We are working to incorporate more voices! Please reach out to our team to participate (includes share out), or to arrange a time for us to share the results in person.

1 Method

Producing the statements

  1. Our team reviewed the entire Kamehamenui Management Plan and Environmental Assessment, and produced statements that measure support for the basic goals identified in the plan.
  2. Additionally, we reviewed testimony and comments in response to the release of the first Management Plan and Environmental Assessment, and produced statements to measure the primary concerns that were noted in these responses.
  3. From these two sources, 16 statements were created to balance brevity and cover the primary goals and concerns.

Responses were collected in a hybrid paper-digital format:

  • Digital Short Survey The 16 statements were posted as “seed” statements on Polis, where participants chose from the following choices: Agree, Disagree, or Unsure / Pass.
    • Note: As Polis is a wiki-survey, participants were also permitted to submit their own statements for other participants to respond to. Therefore, there are a subset of questions that those who used the paper survey did not see, that have a lower response rate.
    • Digital Long Survey Initially, an extensive survey on Polis with 95 statements representing each individual component of the management plan, was produced in January 2026. Circulation of this survey was stopped in February, when the short survey was released. The short survey duplicates some of these statements, where as other ideas from multiple statements were further refined, summarizing the core issues. The duplicated statements are carried over in these results; when duplicates were restructured with the same meaning, the text for the long survey item is included below the visualization. Please see the full results here.
  • Paper: For those who did not use Polis, those same statements from the Short Survey were printed and distributed on paper surveys. The same response dimensions of Disagree - Agree - Pass / Unsure were used.
    • To expand the scale, “slightly” was added to each point (Slightly Disagree, Slightly Agree) to make this a 5-point scale.

Participants
Our project reached out to Kula-based organizations with pre-existing relationships, given the pilot nature of the present work (Kula Community Association, Mālama Kula, and Upcountry Rotary). These organizations had meetings during February that the team was able to attend and advertise the efforts to increase participation in feedback for the forest reserve management plan. In total, 41 Kula residents participated.

Participation note:
Some residents who completed the Polis towards the end of the response period submitted statements. All participants were reminded to check-back in to the Polis later for changes in the conversation, however not all did. Therefore, some participants did not see all final statements, and this is denoted as “did not see statement” in the results.

Explaining the visualizations:

  • To simplify the report, primary visualizations combine responses from Polis and paper surveys, where paper surveys response scales were combined such that:
    • Disagree or Slightly Disagree = Disagree
    • Agree or Slightly Agree = Agree
  • Secondary visualizations are posted below each primary visualization, where you can see the responses that retains the difference between Slightly Agree / Agree and Slightly Disagree / Agree

2 Aggregated Results

2.1 Fire

Long Survey Question: I would like to use grazing to manage the Forest Reserve.

Long Survey Question: There is an extensive plan about fire and Kula already produced. I think we use the plan created for Kula rather than require the state to do it a second time, or incorporate the plan we already have.

2.2 Confidence in Management

Long Survey Question: If the forest is mismanaged, our lives or our neighbors lives are at risk.

Long Survey Question: DLNR has properly managed and maintained the adjoining Polipoli Forest Reserve. Therefore, I believe this Plan will be properly implemented.

2.3 Recreation / General Vision

Long Survey Question: In Phases areas 1 and 2, I support the plan to allow non-motorized biking outside of the federally designated critical habitat on designated trails only (p. 63-64).

Long Survey Question: In Phase areas 1 and 2, I support the plan to allow Equestrian Use outside of the federally designated critical habitat on designated trails only (p. 63-64).

Long Survey Question: I’d like to avoid planting tall trees along the lower slopes that would obstruct existing mauka-makai views of Haleakala.

2.4 Vehicle Access / Parking

2.5 Community Input

Long Survey Question: The community deserves a plan for our forest reserve that reflects community concerns and priorities. As such, DLNR should provide more accessible opportunities to generate feedback from the community and update the plan accordingly.

3 Disaggregated results

3.1 Fire

3.2 Confidence in Management

3.3 Recreation / General Vision

3.4 Vehicle Access & Parking

3.5 Community Input