Hawaii’s U.S. Rep. Ed Case first raised the prospect of National Heritage Area status for Kaena Point in 2020, but the effort did not gain traction. This year, House legislation introduced jointly by Hawaii’s U.S. Reps. Kai Kahele and Case, along with a companion Senate measure championed by U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, have deservedly won approval.

President Joe Biden is expected to sign this legislation, as he should, initiating a three-year federal study to evaluate Kaena Point’s suitability as a National Heritage Area (NHA). There is no time to waste in tending to this irreplaceable natural site.

The state-managed site, extending to the farthest point west on Oahu, is a valuable natural habitat. Once inhabited by Native Hawaiians, run through by plantation-era train tracks, and eroded and damaged by off-road drivers, it has more recently been protected by the state and is eminently suitable for NHA designation.

National Heritage Areas are places where “natural, cultural, and historic resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally important landscape,” according to the National Park Service. “Through their resources, NHAs tell nationally important stories that celebrate our nation’s diverse heritage.”

There is certainly a story worth celebrating in Kaena Point. No other place like it exists on the planet, as it is the site of the last intact sand dune ecosystem in Hawaii. Seabirds nest within a critical area of Kaena Point, at its tip. In 2011, a fence to keep out predators protected this habitat, allowing birds and native plants to flourish.

Protected species such as the Hawaiian monk seal and ohai flower are sheltered at Kaena Point. The Laysan albatross, its future in the Northwestern Hawaiian islands threatened by sea level rise, has a steadily expanding breeding colony.

For humans, Kaena Point holds significance in Hawaiian culture as the site of Leina Kauhane, the rock known as a “leaping place of souls,” where the spirits of the dead are believed to join with those of their ancestors.

A National Heritage designation would benefit the islands. The category, established in 1984, allows for federal sharing of expertise to preserve and restore sites, and brings federal funding with it. There are at least 55 National Heritage sites in the U.S. across 34 states, but none have yet been designated in Hawaii.

Heritage areas are not national parks, and the federal government does not take over the sites. Rather, the U.S. Park Service partners with local administrators, provides technical assistance and distributes federal funds. NHAs can receive annual appropriations ranging from $150,000 to $750,000.

The study authorized by the bill will evaluate 1,500 acres making up the state’s Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve and Kaena Point State Park between Makua and Waialua.

Off-road driving continues to take its toll on land within the 853 acres inside state park boundaries, although conditions have improved since 2015, when the state began requiring a special vehicle access permit to pass the park’s gate.

Inside the predator-proof fence surrounding the natural reserve, rats, cats and mongoose have been eliminated, allowing seabird populations to flourish. More than 13,000 wedge-tail shearwater nests were counted by the state in 2021. And last year, for the first time, a black-footed albatross nest was established by this highly endangered bird.

As heartening as these signs of recovery are, there is still room for improvement, and federal funding could help with this. The studies for Kaena Point would include community input, allowing islanders to share their recommendations. State officials must take advantage of this designation to plan for a protected, thriving area that can harbor Hawaii’s unique wild species for generations to come.