National Park Service seeks community input on future of Kauleolī site

The future of Kauleolī, a 95-acre shoreline parcel south of Puuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, is now moving into public view, and the National Park Service says South Kona residents, descendants and cultural practitioners will help decide what happens next.

The parcel, acquired in two stages in 2016 and 2021, sits on one of Hawaii Island’s most historically layered shorelines. On the ground are reminders of that past: house foundations built with traditional dry-stack masonry, a canoe shed, heritage agriculture areas and salt-making ponds. Park officials are now developing a Kauleolī Unit Management Plan to decide how to protect those resources, what kinds of community uses are appropriate and how visitors should experience the site.

Superintendent Aric Arakaki said community support, especially from descendants, helped make the acquisition possible, and the planning work is now at what the Park Service calls the “earliest phase.” That means the most consequential choices are still ahead. The agency says it wants to hear from descendant ohana, kamaāina and other stakeholders before settling on future uses, including how to respond to environmental changes and how to manage access along the shoreline.

The stakes extend beyond one parcel. Kauleolī sits within the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, a 175-mile corridor established in 2000 to preserve, protect and interpret Native Hawaiian culture and natural resources across more than 200 ahupuaa. The trail’s existing Comprehensive Management Plan was released in May 2009, showing that public participation has long been part of the system’s planning framework. The Kauleolī effort now gives South Kona communities a direct role in shaping how that framework is applied to one specific place.

A community meeting for Kauleolī was announced by the Park Service on April 1, 2026, and local discussion has already raised ideas that could affect everyday use of the area. Among the concepts under consideration is an interior coastal trail following an ancient path through the village, with ATV access limited to emergency evacuations, maintenance and transporting elders to community events. Earlier ideas also included drinking water, a small traditional-style shelter and a restroom for crews, community groups and hikers near Alanui Aupuni.

That mix of preservation, access and use is what makes Kauleolī such a consequential decision for the Big Island. The Park Service is not just deciding how to maintain a shoreline parcel. It is deciding how much of South Kona’s past will remain visible, how much public access the coast can support and how the island’s cultural landscape will be carried forward for the next generation.