The Other "Forbidden Island"

Kahoo'lawe, located just south of Mau'i and southeast of Lana'i, is the smallest of the 8 major Hawaiian Islands. After originally being settled around the year 1000, by the late 1700s it had turned into a barren wasteland that was eventually used as a Hawaiian penal colony. Later it was used for cattle ranching.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor the island was taken over and used by the US military for decades as a bombing and artillery range, but control of the island was turned over to the State in 2003. There's still a lot of work to do (cleaning up unexploded ordinance, mainly) but eventually the isle will become a destination for Hawaiian culture.

So far some of the island has been replanted with native species, but a lot of the land is hardpan so cannot be restored. Invasive species are also being removed.

More on what is happening on the island is here-warning, some of the links are restricted.

http://www.kahoolawe.hawaii.gov/restoration.shtml