Legislation to study designating Lahaina as National Heritage Area passes out of Energy and Natural Resources Committee

The US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted to advance the Lahaina National Heritage Area Study Act, legislation jointly introduced by US Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and US Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-HI). The bicameral legislation will direct the National Park Service, in coordination with Maui County and other state and local partners, to study the suitability and feasibility of a National Heritage Area designation for Lahaina. The bill now goes to the Senate Floor for consideration.

“Lahaina was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and is home to numerous cultural and historic artifacts,” said Hirono in her remarks during the committee hearing. “The August 2023 wildfires that claimed over 100 lives and destroyed much of the area shed light on how special Lahaina is, not only to the Maui community, but to Hawaiʻi and the nation. A National Heritage Area designation would bring much-needed federal support to the management and educational activities to Lahaina.” 

“The historic, natural, and cultural resources found in Lahaina indeed tell a nationally significant story—a story told nowhere else in our country,” said Hirono. “This legislation will help ensure that story can continue to be told and appreciated for generations to come.”

The National Park Service currently oversees 62 National Heritage Areas across the country, none of which are in Hawaiʻi. In 2022, the House passed Senator Hirono’s Kaʻena Point National Heritage Area Act to study designating Kaʻena Point on Oʻahu as a National Heritage Area.

Hirono first introduced the Lahaina National Heritage Area Study Act in May of this year. Before it was advanced out of the ENR Committee, the bill was amended to include Maui County in the group of partners listed in Section 3. The original full text of the legislation is available here.