Grant in the Spotlight: Trust for Public Land
Image courtesy of the National Park Service.
The Wyss Foundation is excited to spotlight a $3,000,000 grant to support the Trust for Public Land’s acquisition of the 16,451-acre Pōhue Bay property on the Big Island of Hawaii and the property’s transfer to the National Park Service for addition to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
Pōhue Bay contains a pristine white sand beach, which is critical nesting habitat for the endangered Hawaiian hawksbill turtle and pupping habitat for the endangered Hawaiian monk seal. Unique anchialine ponds dot the interior of the property and are home to a rare, endemic red shrimp and the endangered orangeblack Hawaiian damselfly. The property is also home to many significant Hawaiian cultural sites including the remains of a once thriving coastal village and petroglyphs.
In addition to this grant, protection of this property would not have been possible without additional funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. At closing, the property was immediately added to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, which is now 355,000 acres.
“Thanks to Wyss Foundation’s support, Trust for Public Land was able to add 16,451 acres at Pōhue Bay to the Volcanoes National Park on Hawaiʻi Island, conserving precious cultural and natural resources for future generations, including ancient trails, fishing shrines, the largest recorded abrader quarry in Hawaiʻi, petroglyph fields, an ancient coastal fishing village, and critical nesting habitat for the endangered Hawaiian hawksbill sea turtle,” said Lea Hong, Hawaiian Islands state director, Trust for Public Land.
“The Foundation was thrilled to support the addition of this ecologically and culturally rich area to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park,” said Molly McUsic, president of the Wyss Foundation. “This protection is a win for biodiversity and the local community.”
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About the Wyss Foundation – The Wyss Foundation is a private, charitable foundation dedicated to supporting innovative, lasting solutions that improve lives, empower communities, and strengthen connections to the land.
About the Trust for Public Land – Trust for Public Land is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, the Trust works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, Trust for Public Land has protected more than 3 million acres of public land, created more than 5,000 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $84 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected more than 9 million people to the outdoors.