Hawaii's largest hula competition is asking everyone to stop picking native forest plants for three years, a hard call for lei makers but a needed break for damaged forests.

• The Merrie Monarch Festival and dozens of kumu hula agreed to stop harvesting ʻōhiʻa lehua, palapalai, and maile from the Big Island.
• Overpicking, trampling, and improper picking by people who don't belong in the forest have pushed these plants into short supply.
• Two recent back-to-back storms already damaged the same forests, making recovery slower.
• The ask is aimed at competition lei, not lei makers who depend on selling them for a living — growers are encouraged to raise their own plants instead.
• The idea draws on kapu, the old Hawaiian rules that closed off natural resources so they could recover.

Outlook: Hula groups will need to find substitutes for competition adornments while the forest rests, and pressure will grow on people to cultivate native plants rather than gather them wild.