Kipahulu Scientific Reserve

Upper Kīpahulu Valley.

NPS photo by Bryan Harry

 

Upper Kīpahulu Valley consists of two moderately sloping valleys, or broad expanses, each bounded by steep sidewalls and separated by a central pali-escarpment. In 1967 a group of scientists sponsored by The Nature Conservancy made a preliminary exploration of the remote valley. They discovered rare native Hawaiian birds, one previously considered extinct (the Nukupu`u), and made sightings of the very rare Maui Parrotbill. Ninety percent of the plants they recorded were native. They found 75 species of ferns and fern-allies, all but one native to Hawaiʻi, and recorded a dozen species of native lobelias, all unique to Hawaiʻi. They concluded that the valley was outstanding from a botanical and ecological standpoint and should be preserved.

Through effort of TNC and Laurance Rockefeller, Kīpahulu was added to Haleakalā National Park. The upper valley is currently managed as a scientific preserve with entry restricted to resource managers and scientists conducting management and studies deemed necessary for preservation of Kīpahulu's native ecosystems.

Links to Technical reports:

• Scientific Report of the Kīpahulu Valley Expedition, August 1967 (Warner, ed.)
• Kīpahulu Expedition, 1967 (TR11, Lamoureau et al)
• Kīpahulu Valley Research Plan (TR 22, Smith)
• Vegetation Map and Resource Management Recommendations for Kīpahulu Valley (TR 53, Smith et al)
• Bryophytes and Vascular Plants of Kīpahulu Valley, Haleakalā N.P. (TR 65, Higashino et al)
• Kīpahulu Valley Pig Proposal (TR 19, Smith et al)
• Limnological Survey of Lower Palikea and Pīpīwai Stream, Kīpahulu, Maui (TR 17, Kinzie et al)
• Upper Kīpahulu Valley Weed Survey (TR 34, Yoshinaga)