51 



some time ago, the idea being to preserve as a park this fringe 

 of forest along both sides of the main Volcano road. The idea 

 was good but the strips, only 150 feet wide, were too narrow to 

 allow the forest to maintain its integrity in opposition to the land 

 clearing on private property just back of these strips. The strips 

 themselves were not fenced to keep out cattle and owing to the 

 adjacent clearing and to marauding stock, the result now is that 

 most of these forest strips consist of dead trees with a scrubby 

 undergrowth of ferns and Hilo grass. This is particularly true 

 of the strips consisting of 41 separate pieces of land between 

 18 Miles and Glenwood, which is at the 22-Mile post. If the 

 land back of these strips on this section were government land 

 there would be some chance perhaps to reclaim this dead and 

 dying forest, but under present conditions, with the cattle from 

 the numerous dairies in this region wandering promiscuously 

 about, I see no use of going to the great expense of fencing 

 these 41 pieces of land containing mostly dead forests. More- 

 over, an application has recently been received from the land 

 commissioner for the release from Section C of the Olaa Forest 

 Park reserve of the denuded strips adjacent to 7 of the Olaa 

 lots situated between 18 Miles and 22 Miles, so that they can be 

 sold to the owners of the adjacent lots. 



I wish to recommend, therefore, that the appropriate steps 

 be taken to eliminate from Section C of the Olaa Forest Park 

 reserve the Z7 pieces of land consisting of strips 150 feet wide 

 and from 150 feet to 2000 feet long on each side of the Volcano 

 road between 18 Miles and 22 Miles. I suggest that the matter 

 of this elimination first be laid before the Hilo board of trade 

 before final action is taken by this Board. 



Between Glenwood, at 22 Miles, and Section A of the Olaa 

 Forest Park reserve at 23^ Miles the forest on the 15 strips of 

 reserved forest land has not been damaged to such an extent but 

 that it can be reclaimed by protective fencing. In my judgment 

 this part of Section C of the Olaa Forest Park reserve should be 

 retained and properly fenced as soon as the opportunity presents 

 itself. 



In a word, it seems to me that the policy of the Board in con- 

 nection with the forest reserves in this region should be to fence 

 the reserved forests where the forest is still in a healthy con- 

 dition and give them absolute protection, and release for disposi- 

 tion by the land commissioner the reserved strips on which the 

 forest is dead or in such a dying condition that it cannot be 

 reclaimed except at an enormous cost. 



Proposed Neiv Forest Reserve at JJ'^aiakea. 



\\'hile on my recent trip in this region the deputy territorial 

 veterinarian for Hawaii pointed out to me the forest on an old 

 lava flow along the Volcano road between about 4j^ Miles and 



