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THE  MAUN  A KEA  FOREST  RESERVE. 
REPORT  OF  THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  FORESTRY. 
Honolulu,  Hawaii,  March  30,  1909. 
Committee  on  Forestry, 
Board  of  Commissioners  of 
Agriculture  and  Forestry, 
Honolulu. 
Gentlemen  : — The  subject  of  this  report  is  the  proposed  setting 
apart  of  the  upper  slopes  of  Mauna  Kea  as  a forest  reserve. 
Unlike  most  of  the  Hawaiian  forest  reserves  this  project  is  not 
concerned  with  water  shed  protection.  Its  purpose  is  to  facilitate 
the  systematic  management  of  an  area  that  can  be  used  to  better 
advantage  for  growing  forest  trees  than  for  any  other  economic 
purpose.  There  is  now  on  Mauna  Kea  a considerable  stand  of 
Mamani  forest.  At  the  higher  elevations  there  is  much  land, 
now  unproductive,  that  could  well  be  planted  with  commercially 
valuable  exotic  trees.  By  setting  apart  the  area  as  a forest  re- 
serve the  existing  forest  can  be  made  to  be  of  greater  service  to 
the  people  of  the  Territory,  while  the  afforestation  of  the  upper 
slopes  of  the  mountain  will  be  facilitated. 
DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  AREA. 
Mauna  Kea,  the  highest  mountain  in  the  Territory  of  Hawaii, 
is  situated  in  the  District  of  Hamakua,  Island  and  County  of 
Hawaii.  The  elevation  above  the  sea  of  its  highest  peak  is  13,825 
feet.  The  summit  and  the  greater  part  of  the  sides  of  the  moun- 
tain above  the  7,500  foot  contour  line  are  included  in  the  govern- 
ment land  of  Kaohe,  an  ahupuaa  containing  an  immense  area  of 
waste  land,  in  that  besides  the  summit  and  upper  slopes  of  Mauna 
Kea  it  also  takes  in  a considerable  portion  of  the  north  side  of 
Mauna  Loa. 
Above  a line  encircling  the  mountain  at  the  elevation  of  ap- 
proximately 7,500  feet,  the  slopes  of  Mauna  Kea  may  be  classed 
as  waste  land.  The  herbage  is  too  poor  and  uncertain  to  justify 
grazing  and  the  land  has  now  no  other  use.  This  fact,  together 
with  the  desire  to  prevent  their  stock  from  straying  up  the  moun- 
tain to  join  the  bands  of  wild  cattle,  led  the  several  ranches  con- 
trolling the  better  portions  of  Kaohe  and  the  other  adjoining 
lands  to  build  fences  separating  their  upper  paddocks  from  the 
area  of  low  value  above.  Several  such  fences  were  built  before 
the  old  leases  expired.  In  1907  when  the  leases  on  the  govern- 
