The Kahikinui Forest Reserve consists of land owned by DLNR/DOFAW bordering Haleakala National Park on the leeward side of East Maui. Historically, the Forest Reserve was managed to provide hunting opportunities. In 2011, the Nakula Natural Area Reserve was created from the western half of the forest reserve. 2500 acres of Forest Reserve and Natural Area Reserve has been fenced, ungulates will be removed, and the area will be managed for restoration of native forest, passerines, seabirds and the Hawaiian Hoary Bat.
Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project (MNSRP) has conducted baseline surveys to evaluate presence and distribution of seabirds (Hawaiian petrel, Newell’s shearwater & Band-rumped storm petrel) in Kahikinui. MNSRP will inventory mammalian predators and coarse scale vegetation over the 2014 calendar year. The results of this inventory will guide predator control efforts beginning the following year. MNSRP staff will concurrently monitor changes in distribution and abundance of seabirds, predators and vegetation.