Legacy Land Conservation Program

Legacy Land Conservation Program is sponsored by Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources. These grants preserve and protect land with natural, environmental, recreational, scenic, cultural, agricultural production, or historic value, including park and trail systems that provide access to such land.

Legacy Land Conservation Program – Division of Forestry and Wildlife: Native Ecosystems Protection & Management Legacy Land Conservation Program Legacy Land Conservation Program About the Legacy Land Conservation Program View from Pia Valley Natural Area Reserve, southern slope of Ko‘olau volcano, Island of O‘ahu (Project: LLCP2019-01) Despite the regulation of land use and development in Hawai‘i, lands that hold important resource values are often unprotected, inaccessible, and threatened with damage and destruction.

In 2005, the State Legislature found that “the preservation, protection, and enhancement of the State’s land, coastal areas, and natural resources are of central importance for current and future residents and for the state economy” and established real estate conveyance tax revenue as a source of permanent, adequate funding to purchase and manage land for public benefit through conservation.

The Legacy Land Conservation Program ( LLCP ) uses this funding (held in the Land Conservation Fund) to facilitate competitive grant awards for State agencies, counties, and nonprofit land conservation organizations that strive to acquire and protect land that shelters exceptional, unique, threatened, and endangered resources.

After a land purchase is completed, LLCP monitors the condition of the property and its resources to assure that the property is managed consistently with the purposes for which it was awarded a LLCP grant and Chapter 173A, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

The Legacy Land Conservation Program offers two related types of grants: (1) the Land Acquisition Grant and (2) the Land Management Grant, which is available only for land that was acquired with financial assistance from the Land Conservation Fund.

Each type of grant is awarded through a competitive process that requires application review and recommendations from the Legacy Land Conservation Commission; consultation with State legislative leaders; and discretionary approvals from the State Board of Land and Natural Resources and the Governor of Hawaii.

The Land Acquisition Grant supports a State agency, county, or nonprofit land conservation organization to acquire interests in land for protecting exceptional, unique, threatened, and endangered natural and cultural resources .

Grant funding may be used to purchase land outright ( fee title/fee ownership ) or to acquire a conservation easement that permanently safeguards land and resources by limiting the scope of a fee owner’s land use and resource management practices.

Land Acquisition Grant: How to Apply The Land Management Grant supports ongoing Operation, Maintenance, and Management ( OMM ) to care for lands that were previously acquired with financial assistance from the Land Conservation Fund (“conserved properties”).

The OMM Grant is available only for owners of such lands, and helps cover costs that are necessary to protect, maintain, and restore resources at risk and that provide for greater public access and enjoyment of a conserved property. An Applicant may combine management of related properties into a single application; however, the grant amount will remain limited to the amount prescribed, per application, in a particular grant cycle.

What we look for in LLCP properties Section 173A-5(g), Hawaii Revised Statutes, authorizes LLCP to spend public funds for nine resource value preservation purposes. A successful application for a land acquisition grant explains the site-specific nature and value of each applicable preservation purpose and the proposed context for future resource management.

Coastal areas, beaches, and ocean access Cultural and historical sites Recreational and public hunting areas Open spaces and scenic resources View the full-size valued resources figure Chapter 173A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is available on the Hawaii State Capitol website .

2026 Awards for Land Acquisition Grants Read the news release about the 2026 Land Acquisition Grant awards Upcoming Events and Related News No upcoming events scheduled. Join our mailing list to hear about LLCP opportunities (including grant application schedules), Commission meetings, legislative proposals that may affect the program, program accomplishments, and more!

Please Contact Legacy Land Staff for Program Assistance Forestry & Wildlife: By Program Forestry & Wildlife: By Island