The Board of Land and Natural Resources has approved the purchase of more than 250 acres of watershed lands in Southwest Maui known as Pōhākea, or Māʻalaea Mauka, for $8.2 million.
BLNR chipped in $1 million from its Legacy Lands Conservation Fund for the purchase, while Maui County picked up a bulk of the tab providing $6.2 million.
The current landowner Hope Builders Inc. and WMC Holdings LLC also contributed $1 million toward the purchase.
The goal of the acquisition is to create a forest reserve to protect the watershed and prevent massive erosion from damaging Māʻalaea Bay.
Watershed management has become a priority for the state since the West Maui wildfires back in August of last year.
