Hawaii national park gets land where ancient villages stood

HONOLULU — Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island was given new land on Tuesday in a deal that will protect and manage a pristine white sand beach and ocean bay area that is home to endangered and endemic species and to rare, culturally significant Native Hawaiian artifacts. Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit land preservation group, transferred its ownership of Pohue Bay and surrounding land to the National Park Service. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Superintendent Rhonda Loh in a statement called the Pohue Bay area “an incredibly precious and culturally significant landscape that needs to be protected.” She added: “The park is working to develop an interim operating plan for Pohue that explores opportunities for public use compatible with resource protection.” Trust for Public Land acquired the privately owned land on Tuesday and gave it to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park the same day. “We are grateful the National Park Service will steward the area, ensuring the history, culture and natural beauty of this place are protected for future generations,” Trust for Public Land Associate Vice President Lea Hong, who leads the Hawaii division for the organization, said in a statement.