The state Division of Forestry and Wildlife has teamed up with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and The Nature Conservancy to acquire more than 1,000 acres on Molokai for conservation and restoration purposes.

The purchase of land in the Makolelau ahupuaa was made possible with a $1.8 million grant from the Fish and Wildlife Serv­ice and more than $600,000 from The Nature Conservancy.

The 1,045-acre purchase is part of a wilderness area designated by the State Commission on Water Resource Management as a “priority 1 watershed,” with higher-elevation native forests that help to generate freshwater supplies and reduce erosion that can damage coral reefs.

Officials said summit- to-sea planning and management will lead to the protection of the state’s longest fringing reef by preventing up to 4 metric tons of soil from entering the ocean each year.

Proposed restoration projects include controlling wild hoofed animals, removing invasive plants, restoring native ecosystems and building and maintaining a network of firebreaks that will help prevent the spread of wildfires.

“We are thrilled to be part of this effort that recognizes the forest as critical watershed for the island and home to species found only in Hawaii,” said Ulalia Woodside Lee, executive director of The Nature Conservancy in Hawaii and Palmyra, in a news release.

The Makolelau parcels will connect with nearby conservation lands to offer corridors for endangered forest and sea birds, bats and more than 50 native plant species, 38 of which are endangered, officials said.