471 
KOHALA  MOUNTAIN  FOREST  RESERVE. 
On  the  afternoon  of  October  18,  1909,  a public  hearing  was 
held  in  the  Throne  Room  at  the  Capitol,  to  consider  the  addition 
to  the  proposed  Koliala  Mountain  Forest  Reserve  of  certain  pri- 
vately owned  forest  lands  in  the  section  above  the  sugar  planta- 
tions in  the  Kohala  District.  The  meeting  was  called  by  the 
Board  of  Agriculture  and  Forestry  and  was  attended  by  a rep- 
resentative gathering  of  the  men  who  shape  the  course  of  affairs 
in  Kohala.  The  result  of  the  meeting  was  an  understanding 
which  it  is  expected  will  lead  to  definite  action  in  regard  to  the 
setting  apart  in  the  near  future  as  a permanent  forest  reserve  of 
one  of  the  most  important  forest  areas  on  the  island  of  Hawaii. 
The  creation  of  a forest  reserve  on  the  Kohala  Mountain  was 
one  of  the  first  projects  undertaken  by  the  present  Board  of  Agri- 
culture and  Forestry  on  its  organization  in  1903.  In  December, 
1904,  a portion  of  the  mountain  was  set  apart  as  the  Hamakua 
Pali  Forest  Reserve,  but  owing  to  a variety  of  reasons  it  has  been 
impossible  up  to  this  time  to  secure  comprehensive  action  for  the 
mountain  as  a whole.  The  point  seems  now  to  have  been  reached, 
however,  when  the  entire  summit  of  the  Kohala  Mountain  will 
shortly  be  officially  set  apart.  Consequently  it  is  appropriate  that 
there  now  be  made  public,  in  accordance  with  the  usual  custom  of 
the  Board,  the  reports  of  the  Superintendent  of  Forestry  and 
of  the  Committee  on  Forestry  in  regard  thereto,  together  with  a 
full  transcript  of  the  discussion  at  the  hearing  of  October  18. 
These  reports  give  the  history  of  the  efforts  that  have  been  made 
to  establish  this  reserve.  From  the  present  indications  it  ought 
not  to  be  long  before  a portion  of  an  issue  of  the  “ Forester”  can 
be  devoted  to  the  formal  proclamation  announcing  its  actual 
creation. 
REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  FORESTRY. 
Honolulu,  December  3,  1908. 
Board  of  Agriculture  and  Forestry, 
Honolulu,  Oahu. 
Sirs: — Your  Committee  on  Forestry  have  had  under  considera- 
tion the  report  of  R.  S.  Hosmer,  Superintendent  of  Forestry, 
under  date  of  October  14,  referring  to  the  proposed  Kohala 
Mountain  Forest  Reserve  in  the  Eastern  portion  of  North  Kohala, 
and  in  West  Hamakua,  Island  of  Hawaii,  and  hereby  recom- 
mend : 
That,  while  approving  of  the  recommendations  of  Mr.  Hosmer, 
we  do  not  feel  that  they  go  far  enough  in  the  protection  of  the 
water-shed  of  the  Kohala  Mountains,  and  therefore  further  rec- 
ommend that  not  only  the  area  proposed  by  Mr.  Hosmer,  but  the 
