This page contains elements of the “foundation document” for Kalaupapa National Historical Park. The foundation document provides the underlying basis for park management. The foundation document is a shared understanding of the park’s purpose, significance, resources and values, and interpretive themes. This page also includes documentation of the park's special mandates and administrative commitment. These statements identify Kalaupapa’s unique characteristics and what is most important about Kalaupapa National Historical Park. A foundation document can be used in all aspects of park management to ensure that the most important objectives are accomplished before turning to items that are also important, but not directly critical to achieving the park purpose and maintaining its significance. What is Included in this Foundation Document?The foundation document includes relatively stable components that will not change much over time. These components are the legislated purpose of the park unit, the significance it holds, what the focus of its interpretation (interpretive themes) and education program should be, and its fundamental resources and values. The special mandates and administrative commitments sections include the requirements that must be followed in the management of the park unit.Foundation Planning for Kalaupapa National Historical ParkComponents of the foundation document for Kalaupapa NHP were developed at a workshop in October 2006 attended by park and regional staff, as well as other individuals associated with the history and management of the park. The foundation document components were refined by the planning team during the general management plan process between 2009 - 2017.Purpose A park purpose is a statement of why Congress and/or the president established a unit of the national park system. A purpose statement provides the most fundamental criteria against which the appropriateness of all planning recommendations, operational decisions, and actions are tested. The purpose of the park is grounded in a thorough analysis of the park’s legislation (or executive order) and legislative history. A park purpose statement goes beyond a restatement of the law and details shared assumptions about what the law means in terms specific to the park unit.
SignificancePark significance statements express why the park’s resources and values are important enough to warrant national park designation. Statements of the park’s significance describe why an area is important within a global, national, regional, or systemwide context and are directly linked to the purpose of the park unit. Park unit significance statements are substanti- ated by data or consensus and reflect the most current scientific or scholarly inquiry and cultural perceptions, which may have changed since the park unit’s establishment.
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Kalaupapa National Historical Park preserves the only intact historic institutional settlement in the United States created for the sole purpose of isolating Hansen’s disease (leprosy) patients from the rest of society. |
Mālama ʻo Kalaupapa National Historical Park i ke kaiāulu hoʻokahi i koe ma ʻAmelika i hoʻokumu mākia ʻia no ka hoʻokaupale ʻana i ka poʻe maʻi hoʻokaʻawale mai ka lehulehu aku. |
Kalaupapa National Historical Park’s surviving (and deceased) Hansen’s disease population, with its material culture, oral histories, and intact cultural landscape, is the only community of its kind in the United States. |
ʻO Kalaupapa National Historical Park, me ka heluna kanaka maʻi hoʻokaʻawale e ola nei (a i hala aku) a me ona nā mau pono nohona, moʻolelo pilikino a hiʻohiʻona nohona e waiho nei, ʻo ia ke kaiāulu hoʻokahi o kona ʻano ma ʻAmelika Huipūʻia. |
Kalaupapa National Historical Park is the site of renowned work by Saint Damien de Veuster, Saint Marianne Cope, Brother Dutton, Jonathan Napela, and Ambrose Hutchi- son, that has brought widespread attention to the segrega- tion and care of those afflicted with leprosy. Their work inspired many religious leaders, medical professionals and lay people to serve the Hansen’s disease community. |
ʻO Kalaupapa National Historical Park kahi o ka hana kaulana a Sāna Kamiano De Veuster, Sāna Meleana Cope, Kahu Dutton, Jonathan Napela me Ambrose Hutchison, kahi mea e kuʻi ai ka lono e pili ana i ka hoʻokaʻawale ʻana a me ka mālama ʻana i ka poʻe maʻi hoʻokaʻawale. Ua hoʻoulu kā lākou hana i nā alakaʻi hoʻomana, nā kauka a me ka lehulehu e komo i ka lawena hana no ke kaiāulu maʻi hoʻokaʻawale. |
Kalaupapa National Historical Park’s history and land- scape document at least 900 years of native Hawaiian life, activities, and cultural heritage prior to 1866 when the first patients arrived. The vast number of archeological resources and variety of site types ake the park one of the richest and most valuable archaeological complexes in Hawaiʻi. |
Hoʻākāka maila ka moʻolelo me ka waihona ʻāina o Kalaupapa National Historical Park i 900 a ʻoi mau maka- hiki o ka nohona Hawaiʻi maoli ma mua o ka hikina mua ʻana mai o ka poʻe maʻi hoʻokaʻawale i ka makahiki 1866. ʻO ia kekahi o nā kahua hulikoena waiwai loa ma Hawaiʻi nei mamuli o ka helu nui o nā pono huʻea o laila, a me inā ʻano like ʻole o nā wahi hulikoena e waiho mai nei ma ia ʻāina. |
Many who come to Kalaupapa recognize mana or spiritual power that Hawaiian peoples acknowledge in everything. The ʻāina (land), a vital source that links us to spirit is sacred and connects us to the continued presence of all who lived out their lives on this peninsula. The ʻāina’s mana (spiritual essence) connects us to each other. |
Hoʻomaopopo pinepine ihola ka poʻe e kipa ana ma Kalaupapa i ka mana o ia wahi, ia mea a ka Hawaiʻi e ʻike ai ma nā mea a pau o ke ao. He mea laʻahia ka ʻāina, a he kumu pono e pili ai kākou i ka mauli ola, a e pili mai ai ke ʻano ō mau o ka poʻe o mua i noho a ola ma kēia ʻane moku. ʻO ka mana o ka ʻāina ka mea e pili mau ai kākou kekahi i kekahi. |
Kalaupapa National Historical Park presents an exemplary geologic and scenic panorama of towering sea cliffs and a flat leaf-shaped peninsula that were created by a cataclys- mic landslide and subsequent volcanic eruption. |
Kū ka ʻikena o nā pali kūnihi ma ka lihi o ka ʻanemoku palaha ma Kalaupapa National Historical Park i laʻana maikaʻi o kahi i haneʻe ʻino ai ka mauna a hū hou auaneʻi ka pele. |
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Kū ka ʻikena o nā pali kūnihi ma ka lihi o ka ʻanemoku palaha ma Kalaupapa National Historical Park i laʻana maikaʻi o kahi i haneʻe ʻino ai ka mauna a hū hou auaneʻi ka pele. |
From uka to kai (mountain to sea) Kalaupapa National Historical Park preserves and interprets some of the last remaining examples of fragile Hawaiian Island plant and animal communities found nowhere else in the world. |
Mai uka a i kai, mālama a hoʻomaopopo aku ʻo Kalaupapa National Historical Park i kekahi o nā laʻana hope loa o nā kaiameaola Hawaiʻi pōhae i ʻike ʻole ʻia ma kahi ʻē o ke ao nei. |
Kalaupapa National Historical Park preserves robust and diverse nearshore marine resources due to the geographic remoteness, locally restricted access, and controlled sub- sistence practices. |
Mālama ʻo Kalaupapa National Historical Park i ka ikaika me ke ʻano makawalu o nā kumuwaiwai pili kai mamuli o ka mamao a kaʻawale o ia wahi, a mamuli hoʻi o ke kāohi ʻana i ka hele wale ʻana mai me nā hana e hiki ai ke hana ʻia. |
Interpretive Themes
Interpretive themes connect park unit resources to relevant ideas, meanings, concepts, contexts, beliefs, and values. They support the desired interpretive outcome of increasing visitor understanding and appreciation of the significances of the park’s resources. Interpretive themes are based upon park purpose and significance. They provide the foundation on which the park unit’s educational and interpretive programs are based.
Interpretive Themes for Kalaupapa National Historical Park
The stories and experiences of Hansen’s disease patients can be powerfully felt and understood at Kalaupapa, where beauty, isolation, and expressions of the patients’ enduring spirit continue to offer refuge and healing from hardship, fear, and discrimination. |
Hiki ke hoʻomaopopo akāka ʻia maila nā moʻolelo a me ke ola o ka poʻe maʻi hoʻokaʻawale ma Kalaupapa, kahi e hoʻokanāho a hoʻōla maila ka nani, ke kaʻawale a me ke ʻano ō mau o ka poʻe maʻi hoʻokaʻawale i ka pōpilikia, ka makaʻu a me ka hoʻokae. |
Kalaupapa has an amplified sense of power and sacred- ness by virtue of the events, circumstances, and peoples who lived and died there. The sheer numbers of people who are buried at Kalaupapa create a sense of kuleana— the cultural responsibility to care for the bones of the ancestors. In turn, the ancestors watch over this ʻāina and protect it. |
Uluhia ka mana, ka ʻihiʻihi a me ke ʻano laʻa o Kalaupapa mamuli o nā hanana, nā kūlana, a me nā kānaka i ola a hala aku i laila mai ō kikilo loa mai. ʻO ka helu nui o nā kānaka i kanu ʻia ma Kalaupapa kahi mea e ulu aʻe ai ke kuleana - ka pono e mālama i nā iwi kūpuna. A kō ia kuleana, na ia poʻe kūpuna e kiaʻi a mālama mai i ka ʻāina nei. |
The stories of a thriving native Hawaiian community who lived and worked the land for over 900 years enriches our understanding of the past and establishes a continuing legacy for future generations of Hawaiians. |
ʻO nā moʻolelo o ke kaiāulu ahuahu o nā kānaka Hawaiʻi i noho a mālama i ka ʻāina no 900 makahiki ka mea e māhuahua ai ke akāka o ka wā i hala, a e hoʻokino ʻia ai ka hoʻoilina kūmau no nā hanauna Hawaiʻi o mua aʻe nei. |
Saint Damien, Saint Marianne, Brother Dutton, Jonathan Napela, Ambrose Hutchison and other kokua’s devotion to improving patient lives continues to inspire us today. |
A hiki i kēia lā, pā ka naʻau i ke kipona aloha o Sāna Kamiano, Sāna Meleana, Kahu Dutton, Jonathan Napela, Ambrose Hutchison a me nā kōkua ʻē aʻe i molia i ke ola ma ka hoʻomaikaʻi ʻana i ke ola o ka poʻe maʻi hoʻokaʻawale. |
The architecture, landscapes, and archeology of the peninsula reflect an evolution of the settlement from barely surviving patients with Hansen’s disease at Kalawao to a highly organized medical and social community at Kalaupapa. |
Hōʻike nā hale, nā ʻikena, a me nā koena huʻea o kēia ʻanemoku i ka loli ʻana aʻe o ka nohona mai kahi i ola māhunehune ai ka poʻe maʻi ma Kalawao a i kaiāulu i kūkulu pono ʻia maila no ka hoʻōla kanaka ma Kalaupapa. |
Perceived today as a scenic Hawaiian paradise, Molokaʻi’s dramatic North Shore Cliffs and flat Kalaupapa peninsula are the result of numerous geologic forces still at work throughout the Pacific archipelagos. These geologic fea- tures created a natural prison for isolating people with Hansen’s disease. |
ʻIke ʻia i kēia lā ma ke ʻano he palekaiko Hawaiʻi nani loa, he hopena nā pali o Molokaʻi a me ka ʻanemoku ʻo Kalaupapa a nā hana honua e noke mau nei ma nā pae moku Pākīpika. Ua kū nō nā hiʻona o ia ʻāina ma ke ʻano he wahi no ka hoʻopale ʻana aku i ka poʻe maʻi hoʻokaʻawale. |
Kalaupapa’s plant and animal communities, including the seabird colonies and Loulu (Pritchardia hillebrandii) forest, hearken back to the pre-contact condition of the Hawaiian Islands. The rarity of these surviving fragile populations is a reminder of how much has been lost. |
Kuhikuhi maila nā kaiameaola o Kalaupapa, pū no me nā kaiāulu manu kai me ka ulu Loulu, i ke kūlana o kēia pae ʻāina ma mua o ka pili mau ʻana me ko waho. Hōʻike ʻike a hoʻomanaʻo ihola ke ʻano kākaʻikahi o kēia mau kaiameaola pōhae i ka nui o nā mea i lilo a nalo loa aku. |
Kalaupapa National Historical Park’s unique and thriving reef environment reminds us of what these areas were once like throughout Hawaiʻi, and it serves as a potential source of replenishment for degraded reef systems around the islands. |
Ulu a māhuahua ka ʻāpapa o Kalaupapa National Historical Park, e hōʻike ana i ke ʻano i laha wale i ke au i hala a puni nā moku, a e kū ana paha i kumuwaiwai e hoʻoulu hou ai i nā ʻāpapa i hōʻino ʻia ma ka pae ʻāina. |
Fundamental Resources and Values
Molokai Light Station National Register District
The Molokai Light Station Historic District includes the 138-foot lighthouse listed in the National Register of Historic Places and its period of significnce spans the time period between 1908 and 1957. It is significant for its architec- ture and association with maritime history, transportation, commerce, and social history.
Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments
This section describes the unique management structure of Kalaupapa National Historical Park and includes information about management authority, jurisdiction, landownership, designations and protected areas, special mandates, and cooperative agreements.
