FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods Completes Feasibility Study for Climate Action Reserve and American Carbon Registry Carbon Offset Generation

Paauilo, Hawaii, March 15, 2012 - Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods (HLH) today announced the completion of an independent feasibility study to assess the economic viability of afforestation carbon offsets using a native tree species (Acacia koa).   The model was tested using both the Climate Action Reserve (CAR) and American Carbon Registry (ACR) carbon offset protocols. The assessment reveals that mid-size to smaller scale private landowners do indeed have options to generate carbon offset projects that are commercially viable. Under the HLH proprietary business model, private land owners can choose to work under two prominent offset standards in both the compliance and voluntary carbon markets to deploy reforestation techniques that restore degraded land.

Up until now, afforestation projects in the United States have been ruled out as a cost effective way to generate carbon offsets. This assessment of the HLH silviculture model serves as a proof of concept for privately owned land in Hawaii. Family landowners can now monetize additional revenue streams beyond traditional timber markets without having to subdivide their land for commercial development. "For the first time, we illustrate that landowners can leverage carbon finance to permanently restore native species throughout the Hawaiian Islands," said Darrell Fox HLH COO.

"The timing of this report is auspicious, coming on the heels of the APEC Summit in Honolulu. Many of the nations that attended have island or coastal populations that are vulnerable to any increase in sea level. They have deeply felt concerns about the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and the impact they may have on climate and sea level," said CEO Jeffrey Dunster.

Click here to read the full press release:

http://www.hawaiianlegacyhardwoods.com/Feasibility_Study.pdf  

Koa trees in Hawaii, used for furniture and musical instruments, are among the assets allowed in IRAs. 

On March 3, 2012 an article was featured in the Wall Street Journal which spoke about the disillusions with returns on conventional investments, IRA owners are turning to private equity, condominiums, farmland and other alternatives.  Page B-7 begins the article and continues to B10 where we now pick up as follows:

Gary Hutto, a 48-year-old financial planner in Tustin, Calif., has grander dreams for his alternative investment. He has put about 20% of his IRA assets into Koa trees in Hawaii. Koa is an exotic hardwood prized for use in furniture and musical instruments such as guitars.

Mr. Hutto says he learned about the investment from one of his clients. With no payout for eight years, it requires extreme patience, but he is hoping for a return of more than $250,000 on each $7,500 investment for a lot of 100 trees over the deals' 25-year life cycle-an average annual return of about 15%. "Koa wood only grows in Hawaii, and a certain elevation," he says.

Click here to read full article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204571404577253411744719228.html

The Spring planting season is well underway and about 25% of the koa planting is complete. Recent rains have watered in the new seedlings and historical records would indicate that we have at least 6 more weeks of suitable planting weather.

In addition to koa this year we are planting many other species as well. Primary among them, is the Hawaiian Sandalwood (Santalum paniculatum). The Hawaiian name for sandalwood is Iliahi. Sandalwood is a hemi-parasite and must be grown in association with another species that it can draw nutrients from by attaching to their roots. Our plants have been coupled with several native understory plants that at one time thrived on Mauna Kea. The first of these is kukaenene (Coprosma ernodioides). It has a sprawling ground cover type of growth form. It is a favorite food of the nene, the native goose. A brief monograph excerpted from notes provided by the National Park Service appears at the end of this report.

We are collecting seeds from a related plant found in locations throughout our planting site, mountain pilo (Coprosma montana). It will be grown as a nursery partner with sandalwood as well.

Another pairing is with ko'oko'olau (Bidens menziesii). It was widely used for tea by the Hawaiians. It had been a dominant part of the understory in pre-agricultural forests. It is a fine example of adaptive radiation with all of the 19 Hawaiian species of Bidens having a single ancestor.

The final species used in this first sandalwood planting is mohihi (Stenogyne scrophulariodes). This is a native mint that does not have the typical mint smell associated with mainland mint species. The strong scent and taste of most mints is believed to be a defensive strategy that is of little value in an environment to contained no endemic mammalian herbivores.

With the backbone of koa in place we are now free to devote attention to the establishment of the native tree and shrub species that once covered this land. The legacy planting strategy is to plant along gulch margins to recreate natural corridors for Hawaiian birds. By planting both their preferred habitat trees and their preferred forage plants we can create migratory connections between ecosystems that have become isolated due to development and agriculture.

Once again we would like to thank our team for their hard work and support on this challenging but rewarding journey.