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National Park Service (NPS) Ranger Jon Jokiel recently retired from Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park on Hawaiʻi Island, one of three national parks on the west coast of the island that interpret, protect, and preserve Hawaiian sites, culture, and values. We asked him to reflect a bit on his career and on his thoughts about how the park's long partnership with HPPA helped to support the important work of this national historical park. HPPA runs the visitor center park store and also supplies direct aid to the park for programs and projects.

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I grew up in the community of Kaneohe on the island of Oʻahu. My father was a marine biologist and he helped start the University of Hawaiʻi Marine Lab on Coconut Island, so during my childhood I was in the ocean a lot of the time. I was surfing, swimming, diving, and playing with my brothers. I did not think I would specifically be a park ranger someday, but I think I knew I would do something related to protecting and working in an outdoor environment. Then I moved to the Pacific Northwest as an adult and really immersed myself in the outdoors—hiking and exploring the North Cascades and Olympic Mountains. Seeing NPS park rangers out there on the trails really appealed to me, and I admired the work they did helping others protect and interpret the environment.

I did in fact become a National Park Service Ranger, and many years later, at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park, I would often lead interpretive talks and hikes. When I was promoted to a park ranger supervisory role, I coached other rangers on interpretive programs for visitors that celebrated the natural and cultural resources of the park. My favorite program was leading school groups, and occasionally I would help organize programs for universities and other groups who wanted to learn about the park and understand it more deeply. I also organized special educational events such as the annual Children’s Cultural Festival for 300–500 fourth graders, which celebrates the opening of the Makahiki Season in Hawaiʻi every November. In many cases, some programs wouldn’t have happened without the support of HPPA. For example, HPPA provides most of the financial support to host the Hawaiian Children’s Cultural Festival, filling in the funding for what we couldn’t do with shrinking federal funding. They provide staffing and support, then and throughout the year, which allows us to do the best job we can.

One memorable moment that comes to mind is seeing a group of young school kids touching the cold water that seeps out at low tide on the beach at ʻAiʻopio fishtrap, and then explaining to them that it was cold fresh water that flows down through the rock from Hualālai Volcano seemingly far away and above their heads. Their expressions were priceless.

Partnerships between the National Park Service and nonprofits like HPPA play an important role. It’s always been important, and it seems like now more than ever. Most days at the park there were so many things going on that it seemed like everything happened at the same time. There could be a regular scheduled interpretive program, or a group meeting a ranger for an educational program...then the unexpected things would happen like a visitor emergency, which would completely change your focus. Being able to count on HPPA staff in the visitor center park store was so important. Currently with a federal hiring freeze, and government shutdowns coming and going, nonprofits such as HPPA are running essential services by operating the park stores even during closures when rangers are furloughed, and by providing funding support for NPS staff when there are unforeseen shortfalls throughout the year.

Many visitors really connect with the Hawaiian culture as we interpret it at this small coastal park, and that is primarily what the park is about, but that is not always what visitors come to experience and that’s okay. People have varied interests and they don’t always know why they are there, but they see that brown national park sign out on the highway and pull into the visitor center and park store lot with curiosity. As an Interpretive Ranger, I always tried my best to be respectful and not claim I was an expert on Hawaiian culture, even though I grew up here. I did my best to research information and always find good factual sources. When I told stories about Hawaiʻi and the park I tried to provide the good and the bad, and I looked to Hawaiian cultural experts, like Fred Cachola and others who have a long history with the Kaloko and Honokōhau areas.

I’d like to hope that every visitor takes away something from their visit. By that I mean something intangible, an experience, not a rock or a piece of coral! You may never know what the experience was for them, but hopefully it connected them to something meaningful. Maybe they learned something about a sea turtle, or how the lava they see all around them was created. I’d hear visitors tell a friend what they learned from a ranger and I’d always get a kick out of that. I hope that we can all learn from the indigenous Hawaiian perspective and take to heart how to respectfully live in the world. The national parks in Hawaiʻi do such a good job at that, and I hope the National Park Service is still honoring those cultural values 100 years from now.

I would tell brand new park rangers to stay committed to what you really want to do, as working for the government can be a rocky ride with a lot of twists and turns. I believe there will be a lot of opportunity in the future though it may not seem that way now. Focus on your passions and what you love to do. It may work out better than you thought it would. I would certainly say that happened for me.

I wish I’d known 21 years would go so fast!

Learn more about Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park.

Shop to support Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park.

Donate to HPPA to support national parks in Hawaiʻi.

Every holiday season, our online shop hub (based inside Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park) becomes a flurry of activity as people across Hawaiʻi, the U.S., and beyond choose gifts that support the national parks of Hawaiʻi and American Samoa. And behind each order is a real person who cares deeply about where your purchase goes and what it supports. Hi! I’m Kiry Galapir, and I’ve been part of Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association since 2007, joining the HPPA ʻohana just before an eruption of Kīlauea Volcano! Today, I manage the lively world of online orders and our commitment to sustainable packing. When you place an online order, I am the one who makes sure you get your package.

Here’s a peek at how your holiday national parks gifts and other purchases make their way from our warehouse on Hawaiʻi Island to your doorstep:

• Coffee First

Every good packing day begins with a cup of coffee—fuel for the season’s steady stream of thoughtful shoppers.

