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January 28, 2026 County of Hawai'i Property Management—PONC 25 Aupuni Street, Suite 1101 Hilo, Hawai'i 96720-4252 Re: Strong support for protection of the Hilea Property, comprised of approximately 1,916 acres, TMK:(3)9-5-018-001, Ka'u,Hawaii Island,Hawai'i (H7ea PONC Application) Aloha PONC Commissioners: MJ Ranch is pleased to provide strong support for the HTlea Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resource Preservation Commission application submitted by The Nature Conservancy Hawai'i and Palmyra ("TNC"). The property is located in the HTlea Nui Ahupua'a and HTlea Iki Ahupua'a of the Ka'u moku on Hawai'i Island,(the "HTlea Property").The Hilea Property consists of 1,916 acres of ecologically and culturally important land that is cherished by the local community and threatened by development. The Pakua pu'u on the property contains approximately 340 acres of high-quality native '6hia and uluhe fern forest that is habitat for several listed species(e.g., native honeycreepers and Hawaiian Hoary bat) and home to numerous native plants.The forest is well-preserved due to the steep terrain of Pakua.Cattle are fenced out of the forested areas and graze the surrounding high-quality agricultural lands.The HTlea Property is adjacent to other protected lands—the TNC Ka'u Preserve and the State of Hawai'i Ka'u Forest Reserve. Kohaikalani Heiau,which is located on the southern edge of the plateau on the summit of Makanau, has great significance in Hawaiian history and its preservation is extremely important to the people of Ka'u. TNC nominated these parcels for PONC to ensure that they are protected into the future, and so that the conservation lands remain in conservation,and agricultural lands remain in agriculture.The call for preservation of these specific lands is documented in the Ka'u community development plan's action plan under section 4.2"Expand the local system of preserves." MJ Ranch believes TNC is a suitable land trust to own and steward the Hilea Property because it has an excellent reputation as a land steward within the Ka'u community, has the skills and resources necessary to manage the HTlea Property as an addition to its Ka'u Preserve, and would develop a management plan for the property. In conclusion, MJ Ranch strongly supports the HTlea Legacy Land and PONC application submitted by TNC for protection of the HTlea Property in perpetuity. Sincerely, Walter D. Andrade, Own r of MJ Ranch 1