[PCA] Valuable Native Koa Trees Seeing a Comeback in Hawaii

[Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov]

From ENN - http://enn.com/eco.html?id=585

Valuable Native Koa Trees Seeing a Comeback in Hawaii

June 23, 2005 — By Jeannette J. Lee, Associated Press

Yellowed grasses cover the lower southern slopes of Mauna Kea where
impenetrable koa forests once stood on the Big Island.





But Hawaii's largest endemic tree, with its sickle-shaped leaves, has
reclaimed some of its former territory over the last two decades.





Conservationists and small timber harvesters have replanted koa on
thousands of acres on the Big Island -- the local name for the island of
Hawaii -- and Maui, increasingly fencing out the cattle, pigs and goats
that forage on koa bark and seedlings.





They hope replanting the slow-growing trees can help restore the feeding
and nesting grounds of endangered native forest birds and quench demand for
valuable koa timber, with a scarcity and a lustrous grain that rank it
among the world's most expensive woods. A tree can take 40 years to mature.





"Koa is a key species in the ecology of the Hawaiian forests," said Craig
Elevitch, co-author of the book "Growing Koa." "It's also one of the most
important trees to human culture and economy in Hawaii."





Koa trees are slowly recovering on the slopes of Mauna Kea at Hakalau
Forest National Wildlife Refuge, which was set aside specifically for
forest birds.





Since the refuge opened in 1985, volunteers and refuge officials have
replanted more than 271,000 koa trees on about 5,000 acres, with survival
rates averaging 70 percent, said Baron Horiuchi a horticulturist for the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.





More than half of Hawaii's 31 birds on the federal endangered species list
are small forest varieties, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service,
which oversees the refuge. Twenty-eight percent of Hawaii's 93 native bird
species are already extinct, according to federal figures.





The birds need koa to shelter the smaller plants they feed on, such as the
red splayed blossoms of the ohia lehua, giant Hawaiian raspberries and
marble-sized red ohelo berries. A spreading koa canopy protects seedlings
and smaller plants from cold upland temperatures, which can dip into the
20s during winter on Mauna Kea.





"Koa is a pioneering tree," Horiuchi said. "It leads the way for the rest
of the forest."





In many parts of the refuge, koa trees are the only native plants growing
among the introduced species of weeds and grass. The branches on many of
the larger trees at Hakalau grow in a serpentine network, an illustration
of the name for this area, which means "many perches" in Hawaiian.





"The point is not to grow them straight for timber or canoe logs. They are
to grow as a canopy and a bird habitat," Horiuchi said. "I always joke with
people that this place is 'for the birds,' but it's true."





Private koa farmers prefer the tall, straight-growing trees. They hope to
harvest the semi-hard wood, which ranges in color from blond to red to dark
brown, for furniture, bowls, musical instruments and traditional Hawaiian
seafaring canoes.





Umikoa Ranch on the Big Island, in partnership with state land officials,
reforested 800 acres with koa trees between 1980 and 2004.





David Matsuura, managing steward at the 2,000 acre ranch, said some of the
trees planted about 15 years ago have already reached large diameters,
although he isn't sure about the quality of the wood.





"That's the problem with koa. It's a very long-term crop," Matsuura said.
"I'm gonna be pretty old and gray before most of our koa is actually
harvested."





Ranch managers said the trees have already helped re-establish native
plants and animals, including eight endangered Hawaiian ducks. The return
of koa has also increased water sources at Umikoa, where the sickle-shaped
koa stems draw fog and moisture into the watershed.





"Our main goal is the integration of conservation and agriculture,"
Matsuura said. "It's not the same as clear-cutting."





But profit is also a goal for koa farmers, who are gambling over the long
term on a product that commands premium prices. At Hawaiian Koa Furniture
in Honolulu, a 54-inch round koa table sells for $8,000.





The bulk of the koa market is driven by Hawaii residents, who are the
world's biggest consumers of richly varnished koa products.





"Koa is king in Hawaii," Matsuura said. "Only here in Hawaii will people
literally pay 10 times the value of anything because it's koa."





Source: Associated Press





Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.
Botanist - Division of Scientific Authority
Chair - Plant Conservation Alliance - Medicinal Plant Working Group
US Fish & Wildlife Service
4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 750
Arlington, VA  22203
703-358-1708 x1753
FAX: 703-358-2276
Working for the conservation and sustainable use of our green natural
resources.
<www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal>