A 300-acre rainforest site in the southern Koolau Mountains of Oahu will now be protected indefinitely thanks to a generous donation from a compassionate landowner in the Pia Valley. IN Hawaiian Department of Land and Resources (DLNR) announced that Patricia Godfrey has donated irreplaceable rainforest lands to protect native Hawaii species.
It is expected to be named Pia Nature Reserve (NAR), donation takes land out of private hands and makes it public. FLNR Forestry and Wildlife Department (DOFAW). New reserve is likely to be accessible on foot and can be visited for recreational purposes, hiking and training.
“We hope to make this beautiful landscape even better by actively managing the ecosystem of native plants, birds and animals,” said DOFAW Oahu botanist Susan Ching. statement.
The land extends to the summit of the Koolau Ridge and encompasses the upper portions of the Pia Valley, which rises directly over the Hawailoa and Niu Valley regions.
“It will leave an incredible legacy,” said Christopher Miller, manager of DOFAW’S Oahu NAR. “As a nature reserve, we will strive to keep the natural forest as intact as possible.”
During a recent trail trip overlooking the Pia Valley, DOFAW watershed planner Kathy Ersbach said, “The rare, endangered species that inhabit this valley are why we were very interested in protecting it. As others have noted, we hope to bring it into the system of nature reserves, which is a special designation for places of high biodiversity, where rare species are found in natural forests, as well as value for catchment replenishment. ”
“I am delighted to have been able to play a role in securing the future of the Pia Valley as a protected wildlife,” Godfrey said. “On behalf of myself and my family, I would like to thank our state conservationists and everyone who defends and protects our vital wilderness and the reserve they provide to their plant and animal inhabitants.”
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The message is breaking! A generous donor protects 300 acres of South Oahu rainforest to save native species in Hawaii first appeared in World Animal News.