LIHUE, Kauai (AP) — A family donated two perpetual conservation easements to place permanent restrictions on the land use of 40 acres of wetland used for taro production. ADVERTISING LIHUE, Kauai (AP) — A family donated two perpetual conservation easements
LIHUE, Kauai (AP) — A family donated two perpetual conservation easements to place permanent restrictions on the land use of 40 acres of wetland used for taro production.
Gaylord and Carol Wilcox and their daughters, Nicole Pedersen, Darcie Gray and Eliza Wilcox, made the donation Thursday to the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust.
Waioli Valley has been an active taro farm since pre-contact and remains a major producer of poi for the state.
The easements permanently protect the farm from future development and degradation.
“If lands like these are not protected for the long term, we believe pressures that are evident now for housing development will win out, and the majority of Waioli Valley will be housing before the century is out,” Gaylord Wilcox said when asked why the family made the donation.
A perpetual conservation easement is the land trust’s primary conservation tool. It is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a conservation entity. The landowner who donates the conservation easement remains the landowner and the trust must uphold the conservation easement even with future landowners of the property.
“Waioli Valley is a truly iconic place, and the preservation of this place is essential to the continuation of Kauai’s rich history of taro production, the ecological well-being of the greater Hanalei area and the protection of an unforgettable scenic vista,” trust executive director Ted Clement said in a release.
The land trust is the only nationally accredited local land trust in Hawaii that has conserved more than 17,500 acres to date.