Management Authority and Jurisdiction
Kalaupapa National Historical Park differs significantly from most other national parks in that almost all of the 8,720 acres of land, 2,060 acres of submerged and offshore lands, and improvements within the authorized boundary may remain in nonfederal ownership to be managed by the National Park Service through cooperative agreements. This section describes landownership, special designations and protected areas within the park, special mandates, and cooperative agreements that are unique to Kalaupapa National Historical Park.
Landownership
The National Park Service (NPS) owns 22.88 acres in which the light house, as well as the Molokai Light Station, two historic houses, and four outbuildings are located.
The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) owns 1,290 acres within the park boundary. The current 50-year lease between the National Park Service and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (which could be renewed in 2041) encumbers only the 1,247-acre parcel and does not include the 43 acres at Pālāʻau State Park, which lies outside of Kalawao County.
The Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) owns 9,394 acres within the park. The National Park Service has a cooperative agreement with the Department of Land and Natural Resources to administer some of these lands. Most Department of Land and Natural Resources land is zoned Conservation — with 1,541 acres in the Molokai Forest Reserve (not administered by the National Park Service) and 2,060 acres of submerged and offshore lands including 60 acres surrounding Nihoa. The application of the Conservation zone indicates that the state has imposed development restrictions on the land to conserve, protect, or preserve important natural resources in those areas.
The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (DOT) owns 42.2 acres at the tip of the peninsula. This area encompasses the airport runway and adjacent lands. The Department of Transportation owns the structures at the airport facility including the terminal and three storage/maintenance buildings.
R. W. Meyer, Ltd., owns 72 acres at the top of the pali east of Pālāʻau State Park.
Designations and Protected Areas
Within Kalaupapa National Historic Park are a number or geographical areas that have special designations and are administered by different agencies. These areas are listed in the following table and described in detail in this section.
Designation | Date | Designator | Total Area of Designation (acres) | Area of Designation Within Park (acres) |
Molokai Forest Reserve | 1903 | Territorial Government of Hawai'i | 1,541 | 1,541 |
National Natural Landmark | 1972 | Secretary of the Interior | 27,100 | 5,085 |
National Historic Landmark | 1976 | Secretary of the Interior | 15,645 | 10,674 |
Seabird Sanctuaries on 'Ōkala and Huelo Islands | 1981 | State of Hawai'i, DLNR | 9 | 9 |
Pu'u Ali'i Natural Area Reserve | 1985 | State of Hawai'i, Governor | 1,330 | 1,330 |
The Kalaupapa and Kalawao settlements are historically significant as the first Hansen’s disease (leprosy) colony in American history. The national historic landmark nomination identifies the areas of significance for the settlement as prehistoric archeology, historic archeology, architecture, community planning, religion, and social/humanitarian activity. The period of significance begins in 1866 when the first people afflicted with Hansen’s disease arrived at Kalaupapa and continues to the present.
In 2004, a condition update for the National Historic Landmark Program determined the status of the Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement National Historic Landmark as “Threatened” due to pest infestations impacting historic structures, deferred maintenance, and lack of funding to maintain the numerous physical resources that contribute to its significance.
An update to the national historic landmark nomination for the settlement is in progress.
In 1970, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature expressed the need to protect and preserve the state’s unique natural resources, both for the enjoyment of future generations and to provide baseline data to evaluate the impact of environmental changes occurring in the state. The statewide Natural Area Reserve System was therefore established to preserve in perpetuity specific land and water areas that support relatively unmodified communities of natural flora and fauna,
as well as geological sites. The Natural Area Reserves System is administered by the State of Hawaiʻi, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife. The system presently consists of 19 reserves on five islands, encompassing more than 109,000 acres of the state›s most unique ecosystems. One of these areas, Pu‘u Ali‘i, is located within Kalaupapa National Historical Park.
The Pu‘u Ali‘i Natural Area Reserve, established in 1985, encompasses 1,330 acres in the southeast corner of the park between Pelekunu and Waikolu Valleys. Elevations in the reserve range from 2,250 feet at the top of the sea cliffs on the northern edge to 4,222 feet at the summit of Pu‘u Ali‘i. The Pu‘u Ali‘i NAR is divided into two management units— the North and South Units. The South Unit is fenced and encloses approximately 640 acres in the higher elevation part of the reserve, whereas the North Unit is protected by two strategic fences making up the remaining 690 acres in the lower part of the reserve. The reserve is bordered on the south by the Kamakou Preserve, which is managed by the Nature Conservancy.
