A 300-acre parcel of rainforest visible from near the summit of the popular Hawaii Loa Ridge Trail on Oahu will now become protected public land due to generous donations, state officials announced today.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources said the Pia Valley parcel in the southern Koolaus, donated by landowner Patricia Godfrey, moves the land from private to public hands. It will be managed by DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife and is expected to be designated as the Pia Natural Area Reserve.

The parcel — which extends to the summit ridge of the Koolau — includes habitat for a diverse set of plants and animals, some of which are found nowhere else in the world, including endemic ferns, rare tree snails and native elepaio birds.

It also encompasses upper portions of Pia Valley, directly upland of the Hawaii Loa and Niu Valley subdivisions.

Hawaii’s Natural Area Reserve system gives special designation to places that have rare species, watershed recharge value and are high in biological diversity.

As a natural area reserve, DLNR said the parcel will be accessible by foot for hiking and recreational and educational purposes. It will also be managed so that the native forest will remain as intact as possible, officials said.

“This donation of 300 acres is extraordinarily generous,” said DLNR Chair Suzanne Case in a news release. “We are very grateful to the Godfrey family for dedicating this land to the public, allowing the State to protect this watershed, which contains plants and animals known nowhere else.”

Godfrey said she was just a “tiny link” in a chain of many who have worked to keep the valley preserved. She called Pia Valley “absolutely priceless.”

“On behalf of myself and my family I would like to thank our state conservationists and all who protect and defend our vital wild lands and the sanctuary they provide for their plant and animal inhabitants,“ she said in a statement.