Rows of —, African and Friday adds, "and it came in as sugar , pbeasant , and production was going out. Wbat is very dif- —meander along tbe contours of ferent now is that it's going on in low- Bari Green and Lou Russo's 16-plus acres elevation former agricultural lands." AN OLD of steep hillside below Mauna Kea on tbe "When we got tbe land, it was bar- Big Island's Hamakua Coast. Tbe Paciflc is ren." says Bari Green of the iNDUSTKY azure blue in tbe distance, a steady trade sbe and Busso facetiously named wind rusdes tbe ieaves. and curls of wbite Laugbing Pig Farm after the feral pigs HAS A surf roll onto tbe sbore. that roamed there. "Tbere wasn't a single Tbe couple, wbo moved to the , lt was wide open wasteland, and it NEW LOOK Hamakua area eight years ago witb was very depressing." dreams of reforesting this sugar cane Tbey bave made tbeir plantation IN HAWAII, plantation-turned-cow pasture, is part of a unique by incorporating native species, new look to an old industry. Small, private nitrogen fixers, and ornamentals. FRATURING tree farms are a relatively new phenome- "We Interplanted a mix of other non in Hawaii's long history. to bring in beneflcial bugs and birds," she EXOTICS LIKE although plantation forestry bas piqued says. "We didn't want it to look so interest there since the 1870s. mono-crop, so we planted fun stuff likr RAINBOW Land in Hawaii bas been cleared for jacaranda just to add splasbes of color. agriculture ever since bumans flrst settled We wanted to give the feeling of a more diverse ." Coconuts, avocados, on tbe islands in 400-500 A.D., but tbe Sf. ^ rate of change accelerated drastically breadfruits, mangos, ironwoods. clump- witb western discovery. First came tbe ing bamhoos, and bananas serve as wind- story & pbotos harvesting of sandalwood and flrewood breaks, sbeltering the forest. by for the wbaling industry, then the intro- As participants in the state-funded Margaret A. duction of livestock. Later, trees were Forest Stewardship Program, whicb offers Haapoja cleared to make way for pineapple and cost-sbare grants that are 50 percent reim- sugar . More recently, residen- bursable witb hold-down rates. Green says tial and commercial development has they expect to harvest in 30 years, making gobbled up real estate in a state wbere the trees "our retirement fund." i&* tourism is industry number one. In the meantime. Russo freelances in Despite tbis. tbe Aloba State retains information technology and tbe couple nearly half its 4.1 million acres in , operates a nursery. Tbey also planted a test altbough primarily at higher elevations orchard wbere a ground cover of legumi- and not usually for tree farms. Watershed nous perennial peanut [Arachis glabrata) protection, rather than timber production, reduces maintenance, adds free nitrogen, bas typically been the main objective for and looks attractive. , says Extension J.B. Before tbe birth of tbeir daugbter, they Friday of tbe University of Hawaii at Ililo, sold produce to neighborbood families and "It was only in the 1990s tbat - say tbey plan to resume their organic mar- ing as a productive use of land came back," ket garden as soon as tbey're able. .'\long the north shore of Kauai. on tbe other end of tlie Hawaiian Islands, platter- iike of 50-foot teak trees flutter in the soft breeze, creamy blossoms gently swaying along orderly rows. Teak {^ grandis) is but one of 27 species of tropical hardwoods at Na 'Aina Kai Botanical Gardens, wbicb sits on 240 acres high above tbe ocean, but it represents more than half the planting designed to support the nonprofit garden. Joyce and Ed Doty moved to Kauai in 1982 and began establishing a garden tbat opened to tbe public in 2000. The property now includes 13 individual gardens— including tbe 110-acre Kilobana Plantation—and more than 90 life-size bronze sculptures. "To my knowledge the Dotys' was tbe first nonindustrial tree farm to go in," says tbe University of Hawaii's Friday of the latest wave of plantations. "Tbe key thing to hear in mind about tbeir opera- tion is that it is combining tourism and tree farming." Indeed. Kilobana Plantation's rows of trees are neatly maintained, enhancing tbe visitor experi- ence as garden tours pass tbrougb. "As one of tbe older and most diversi- fied tree farms in tbe state, Kilohana Plantation bas heen a leader and sbining example in tbe conversion of former sugar land to tree farms," says Stepben E.S. Smith, principal of Forestry Management Consultants-Hawaii. "They bave provided inspiration, information, and motivation for entrepreneurs in Hawaii's expanding pri- vate forestry sector." The Dotys bave come a long way since

