The Pu’u Kukui watershed extends across Mauna Kahālāwai on Mauiʻs West side.
This pristine area is a vital water source for Mauiʻs community and one of the wettest spots on earth. The intact native Hawaiian forest at Pu‘u Kukui works as a natural sponge to capture the water used by the entire West Maui community. It is home to plant and animal species that exist nowhere else in Hawai‘i, or anywhere else.
A small crew of paid staff and volunteers has been working over the last 30 years to protect the native forests and stop the threats from invasive plants and animals. Our long-term goal is to restore damaged lands and expand the native forest.
History:
About 1000 A.D., the first settlers arrive from the Marquesas islands by canoe
In the 1500s, King Piʻilani united Maui and ruled in Lahaina. He is credited with the exansion of agriculture in the valleys of Honokohau, Honolua, Honokahua, Honokeana, and Honokowai.
In 1976, Hōkūleʻa departed from Honolua Bay on its first voyage to Tahiti, marking the renaissance of voyaging in Hawaii.
In 1978, Honolua Bay and Mokule‘ia Bay were designated a Marine Life Conservation District.
In 1988, Maui Land and Pineapple protected 8,304 acres of the Pu’u Kukui Watershed with a permanent conservation easement.
In 2017, Hōkūle'a returned to Honolua Bay and volunteers planted 3,000 native trees and plants in Waokele o Honolua.
In 2021, the Honolua Valley conservation easement was created, protecting 791 acres in Honolua Valley and creating one of the few places in Hawaii where land is continuously protected from the summit to the sea.
In 2024, the non-profit Aloha Pu‘u Kukui was created as the organization focused on protecting and restoring the Pu'u Kukui watershed.