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fF ORESTRY
IN HAWAII

_ Why the practice of Forestry is an
economic necessity in the
Hawaiian Islands.

By RALPH S. HOSMER,

Territorial Forester.

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FORESTRY IN HAWAII

In Hawaii the forest is a prime factor in
the maintenance of economic prosperity.
Water and wood are fundamental needs in
every community. In Hawaii this is even
more true than on the mainland. Essential-
ly a country dependent on agriculture, suc-
cess in Hawaii may justly be said to rest -
on the right use of water. Because of its
geographic position and the conditions of
climate, topography and soil that character-
ize the islands an assured water supply is
a vital necessity, To insure a _ sufficient
supply of water for irrigation, for power
development and other economic uses, and
even for domestic supply requires that the
forest on all the important watersheds and
catchment basins be protected and perma-
nently maintained. A dependable supply
can only be obtained with the aid of the
forest. Hence it follows that forestry has
come to be practiced by the large Owners
of private lands and by the Territorial Gov-
ernment.

The importance of the forest is generally
recognized in Hawaii and has led to a strong
public sentiment in favor of forestry. This
finds expression in a Territorial Forest Ser-
vice, the Division of Forestry of the Board
of Agriculture and Forestry, an office carried
on by technically trained men, who are
chargedewith the creation and administra- —
tion of forest reserves and with the prose-

M > eee

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cution of other forest work. Hawaii is one
of the eleven states in the Union to employ
a professional forester,

During the past five years under a definite
forest policy systematically followed, twenty
forest reserves have been set apart, with
an aggregate total area of 545,764 acres
(July 1, 1909). Of this area 357,180 acres,
or 65 per cent, is land belonging to the Ter-
ritorial Government, The other 35 per cent.
is in private ownership but for the most
part the owners of the lands, fully aware —
of the benefits of forest protection, cooperate
actively with the Territorial Government
in the management of the forest. It is esti-
mated that eventually, about three-quarters
of a million acres will be included within
forest reserve boundaries, of which about
70 per cent. will be Government land.

There are three main types of forest in
Hawaii; the Koa and Ohia forest lying be-
tween the elevations of two and six thou-
sand feet; the Mamani forest, found on the
upper slopes of the higher mountains; and
the introduced Algaroba forest, which-occurs
at the lower levels on the leeward side of
each of the larger islands.

The typical Hawaiian forest is of the first
type. The forest consists of a dense jungle
of trees, high growing shrubs,-tree-ferns and
climbers, with much undergrowth and a
heavy ground cover of ferns and bracken.
Altogether it is a plant community admir-
ably adapted for the conservation of mois-
ture, for preventing erosion and for serving
as a reservoir to feed the springs and

streams that rise within its bounds. The
most important trees are Ohia lLehua
(Metrosideros polymorpha) and Koa (Acacia
Koa). The forest in all but one of the forest
reserves is of this type. The Koa and Ohia
forest covers approximately 1,175,000 acres.

Above the level of the Koa and Ohia for-
est, on the slopes of Mauna Kea (elevation
13,825 feet) on the Island of Hawaii, is found
a nearly pure stand of another native Ha-
waiian tree, Mamani (Sophora chrysophylla).
This forest occurs in a belt lying between
the elevations of 6,000 and 8,500 feet. The
area of the Mamani forest on Mauna Kea
is 63,500 acres. Mamani occurs elsewhere
in the Territory but does not at the present
time form what may be called forests. It
is, however, spreading rapidly so that in
future years it will play a much larger part
than it does now. Mamani makes excellent
fence posts, for which purpose the trees in
the upper forest belt are cut for local use.
Otherwise this type of forest is unimportant
commercially.

The Algaroba (Prosopis julifora) is the
Mesquite of the American Southwest. This
tree was introduced into the Islands in 1837.
It hag now spread so as to cover between
fifty thousand and sixty thousand acres be-
low an elevation of 1.000 feet in the lee
ward districts of the larger islands of the
group. It is spreading rapidly along the
leeward coasts and is also gradually climb-
ing to a higher elevation» The Algaroba for-
est is the largest single source of fuel sup-
ply in the Territory, It is estimated that

at

over 3,000 cords are sold annually in Hono-
lulu. The price varies from $12 to $14 a
cord, delivered, The Algaroba forests are
further of value because the pods make
good stock feed and also because the tree
is one of the important plants locally for
bee food. It is estimated that for the calen-
dar year 1907, the total amount invested in
apiaries and other equipment for the manu-
facture of Algaroba honey was $125,000. and
that the gross receipts for Algaroba honey
products for the year were over $25,000.
The forests of Hawaii are readily divided
into two main classes, which have been
termed respectively the “water-bearing for-
est” and the “commercial forest”. Both are
of economic value: one because it helps
to conserve water; the other because it is
a source of wood and timber. The forests
of the former class are by far the most im-
portant in the economic life of the Terri-
tory. They are as a rule situated on the
windward slopes of the mountains on each
island that intercept the moisture laden
clouds brought in by the Northeast trade
winds. By serving as a protective cover
on the short, steep watersheds the forest
heips materially to make the water of use
to man, for in Hawaii the relation between
watershed protection and the availability of
the streams for use, is peculiarly intimate
and direct. Water is the most valuable pro-
duct of the water bearing forests. Conse-
quently the form of management indicated
for this class is the one that will cause the
forest to yield the largest possible quantity
of water, delivered in as regular a flow as

possible, Because of the character of the
Hawaiian forest, this means that for the
most part this class of forest must be treat-
ed as a “protection forest’, from which fire,
animals and trespass shall be strictly ex-
cluded. Only by managing it in this way
can the forest be made to render its full
duty to the community.

The forest problems of Hawaii are essen-
tially those of conservation rather than of
commercial utilization, but the second main
class of forest—the commercial forest—is
important locally because of the steadily
increasing demand for wood and timber and
also because of the fact that transportation
charges materially increase the cost of con-
struction timber and the other wood pro-
ducts that have to be imported. The com-
mercial forest is of three kinds; the native
Koa and Ohia forest, the introduced Alga-
roba forest (of which mention has already
been made) and the forest plantations of
trees of economic importance that have been
planted artificially.

The two Hawaiian woods of commercial
importance are Koa and Ohia Lehua. Both
are heavy, close-grained hardwoods. Koa
is used for interior finish, furniture, cabinet
work and veneering. It is now sold in the
markets of the American mainland under
the name “Hawaiian Mahogany”. Ohia is
valuable for railroad ties. The systematic
lumbering of this class of Hawaiian forest
began in October 1907, when a contract for
Ohia railroad ties was made between a local
company, and the Santa Fe Railway. Both

’ the Koa and the Ohia forests of the commer-
cial class are found in the leeward districts
on the Island of Hawaii, where owing to the
remarkable porosity of the soil there are no
permanently running streams and where
consequently water shed protection becomes
unnecessary.

The fact that none of the native trees in
Hawaii furnish construction timber has led
to extensive tree planting, both by the Ter-
ritorial Government and by private interests.
This work has been going on for the last
thirty years and is constantly increasing in
extent and importance. The trees principal-
ly planted are several kinds of Eucalyptus,
the Australian Ironwood and Silk Oak and
the Japanese Cedar. Wood and timber cut
from the planted forests in Hawaii is now
being used for fence posts, railroad ties,
bridge timbers and wagon work, Practically
all the construction timber now used in
Hawaii is imported from Puget Sound and
Northern California, mainly Redwood and
“Northwest” (Douglas Fir).

For these reasons an important phase of
forest work in Hawaii is the introduction
into the Territory of trees of economic value.
Many excellent kinds have already been
- secured and have become established. Much
more work remains to be done both in intro-
duction and in forest planting, for there are
considerable areas of waste land throughout
the Territory that can only be made pro-
ductive by being brought under forest. The
Division of Forestry maintains nurseries to
supply seedling trees at cost price for forest
planting and stands ready at all times to

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

give advice and :

to undertake for

tree planting is @ 002 831 202 7

a fact that cannot but make for the in-
creased prosperity of the Territory.

Protection from fire is afforded the forests
of Hawaii by a forest fire law enacted by
the Legislature of 1905 that provides strict
penalties in case of damage resulting from
the careless use of fire and establishes a
forest fire organization. Under this law a
corps of infiuential citizens has volunteered
as District Fire Wardens. Since the enact-
ment of this law there have been no fires
of any consequence. This it is believed, is
due in large measure to a better public senti-
ment, resulting from the agitation of the
subject,

In Hawaii then the forest has an import-
ant part to play in the domestic economy
of the Territory. Primarily of value as a
protective cover on the watersheds of the
streams needed for economic use the forest
contributes directly and in a vital way to
the prosperity of the islands, In a less pro-
nounced but nevertheless important manner
the forest contributes to the welfare of the
community by producing wood and timber,
while through the introduction of valuable
exotic trees the forest cover is gradually
being extended over areas of otherwise un-
productive land. The province of forestry
in Hawaii is to care for the existing forests
in such a way that they shall be of the great-
est service to men and to extend the forest
area wherever the wisest use of the land
is the growing of trees.

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