SUMMER 2007 29 they began planting trees in 1996. "We had no idea what we were doing at first," remembers Joyce. "No one bad ever grovra any of our tree species in Hawaii." More tban 60,000 tropical bardwoods promise to provide income tbat wil! support Ihe gardens in future years. Teak is pre- dominant, but there are also three , zebra wood, Indian rosewood, and 20 otber species including several prized for crafting fine musical instru- ments. One, pau ferro, is valued for violin bows; another, , is a favorite for carving woodwinds. Tbe Dotys ensure that what tbey grow won't be barmful to Hawaii's environment. Tbeir research and a state-issued THE DOTYS' import permit keep out problem seeds and . Some might be surprised to leam RESEARCH AND A that not all tbe exotic trees are natives, hut "as we tell our visitors, all of tbe colorful STATE-ISSUED and fragrant trees and plants you think of as being Hawaiian are actually from other IMPORT PERMIT places around the world." says Joyce. Joyce and horticulturist Marty KEEP OUT Fernandas grew all their trees from seed by trial and error. Joyce learned to germi- PROBLEM SEEDS nate teak seeds by soaking and drying them several times before planting tbem. AND PLANTS. "If you hold some of tbe seeds too long, they will not germinate," sbe says. "With big At Na 'Aina Kai mabogany you'll get almost 100 percent (clockwise from germination if you plant tbe seeds witbin top): a grove of the first month after tbey're harvested. If zebrawood; you wait much after that, germination goes cocobolo. a down to almost nothing." rosewood prized Rainfall at Na 'Aina Kai varies from 20 for work. inches to 60 inches annually and the Dotys veneers, knife count themselves fortunate tbat the site's handles and elevation varies from sea level to 250 feet jewelry; and pau with contours forming different microcli- ferro—the mates, Tbe former cattle pasture had pre- heartwood is loved viously been planted for sugar and before by violinists. that for pineapple. A dramatic demonstration of the differ- ence in microclimates is evident in tbe plantation's Queensland . Ail were planted on tbe same day, yet those on top of a hill and exposed to wind and salt spray stand 8 feet tall and 3 incbes in diameter while those at the hill's base are 40 feet tall and 10 inches in diameter. Tbe folks at Na 'Aina Kai learned many such lessons along the way. "Sandalwood didn't work for us in our manicured envi- ronment." says FernandeSp "because they are hemiparasites [trees that get part of tbeir food from parasitism] and need more

30 WHAT YOU'LL SEE IN PARADISE

Hawaii Is HUed with exoUc-looking trees but Among the most outslarding heavy, diirahie many ol' ilmni didn't start out there. Hern's a construclion timbers and highiy i)iv()red for list dl' what you'll see al the tree farms: fine , cuhineuvood. and der

SUMMER :;007 31 FROM NEW LAWS

TO NEW LOOKS, hosts than we had for them. Teak is not A CHANGE IN happy in salt-wind, mostly dry locations, and although it's a valuable hardwood, it is THE FACE OF also very labor-intensive and mnst be con- tinually pruned. Moreton Bay and FORESTRY IN Queensland maple don't like windy condi- tions but grow well in protected areas." HAWAII. So far the Dotys have thinned some teak, and Ed used the wood for craft items Above lefi: sold in the gift shop, landscape timbers, big-leaf and construction material. "We're hoping mahogany: to harvest the big loaf mahogany in 25 or right, top: Bill 30 years." Fernandes says, "but it's al! Cowem and lush guesswork. The teak we're hoping to har- grass beneath vest at 50 years." albizia: right: oil Forestry Management Constiltant's palms in the Smith points to Kilohana Plantation as a Hawaiian fine example of the difficult concept of Mahogany Inc. "patient money" associated with tree farm nursery. operations: assorted economic benefits realized at various limes throughout the plantation's growing cycle.

