Old Hawaii trails known as Ala Loa, or “long trail,” are protected for public use under the Highways Act of 1892. The law applies even in cases in which the trail is no longer physically present on the landscape. The state is tasked with the daunting detective work of verifying the twists and turns of these paths, which have been largely erased by land use and nature.

State lawmakers are now weighing House Bill 120, which directs Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to recognize the “entire Ala Loa trail on … Kauai as a state trail,” and “define the physical boundaries” of the trail. While the precise coordinates are still a mystery, according to DLNR, such a law could prod the state to more aggressively pursue its charting.

The trail is generally believed to follow the coast around the Garden Isle. It includes a section that crosses the property of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as well as other oceanfront property owners who apparently are reluctant to open their land to the public.

On Zuckerberg’s 700-acre property, state documentation indicates the trail winds about 300 to 400 yards inland from the coastline; many Ala Loa paths traversed inland for reasons of commerce. A Kauai activist, meanwhile, is trying to prove that the path crosses closer to the water. And some Native Hawaiians are pushing for heritage-related public access in the area for fishing, gathering (medicine) and other cultural practices.

DLNR is charged with protecting the public’s interest on Ala Loa trails but, unfortunately, has been woefully passive in charting them, let alone fighting on behalf of the public. In Zuckerberg’s case, longtime area residents insist that no-trespassing signs — and intimidating security guards — have kept people from using a public access trail on the Kauai property. These conflicts need to be addressed and resolved.

House Bill 120 was approved last week by the House Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources and Hawaiian Affairs despite DLNR Chairwoman Suzanne Case’s request for deferral. The state Office of Hawaiian Affairs, meanwhile, contends there is enough trail evidence to put in place a meaningful law.

Jocelyn Doane, OHA’s public policy director, said in written testimony: “Taking into consideration the entire scope of historic resources involving the Ala Loa, OHA believes there is more than enough sufficient information to determine the location.” Plus, she said, state recognition would “better ensure access to and preservation of this critical cultural pathway.”

Over the last several years, Doane said, efforts of community members, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation and OHA staff have resulted in a thorough documentation of the trail. For example, she said, the trail appears on maps from as early as 1833 through 1900 and is recognized in land commission documents that date back to the Great Mahele, the land distribution of 1848.

That sounds compelling. It’s also the sort of information that would typically be reviewed by DLNR’s Na Ala Hele program, which was created in 1988 in response to public concern about the loss of public access to various trails due to development and other land use.

In addition to managing 124 program trails and roads open for public use statewide, Na Ala Hele handles ongoing Ala Loa detective work — weighing archaeological reports, historic maps, surveyor’s notes, deeds and other bits of information, such as oral accounts from area residents, that might help determine ownership issues.

If Native Hawaiian groups and others are not already working in tandem with Na Ala Hele on this matter, they should be.

HB 120, which currently includes no request for funding, could help build an argument for opening access to land now blocked by private property. As lawmakers consider it, they should also address related trail maintenance and liability issues. The aim should be resolution for better, rightful access to a historic public trail.