West Maui Mountains Partnership

Native landscape, Waihe'e Valley, West Maui Mts.

Native forest, West Maui Mountains
© Phil Spalding III/TNC

The West Maui Mountains Partnership protects a primary source of water for Maui and an area that is among the more biologically diverse and pristine in the islands.

Our Approach
A healthy forest requires dedicated management. Pigs, goats, deer and invasive weeds all threaten the current stability of the West Maui watershed. Unauthorized human use, fire, rodents, introduced insects and plant diseases are other significant problems.

"Partnerships like the ones established on East and West Maui enable landowners to work together to protect a much greater land area than any could alone," said Randy Bartlett, who manages the Pu`u Kukui watershed for Maui Land & Pineapple Co, Inc. "Rather than continuing to protect the watershed parcel by parcel, neighboring landowners can more efficiently protect a larger, contiguous area by combining efforts. The long-term benefits of working together to maintain and improve the watershed are worth it for everyone involved."

How the Partnership Will Help the Watershed
Water is one of the prime resources of the forests in the West Maui Mountains. It sustains the island's ecological resources and the urban, industrial and agricultural communities of west, central and south Maui.

The West Maui Mountains also contain some of the most intact native Hawaiian forests in the state, including more than 126 rare natural communities, plants, and animals. Formation of the partnership will have the added benefit of enhancing protection efforts for this precious native biodiversity.

Partners

The Maui County Board of Water Supply

Kamehameha Schools

C. Brewer and Company Limited

Amfac/JMB Hawaii, L.L.C.

The Nature Conservancy of Hawai`i

Maui Land & Pineapple Co., Inc.

State Department of Land and Natural Resources