Who owns Molokai?
Molokai is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length and width with a usable land area of 260 sq mi (673.40 km2), making it the…
Molokai is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length and width with a usable land area of 260 sq mi (673.40 km2), making it the fifth-largest in size of the main Hawaiian Islands and the 27th-largest island in the United States.
Who owns Molokai?
When the U.S. overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, both the state of Hawaii and the federal government divided much of the land. Nearly one-third million acres are for national parks in Hawaii and the military. That includes 400k acres of Volcanoes National Park on the BI, 30k acres for Maui’s Haleakala National Park, and more than 60k acres for Oahu’s military locations.
The island’s agrarian economy has been driven primarily by cattle ranching, pineapple production, sugarcane production, and small-scale farming. Tourism comprises a small fraction of the island’s economy, and much of the infrastructure related to tourism was closed and barricaded in the early 2000s when the primary landowner, Molokai Ranch, ceased operations due to substantial revenue losses. Nearly 85 percent of Molokai is controlled by seven owners, all but one of them headquartered off-island.
