There is nothing like hands-on work with the land to form a lasting bond with it. And when that land has a uniquely important historical and cultural importance — as with the island of Kahoolawe — the effect is strengthened further.

Testimony in favor of funding for the Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission underscores the case for restoration of this part of Hawaii. The island was devastated, first, by more than a century of ranching activities and then, most grievously, from many years of use as a practice target for Navy bombing raids.

The result was that the island became denuded of vegetation, its topsoil eroded and baked into infertile hardpan, made unapproachable by layers of unexploded ordnance. There have been hard-won advances in the reclamation of the island, thanks to volunteer work the commission directed and now would like to amplify.

This session there is wide support, as there should be, for the agency’s requests that the state provide a more secure revenue stream for the project. Companion bills advancing in the House and Senate initially sought an appropriation of $500,000 for two additional staff and other improvements that would allow for an expansion of the volunteer work.

The precise appropriation almost certainly will be a point of negotiation, because the House has deleted the specific amount for the bill draft sent on to the House Finance Committee.

Regardless, the project does deserve a place in the regular state budget, with a set commitment in general funds.

In addition to staffing, commission Executive Director Michael Nahoopii said the funds would pay for upgrading the base camp, which would allow more volunteers to work safely on each trip.

To grasp the particular significance of this project, it helps look back several decades.

The start of the fight to save Kahoolawe virtually coincided with the birth of the Hawaiian cultural renaissance in the 1970s. The grassroots Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana began occupations of the island and waged a legal battle in federal court.

The court ordered the Navy to produce an environmental impact statement in 1977, and then issued a consent decree: The Navy was compelled to start soil conservation, replanting and goat eradication work.

President George H.W. Bush ordered that the bombing be stopped in 1990; three years later, Congress voted to end the island’s military use and transfer ownership to the state, appropriating $400 million for ordnance removal. The commission assumed custodial oversight.

In 2004, the Navy ended its ordnance clearing, having transferred control of access to the island to the commission. Still, given the history of the island, the Navy could contribute more by finding ways to help the state build capacity for Kahoolawe volunteers. A partnership at some level should continue.

At the first round of hearings, testimony uniformly supported funding, and included anecdotes that were as compelling as Kahoolawe’s historical chronicle. There were stories about how the effort inspired some young volunteers to pursue careers in related fields: One became a marine biologist who hopes to work for the protection of the island’s marine resources.

There is the potential for healing here — not only of the landscape but of a painfully divided community. Despite recent clashes over issues such as the Thirty Meter Telescope and plans for wind turbines, there is broad sympathy for the symbolic place the island occupies in Hawaiian culture.

Restoration of Kahoolawe would be a public good and should be adopted as a state goal. In these fractious times, this accord is welcome, and Legislature should seize on it.