Haleakala Ranch recently was honored for its outstanding stewardship of its natural resources. The Maui ranch was one of six cattle operations honored August 1 in the annual Environmental Stewardship Awards Program. The annual ESAP was established by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in 1991 to honor cattle operations for their outstanding stewardship of their natural resources. The program will name its 28th national winner on Jan. 30, 2019, at the Cattle Industry Convention in New Orleans.
In announcing the regional winners, the NCBA noted that Haleakala Ranch, which was named an outstanding steward in region VI, occupies 29,000 acres on the eastern slope of Haleakala; the ranch is the island’s largest and oldest landowner. The ranch maintains valuable open space and vast diversity, ranging from near sea level to 9,500 feet in elevation, dry leeward coast to subtropical rainforest, temperate pastureland to alpine forest. Haleakala Ranch is owned by more than 100 family shareholders. Haleakala Ranch is also a partner in Maui Cattle Company which sells locally raised, grass-fed beef.
The outstanding stewardship honor was also based the ranch’s voluntary conservation activities, which protect endangered and threatened plants and endangered forest birds. The ranch also has increased geranium arboretum, an endangered plant native only to Maui. It also hosts a recovery facility for the nene, Hawai‘i’s state bird and the world’s third-rarest goose.
ESAP is administered by the National Cattlemen’s Foundation and funded by Corteva Agriscience, the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont; McDonald’s Corporation; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Photo courtesy of Forrest Starr and Kim Starr
Comments
comments