The Big Island's Three Mountain Alliance has been awarded a Partners in Conservation Award by the U.S. Department of the Interior for its work in combating invasive species and in reforestation.

The award recognizes outstanding conservation efforts achieved by partnerships that include government and private agencies.

"At Hawai'i Volcanoes, we can't do it alone," Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park Superintendent Cindy Orlando said in a written statement. "It takes each and every one of us to join together and care for the land, a philosophy epitomized by the Three Mountain Alliance."

The alliance formed in 2008, when members of the 14-year-old 'Ola'a Kilauea Partnership expanded watershed protection and management to more than 1 million acres across the volcanoes of Mauna Loa, Kilauea and Hualalai. It is the largest cooperative land management effort in the state and works to fight invasive species and protect native species across land ownership boundaries.

The partnership has also worked on reforestation of former ranch land at Keauhou and has provided vocational training for inmates at the state's Kulani Correctional Facility as well as educational opportunities for students and teachers.

The 230,000 acres jointly managed by the group includes some of the best quality forest remaining in Hawai'i, with habitat for rare and endangered birds and plants.

Three Mountain Alliance partners include Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, and state departments of Land and Natural Resources and Public Safety, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation and Forest services, the Kamehameha Schools, The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i, the Hawaiian Silversword Foundation and the University of Hawai'i Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit.