 down the mountain than it does now. Whether or not a heavy 

 forest coming as far down as the present forest fence would as- 

 sist in drawing the rain-bearing clouds further down the slope 

 cannot be said, but the influence which the forest does exert on 

 the water that actually reaches the ground is direct and tangible. 



OWNERSHIP. • 



By far the greater part of the area making up the Ewa Forest 

 Reserve is in private ownership. The three government lands 

 within the boundary are Aiea, Waimano and Wahiawa. Aiea is 

 under a lease which runs until January 14, 19 12. The area within 

 the forest reserve is 383 acres. The lower portion of Waimano 

 is also under lease, but the area above the existing forest fence 

 was reserved, to be held as forest, when the present lease was 

 made in 1898. One of the provisions of this lease is that the 

 forest fence be built and maintained. The area above the fence 

 is given in the Land Office List as 781 acres. On Wahiawa the 

 leasehold covers the water rights only, so that the land itself may, 

 under the law, be set apart as a compartment of the reserve. Such 

 action would interfere in no way with the water lease. Indeed, 

 the essential reason for the creation of the Ewa, like most of the 

 Hawaiian forest reserves, is that the water from the watersheds 

 they cover, may be conserved for proper utilization. The area 

 of Wahiawa is 3978 acres. 



Below is given a table showing the names, owners, and lessees 

 of the lands of which portions are included in the Ewa Forest 

 Reserve, with the dates on which the existing leases expire. 



It should be noted that the Honolulu Plantation Company holds 



