486 



Reserve, and consists topographically of two pdits, an upland 

 plateau from 3500 to 2000 feet in elevation running from the 

 Puu Ka Pele Ridge westward, cut up by rather shallow gulches, 

 and deep canyon country embracing the two main branches of the 

 upper Waimea Canyon. 



The upland plateau has since 1898 been fenced off and treated 

 as a horse paddock, the country being very difficult to drive 

 cattle in. As a consequence, young koa trees are coming up 

 piolifically over a large part of the area and are supplementing 

 the original heavy forest which is still found in the bottom of 

 the gulches. The forest on this part of the new reserve is sim- 

 ilar to that on the land to the north, already set aside, and well 

 deserves protection. The boundary at the southeast end swings 

 south so as to include additional land along the Puu Ka Pele 

 ridge which is suitable for camp sites. The west end of this 

 area is protected naturally by inaccessible valleys and cliffs and 

 most of the south side is protected by a fence built in 1898 by 

 the Estate of V. Knudsen, which holds General Lease No. 164 

 of this land, which expires on June 1, 1920. 



The remaining portion of this new reserve consists of un- 

 leased government land. It includes the most scenic part of the 

 W^aimea Canyon by taking in the \A' aiahulu and Poomau Stream 

 valleys. They consist of narrow streambeds from which the 

 canyon walls rise precipitately, in many cases for several hun- 

 dred feet sheer, while in the remainder of the two thousand or 

 more feet to the top of the ridges the cliff's are hardly less steep. 

 In many places the steep side ridges are sharply cut by erosion 

 into pinnacles and castellated outposts, which, with the distant 

 waterfalls and the variety of brilliant hues furnished by outcrop- 

 ping strata, the red volcanic soil, and the green vegetation, make 

 the section one of very great scenic interest. It is eminently 

 fitting that such an area be retained permanently under the con- 

 trol of the Territory and its delights made available to the 

 public. 



Wild goats in this section have in the past done much damage 

 by destroying the scanty vegetation on the steep canyon sides 

 and exposed ridges, thus allowing erosion to take place more 

 rapidly, with the result that more debris continually falls into 

 the valleys and the side gulches work back faster into the upland. 

 If the goats are not kept down by hunting they will increase 

 rapidly and work back farther into the forested regions. Gov- 

 ernment control over this area so as to allow unlimited goat 

 hunting is desirable, therefore, and an additional reason why it 

 should be included in the reserve. 



In the past approximately 25 head of cattle and a few horses 

 have grazed in the bottom of the canyon in this area, but it is 

 believed that the damage which they have done to the vegetation 

 and steep slopes by hastening erosion has been much greater 

 than any benefit which has accrued from their being there. 



For the above reasons, I recommend that the Board approve 