Read more: Where Gifts Give Back: Behind the Scenes at HPPA’s Online Shop

It’s always fun to talk about bats in October. Here at HPPA, where we love bats, we like to call them “sky puppies”!

Our six partner national park sites in Hawaiʻi are all places where you can try to catch a glimpse of the cute little fuzzball known as the Hawaiian hoary bat. “Hoary” means frosted, like “hoarfrost”, and here it describes a mature bat whose deep, glossy, brown fur is tipped with white. These bats can also have a tan collar and ears, with fancy black ear tips. Their Hawaiian name is ʻōpeʻapeʻa (oh pay uh pay uh) and they are pretty small—only 24 grams when fully grown. That is about the same weight as a AA battery. Their little wingspans max out at just about a foot wide. Small bats like this are called “microbats”.

Because of the difficulty of reaching these remote islands for just about any animal, the ʻōpeʻapeʻa is the only native land mammal in Hawaiʻi, and listed as an endangered species. Most scientists say that it is closely related to the North American hoary bat, and arrived in the islands a ~10,000 years ago, probably pulled along by the winds of a huge storm or series of storms.

Read more: Going To Bat for Bats

Do you know about The National Park of American Samoa? It is not only the most remote national park in the National Park Service system, it’s also located below the equator. What a biodiversity and cultural gem it is!

Rainforest to Reef

This park spans three islands—Tutuila, Taʻū, and Ofu—and protects tropical rainforest as well as some of the most beautiful coral reef you will ever see or experience (if you go, which you should). A kaleidoscope of fluttery, brightly-colored reef fish dances beneath the sea surface. The stunning, extensive reef has over 900 species of fish, and is also famous for its giant clams. Both the endangered hawksbill and the threatened green sea turtle nest on the park’s beaches and forage in its lagoons—hawksbills prefer sea sponges, and green sea turtles prefer algae.

Two different species of flying foxes, also called fruit bats, might soar gracefully overhead if you’re lucky, on their way to the forest to munch on fruit. Called Peʻālofa & Peʻāvao in Samoan, these large fruit bats are the park’s signature species. As the bats move through the forest they, er, distribute the fruit seeds, which makes them a highly valued forest-building critter. Around the HPPA offices we call them “sky puppies.”

Read more: Below the Equator: The Almost-Secret Wonders of the National Park of American Samoa

On Tuesdays on the sunbaked, windswept Kohala coast of Hawaiʻi Island, at Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site, you might hear the low murmur of laughter. Under the lānai (porch, patio) of the visitor center, Ed Dowling is laying out smooth black (lava) and white (coral) pebbles in round little depressions on a gridded board that he may made by hand, himself.

This is kōnane—sometimes casually referred to as “Hawaiian checkers,” though it’s closer in spirit to chess or Go. It’s a traditional game once played by the Hawaiian aliʻi (royal chiefs) to hone their strategic minds (it was also a favorite gambling game). The rules are deceptively simple: leap your opponent’s pieces, one by one, until no moves remain. But what begins as play quickly sharpens into a contest of wits.

Read more: Playing the Game of Hawaiian Royalty: Kōnane with Ed Dowling at Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic...

Melody (Mel) Boehl is the executive director for Hawai‘i Pacific Parks Association (HPPA). She has over thirty years of leadership experience and a Bachelor of Science degree, Magna Cum Laude, in business administration. Mel started her professional career with Big Four public accounting firm KPMG, then moved into leadership roles with the large nonprofits Blue Diamond Growers and Sutter Health. Mel and her husband, Andy, moved to Hawai‘i in 2015, where she joined the HPPA ʻohana as the business director before assuming the executive director position in 2022. We are celebrating her 10th anniversary with HPPA this month.

Read more: From the Heart of HPPA: Executive Director Mel Looks at Leadership

Mary Cockett manages and curates our three Haleakalā National Park visitor center stores, so if you have stopped in to any of them in the Summit or Kīpahulu districts, you have "met" her, in a way. Purchases in our park stores support national park programs and projects. We are fortunate to have had Mary using her talent and skills for HPPA for twenty years this month, July, so we thought we would ask her some questions about her time with us!

Mahalo nui loa, Mary, and thank you for all of the hard work and dedication of the last two decades!

Read more: Mission, Momentum, Mary: Celebrating 20 Years at HPPA

When you visit a national park, as you walk, cycle, or drive through the entrance, do you wonder how that park is funded? Especially if it is not charging an entrance fee? Every year, the U.S. Congress allocates funds to the parks in the federal budget, but that allocation falls short of fully covering the costs of running a national park site. How do parks make up the difference?

Some parks charge visitor fees, camping fees, and tour fees, and that helps. Nonprofit cooperating associations, like HPPA, support parks through visitor center park store sales, donation fundraising, and helping to manage grants from state agencies, foundations, or conservation organizations. Philanthropy and corporate sponsorships are also becoming more common ways to get funding to parks. You may also see concession and commercial services like hotels and lodges, restaurants and tours in the parks. They have contracts with the park and pay franchise fees or a percentage of their revenue to operate within the park boundaries.

Do you wonder how you can best support the parks you love? There are lots of ways, and here are just five of them:

Read more: Support What You Love: Five Easy Actions for Park Supporters