Moloka‘i Land Trust
The mission of the Moloka‘i Land Trust is to protect and restore the land, natural, and cultural resources of Moloka‘i, and to promote, educate, and perpetuate the unique Native Hawaiian traditions and character of the island for the benefit of the future generations of all Moloka‘i, particularly Native Hawaiians.
Moloka‘i Land Trust (MLT) is a local nonprofit conservation organization that owns and manages nearly 2,000 acres and 5 miles of shoreline on the island of Moloka‘i . Its protected lands occupy two preserves, the 196 acre Kawaikapu Preserve on East Moloka‘i , and the 1,769 acre Mokio Preserve on the NW coast of the island. MLT has been working diligently for the past 13 years on the Anapuka Dune Restoration Project, a 60 acre fenced site that is home to rare plants & pollinators, and ground nesting seabird populations.
In 2014, MLT modified its mission to include education as a result of the overwhelming requests for STEM related service learning projects and internship opportunities from the local schools. MLT currently provides service trips for hundreds of island students and visiting volunteer groups each year, and offers several year round and summer paid internship positions through AmeriCorps.
2022 saw the initiation of a new state of the art predator proof fencing project to replace the current plastic deer fence at Anapuka to protect the federally designated critical habitat and a newly established seabird colony. This new fence will expand the project by 50%, creating one of the larger predator free exclosures on a coastal unit in Hawaii. The restoration work inside the fence is one of the most comprehensive and large-scale efforts of its kind in the state according to the numerous Federal, State and Private partners involved with the project, establishing Moloka‘i Land Trust as a leader in lowland and coastal ecosystem restoration.
