The August 2023 wildfires that devastated Lahaina, Maui, may lead to it becoming a National Heritage Area designation.

This month the U.S. House and Senate passed the Lahaina National Heritage Area Study Act. If signed into law by President Joe Biden, the act calls for a study to weigh the suitability and feasibility of the idea.

National Heritage Areas are places where historic, cultural, and natural resources “combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes,” according to the National Park Service. “Unlike national parks, National Heritage Areas are large lived-in landscapes.”

The NPS oversees 62 heritage areas, none of which are in Hawai‘i.

My bill w/ @RepJillTokuda to study designating Lahaina as a National Heritage Area is headed to @POTUS to be signed into law!

There are 62 National Heritage Areas nationwide, none of which are in Hawaii. It is fitting that Lahaina is under consideration to be one of our first. pic.twitter.com/kI9lv8IqGn

— Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) December 17, 2024

The act was introduced by Hawai‘i Sen. Mazie Hirono and House Rep. Jill Tokuda and co-sponsored by Rep. Ed Case.

Hirono said in a press release that the fires “shed light on how special this town is, not only to the Maui community, but also to Hawaiʻi and the country.”

The historic, natural and cultural resources found in Lahaina, she added, “tell a nationally significant story” and the bill will help ensure that story can continue “to be told and appreciated for generations to come.”

Tokuda said the act is about “grounding Lahaina’s rebirth and rebuilding” in the history, culture and tradition of the ahupuaʻa (land division) that was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.

If approved, the legislation would direct the NPS to work in coordination with Maui County and other state and local partners.

The first National Heritage Area, Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Area, was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1984.