The state has closed a $1.2 million deal with Kaneohe Ranch to buy more than 67 acres of hillside property in Kailua.

The deal announced today is part of an effort to preserve natural wetlands. The hillside includes gullies that drain rainwater into the marsh and ocean.

Kaneohe Ranch pledged to sell the land to the state in 2009 and officials have since worked on securing funds. Under the deal, the state will pay $450,000 and a federal program run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will pay $720,000.

Chairman William Aila of the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources says the land is important for public education, recreation, endangered species restoration and watershed protection.