The Friends of Haiku Stairs, the group attempting to block the city’s demolition of the once legally accessible steel steps built along a sheer ridgeline above Kaneohe, isn’t the only entity interested in the Windward Oahu landmark.

Kualoa Ranch Private Nature Reserve also has expressed interest in the World War II-era stairs, though not necessarily for preservation.

Instead, the Haiku Valley stairs — or something remarkably similar — could be installed as a new attraction at the ranch’s sprawling, 4,000-acre property up the coast.

“We think that stairs to the top of a mountain, like the Haiku Stairs, is a great way for adventurous and able people to experience a part of Hawaii that is unique and inspiring, in a time-efficient and relatively safe way,” Kualoa Ranch President John Morgan told the Honolulu Star- Advertiser. “We are interested in evaluating the opportunities of putting stairs on one of the mountains at Kualoa Ranch — the north side of Kaaawa Valley.”

Morgan, whose family for over 150 years has owned what’s become a recreational, agricultural and eco- tourism enterprise where weddings are hosted and movies, like “Jurassic Park,” are filmed, believes the mountainside stairs concept is a perfect fit.

“We are interested in evaluating the opportunities because Kualoa Ranch is already in the outdoor recreation business and believes it may be able to get the necessary permits to construct and install the stairs and operate them profitably with no adverse public impact and have a net positive impact on the natural environment,” he said.

He noted that the mountainside stairs project currently does not involve the city.

“We have not worked with the City and County of Honolulu and have not had any formal discussions about the project,” he said. “We did speak with representatives of the Board of Water Supply — previous owner of the stairs — during the EIS process, about the idea of relocating the stairs to Kualoa Ranch, and made our interest known in some public meetings.”

However, he said discussions did involve the city-hired company tasked with removing the Haiku Stairs.

“Early on, we talked briefly with the Nakoa Cos. about the practicality of relocating the stairs, but have not had any recent conversations with them,” he said.

He added that the profit-making potential for hiking stairs on a mountainside at Kualoa Ranch was not yet known.

“We have not done a thorough revenue analysis,” he said.

Regardless, Morgan said Kualoa Ranch will not start the project until the city removes the Haiku Stairs.

“We will wait and see because we have learned from watching other public issues, like the Natatorium, that it may take decades before things actually happen, and we don’t think there is room in the marketplace for two commercial stair facilities that compete with the numerous and high-quality free hiking trails available to the general public,” he said.

But other discussions over the future of the Haiku Stairs have occurred, he added.

“We did speak with representatives of Friends of Haiku Stairs to evaluate the possibility of running the stairs where they are, a private contractor, but decided it wasn’t worth pursuing,” Morgan said. “We passed on running the stairs where they are because we thought the access issues were too problematic.”

Meanwhile, following denial of a lawsuit filed by the Friends of Haiku Stairs, the future of the stairs remains uncertain.

On Tuesday, 1st Circuit Judge John M. Tonaki granted summary judgment on the city’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

“Basically, the decision was that the judge found that the city does not have to conduct a new environmental impact statement and a new supplemental environmental impact statement,” Tim Vandeveer, an environmental lawyer representing Friends of Haiku Stairs in its suit, previously told the Star-Advertiser, “and that the city did not improperly segment the project, the proposed action, the removal of the stairs.”

The Mayor’s Office also responded, saying the outcome of the case was clear-cut.

“Judge Tonaki, ruling from the bench, disagreed with that argument, found that the city had fully complied with Hawaii’s Environmental Policy Act and granted judgment in favor of the city,” Ian Scheuring, the mayor’s deputy communications director, previously said.

Filed in August, the 50-page lawsuit contended the city had not updated or completed the necessary environmental impact studies required to legally demolish the stairs and had therefore violated basic Hawaii Environmental Protection Act rules.

The city began planning for removal of the stairs in 2021, citing safety concerns, liability costs to the city, trespassing/neighborhood disturbances and invasive species.

Meantime, Vandeveer said Friends of Haiku Stairs will appeal the court’s decision.

Since 2021, Mayor Rick Blangiardi and the City Council have favored a plan to permanently remove the structure, which over the years has switched ownership among the Coast Guard, the Board of Water Supply and ultimately the city.

In 2022 the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation became the new steward of what for years was a legally accessible staircase — known by visitors and locals alike as the Stairway to Heaven, with its spectacular views and unique mountain hiking experience — but which has of late become restricted property.

Demolition of the metal staircase — first built by the Navy as a wooden ladder system for communications equipment access in the 1940s and later replaced by metal stairs with railings that steeply work their way to the top of Haiku Valley and the Koolau mountain range — was to begin at the end of 2022.

Friends has promoted saving the stairs via managed access of the site, which could involve online reservations, fees and even video safety briefings required for viewing before hikers venture up the stairs.

Still, the Blangiardi administration says demolition of the Haiku Stairs — to be done by the Nakoa Cos. Inc. under a $2.34 million contract — will move forward.