While there are more than 150 national forests across the United States, Hawaii is one of a handful of states without one. It’s encouraging then that an advancing bill aims to correct what the measure’s sponsor, Hawaii Congressman Ed Case, calls a “longstanding omission” by initiating a process to identify lands in the islands for inclusion in the National Forest System.

Establishing a national forest here would be an environmental win, given that the system’s core mission is to conserve resources for uses such as watershed and wildlife habitat management — with financial and other help from the federal government.