Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge

Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge on Hawaiʻi protects native forest and wildlife on Mauna Kea and, with the Kona Forest Unit on Mauna Loa, forms part of the Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Established in 1985 and expanded in 1997, the refuge preserves major remaining native habitats, including renowned montane wet forest. Its landscapes shift with elevation from boggy, rain-soaked lower slopes to koa and ʻōhiʻa forest and then degraded former pasture invaded by alien plants. Reforestation since 1989 has restored hundreds of thousands of native trees. The refuge shelters endangered birds, the Hawaiian hoary bat, and rare plants while reflecting the ecological damage caused by introduced animals, invasive species, and earlier land use.

Laupahoehoe, Hawaii · United States