Hawai`i Natural Area Reserves System

Adequate funding and staffing are the major limiting factors in perpetuating the NARS legacy for future generations!

Alani

Funding for the NARS comes from the general fund through a budget appropriation by the state legislature.  The NARS annual budget has declined from $2.5 million in 1991 to $1.2 million today.  This amounts to $11 per acre per year to protect some of the best native Hawaiian ecosystems on state-managed land.
             
There is no dedicated source of funding for the NARS. The Natural Area Reserve Fund receives revenues for public-private conservation partnerships on private land and for approved watershed management plans. The Natural Area Reserve Fund does NOT fund the NARS.

Annual Budget for NARS, 1988-2002

Comparative Funding for Managing Native Ecosystems

Area O`ahu Army Training Lands Haleakala National Park Natural Area Partnership Program  (private lands) Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge Natural Area Reserves System

Cost/Acre/Year $271 $122 $66 $56 $11

A doubling of the staff and a dedicated annual budget of
$5 million are needed to adequately protect the NARS.

It is up to the state legislature to dedicate the resources necessary
to protect the NARS legacy now and forever.