Special Mandates
Privately owned lands within the boundary of the park can be acquired by the Secretary of the Interior by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or exchange. The Secretary of the Interior can acquire lands, waters, and interests by any methods, except by condemnation, within the State of Hawaiʻi for the conveyance and exchange of lands, waters, and interests within the Kalaupapa National Historical Park boundary owned by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (Public Law 96–565, Sec. 104, December 22, 1980).
In 1980, the U.S. Coast Guard transferred 23 acres around the Molokai Light Station to the National Park Service. In 2006, the U.S. Coast Guard transferred the Molokai Light Station to the National Park Service, under the General Services Administration, but the U.S. Coast Guard continues to maintain the lens within the lighthouse and the historic lens.
Long-Term Agreements
The Secretary of the Interior shall seek and may enter into cooperative agreements with the owners of property within the park pursuant to which the Secretary may preserve, protect, maintain, construct, reconstruct, develop, improve, and interpret sites, facilities, and resources of historic, natural, architectural, and cultural significance. Cooperative agreements shall be of not less than 20 years duration and may be extended and amended by mutual agreement. Cooperative agreements shall include, without limitation, provisions that the Secretary shall have the right of access at reasonable times to public parts of the property for interpretive and other purposes. No changes or alterations shall be made in the property except by mutual agreement (Public Law 96–565, sec. 105, December 22, 1980).
Each agreement shall provide that the owner shall be liable to the United States in an amount equal to the fair market value of any capital improvements made to or placed on the property in the event the agreement is terminated prior to its natural expiration or any extension thereof. The Secretary is permitted to remove such capital improvements within a reasonable time of termination of the cooperative agreement. Upon expiration of the agreement, the improvements thereon shall become the property of the owner, unless the United States desires to remove such capital improvements and restore the property to its natural state within a reasonable time for such expiration. Except for emergency, temporary, and interim activity, no funds shall be expended on nonfederal property unless such expenditure is pursuant to a cooperative agreement with the owner (Public Law 96–565, sec. 105, December 22, 1980). The lease and agreements are shown in the table below.
Partner | Instrument | Effective Term | Term (years) |
State of Hawai'i Department of Hawaiian Home Lands | General Lease | July 15, 1991-July 14, 2041 | 50 |
Hawai'i Conference Foundation | Cooperative Agreement | Set. 27, 2003-Sept. 26, 2023 | 20 |
State of Hawai'i Department of Health | Cooperative agreement | April 1, 2004–March 31, 2024 | 20 |
Catholic Church | Cooperative agreement | Aug. 23, 2004- Aug. 22, 2034 | 20 |
State of Hawai'i Department of Transportation | Cooperative agreement | Expired March 9, 2007; new agreement is in development. | 20 |
State of Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources | Cooperative agreement | Sept. 15, 2009–Sept. 14, 2029 | 20 |
R. W. Meyer, Ltd. | Memorandum of understanding | April 27, 2012–April 26, 2017 | 5 |
Key strategies employed by the partnership include reduction of feral animal populations; monitoring systems that help guide and document management actions; community outreach that engages, educates, and gains support of the local communities; continual development of the partnership through fundraising, capacity building, and landowner expansion; and involvement with fire (Molokai Fire Task Force) and island invasive species efforts (Molokai subcommittee of the Maui Invasive Species Committee). Land-based partners include Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate, Kamalo Ahupua‘a (3,566 acres); Kapualei Ranch, Kapualei Ahupua‘a (1,680 acres); Kawela Plantation Homeowners Association, Kawela Ahupua’a (5,500 acres); State of Hawaiʻi Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Pu‘u Ali‘i (1,330 acres) and Olokui (1,620 acres) Natural Area Reserves; National Park Service, Kalaupapa National Historical Park (10,800 acres); and The Nature Conservancy, Kamakou (2,774 acres) and Pelekunu Preserves (5,714 acres). Agency partners include Ke Aupuni Lokahi, Enterprise Community Governance Board (community, funder); Maui County (funder); Molokai / Lānaʻi Soil and Water Conservation District (technical assistance); U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Services (technical assistance, funder); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (technical assistance, funder); U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (technical assistance); U.S. Geological Services (technical assistance); and the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Health (technical assistance, funder).
The church and parish hall of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are privately owned by the church. No agreement exists with the church; however, the church contacted the National Park Service in February 2012 and expressed a strong desire to enter into a cooperative agreement.
Last updated: June 4, 2025