Healthy coconut trees cut down on Kalalau Trail; state staff reprimanded for not protecting natural resources

The Hawaiʻi State Department of Land and Natural Resources is facing criticism from residents and outdoor enthusiasts after its employees cut down more than a dozen healthy coconut trees along the Kalalau Trail on the Nāpali Coast of Kauaʻi.

The coconut trees, which lined a popular area near the Kalalau Stream in the Nāpali Coast State Wilderness Park, were photographed in pieces on what’s being called the ‘Kalalau Coconut Massacre,’ on the popular Kalalau Trail Facebook page.

Alan B. Carpenter, state parks assistant administrator at the Department of Land and Natural Resources, acknowledged in an email to Kauaʻi Now that the department “cut down approximately a dozen young coconut trees.”

He said it was “a well-intentioned action taken by staff who were trying to address several long-standing problems related to people illegally camping, building and planting in the valley.”

Regardless of intent, he said the tree cutting was “unfortunate and grievous.”

Hundreds of upset residents commenting on the Facebook page demanded answers, including Kauaʻi Councilmember Fern Holland. She wrote: “I am putting in a formal inquiry and following up.”

She received the same response from the Department of Land and Natural Resources that Kauaʻi Now did.

Carpenter said there are better ways to address the important issues of public health, safety and protecting park resources than cutting down trees in a wilderness park.  

The responsible staff have been reprimanded and counseled, Carpenter said.

He added that State Parks administrators will reinforce policies to prevent such incidents from recurring.  

“Our mission is to protect and share Hawaiʻi’s natural and cultural resources, and this was a failure in that regard,” Carpenter said.