-A.**-(

Also on Kauai. Bill Cowern's Hawaiian Mahogany Inc. is an industrial tree farm focusing on renewable natural resources for energy, , and fertilizer. Its mis- sion is "to produce a ftiUy sustainable oper- ation in the strictest sense of the word including fuel and electricity." Cowern's enthusiasm is contagious when he talks about his fledgling forest, Eor the past 10 years he has interplanted half a million high-yielding nitrogen-fixing trees like albi/ia {Ealcataria moluccana) with multi-

32 AMKRiCAN HIRI-STS pie tree species—primarUy Eucalyptus Queensland maple, and other tropical deglupta. also referred to as Rainbowbark bardwoods. eucalyptus for its striking green and hrown Cowem actively works for legislation to striped bark, and Eucalyptus microcorys, aid tree farmers and is pleased by recent .Australian tallowbark. accomplishments, wbich include a right to The albizia. an invasive alien consid- harvest law that mandates compensation ered a ntiisance because of its aggressive for tree farmers closed down for any rea- growth, is able to take nitrogen from the air son. Another law, which provides freedom and turn it into organic material. Lush from liahility for large landowners, result- grass carpets tbe ground below the albizia. ed from an unexpected collaboration demonstrating the trees' power to promote between the Sierra Club and the Hawaii growth. Because it creates nitrogen-rich Sugar Planters Association. "These laws topsoil, albizia eliminates tbe need for com- bave made it a little bit easier for us to do mercial fertilizers made from fossil fuels. business," Cowern says. "This is one of the fastest-growing trees From new laws to new looks, small tree in tbe world, and it produces more nitrogen farms are belping to change tbe face of per acre tban any other plant." says forestry in Hawaii. At Laughing Pig Farm, Cowern, "Leaf and twig material alone Green and Russo are proud of the transi- drop 1,200 pounds of nitrogen per acre per tion of tbeir abandoned sugar cane fields to year. At full planting, Hawaiian Mabogany productive land. could save $225,000 a year on fertilizer "It's been jtist incredible to watcb the costs. And since we're not using any chem- land come back to life," Green says, "We ical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides, we now have pheasants coming in. and the top- don't get any runoff to the streams and soil is full of worms." It's a trend foresters reefs like we used to bave from tbe sugar like the University of Hawaii's Friday expect cane plantations." to see continue—and be vital to tbe futtire Hawaiian Mabogany leases 3,700 acres value of forestry in Hawaii. AF of land and plans to add another 2,000. The company recently entered into an Margaret Haapoja last wrote for agreement with Green Energy Hawaii and American Forests on tree farming in the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative to Wisconsin. develop the flrst of fotir renewable energy projects. from Cowern's trees will provide 6,5 megawatts of electricity a day, To Tour These Tree Farms one-tentb of Kauai's current peak load. Tests indicate the tops and bark of Na 'Aina Kai's Kilohana Hardwood albizia are worth 10 times more as fertiliz- Piantation er and animal feed than they are for chips. Regularly scheduled garden lours. so Cowern plans to chip the remainder of Call or e-mail for reservations; the tree to supply the biomass. Once the Na 'Aina Kai alhizia trees are cut. they coppice, or suck- 4101 VVailapa Road er from the roots, very aggressively, and Kilauea, Kauai. HI 96754 the new trees will reach 35 feet in one year. 808/828-0525 Tests done at the University of Idabo reservations@N ;iAina Kai. org indicate that albizia has more vertical www.NaAinaKai.org strength than Douglas-fir, so Cowern treats the lumber for posts, outdoor - Hawaiian Mahogany Inc. ing, and landscape timbers using a propri- No regularly scheduled lours, but etary process tbat is environmentally interested individuals or groups can friendly and prevents attack by insects or e-mail or call to arrange a tour. fungus. Cowern expects to begin bis first 808/639-9190 harvest of the Eucalyptus deglupta next [email protected] year and hopes to get 2,000-3.000 board- feet per acre—20,000 at final harvest. Laughing Pig Farm He also is experimenting with oil palms No regularly scheduled tours, hut call said to produce roughly 10 gallons of to arrange a visit. hiodiesel a year at six years and growing 808/962-6.525 pheasant wood, African mahogany.

StlMMIiR 2007 33