Friends of Queens Beach, Save Sandy Beach, Ka Iwi Coalition.

For decades these and other community groups have been battling developers in an effort to preserve the wild and stunning Ka Iwi Coast.

Now a final campaign to save the last threatened undeveloped properties along the East Oahu coast between Hanauma Bay and Makapuu is coming down to the wire.

The Trust for Public Lands and the Ka Iwi Coalition, under the nonprofit Livable Hawaii Kai Hui, have less than three weeks to raise about $149,000 to buy the mauka properties in order to keep the area open and free of development.

“It’s decades in the making, and it’s only ($149,000) left to go,” Elizabeth Reilly, president of the Livable Hawaii Kai Hui, said. “We’re completing the work started 40 years ago to make a continuous stretch of wild beauty from mountain to sea, mauka to makai.”

The mauka land — two parcels between the Hawaii Kai Golf Course and Makapuu, above Alan Davis Beach — have been the target of various development proposals over the years.  

But the 182 acres became available after mainland landowners fell into bankruptcy, and in June the Trust for Public Land was able to obtain a contract with the court receiver to buy the parcels for $4 million.

The Ka Iwi Coalition and the Trust for Public Land secured $1 million from the state Legacy Land Conservation Program and $2.5 million from Honolulu’s Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund.

That left a balance $500,000 — most of which has been raised in one final push to the finish.

But the job is far from over. An Aug. 30 deadline looms, and only 70 percent of the balance has been raised.

What’s more, officials said there’s a backup buyer in line to scoop up the land if the effort fails.

“It’s a now-or-never opportunity. There’s a real urgency,” Reilly said.

If the $4 million is secured, the Trust for Public Land will purchase the parcels and transfer them to Livable Hawaii Kai Hui to care for under a city conservation easement and deed restrictions imposed by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

The move would ensure the preservation of the sweeping views across seven miles of rugged coastal region between Portlock and Waimanalo, including the area known as the Ka Iwi Scenic Shoreline. The area encompasses Hanauma Bay, Koko Crater, Halona Blowhole, Sandy Beach and Makapuu.

The effort will also protect a treasure trove of ancient Hawaiian cultural sites, including numerous traditional Hawaiian walls and enclosures, and pohaku lele (balancing stones).

“It’s totally amazing,” said Ann Marie Kirk, a Livable Hawaii Kai Hui board member who is part of the group’s cultural committee. “The land is culturally rich and continues to reveal itself. And it’s fascinating. Whenever we go up there I get chicken skin.”

Laura Kaakua, native-lands project manager with the Trust for Public Land, said that when the Livable Hawaii Kai Hui approached her organization about helping to obtain the land, she was more than happy to lend a hand. After all, her family is from Waimanalo, and she is well aware of the beauty of the area.

“But when I walked the property and saw all the ancient cultural sites, I said we have to completely commit,” she recalled. “There are so many sites and they’re all undocumented. It worries me. It worries me that in someone else’s eyes they will be viewed as not important.”

The Ka Iwi Coalition plans to create a stewardship plan and to commission a cultural plan with a full assessment of the archaeology of the rolling mauka land, while helping to manage community access and provide educational programs to perpetuate cultural knowledge.

Reilly said the project has connected with the community — and sometimes in unexpected ways.

During a recent sign-waving effort along Kalanianaole Highway, two cars stopped, and one person got out to learn more about the effort.

It was a family driving home to Waimanalo. One thing led to another, and now a group of families and neighbors, calling themselves Na Kua‘aina‘o Waimanalo, is sponsoring a Ka Iwi Coast fundraiser.

The Aug. 20 event will be from 5:30 to 10 p.m. at Olomana Golf Course and will feature entertainment from the group Maunalua and others. There will also be a silent auction and door prizes. Donation is $25. Call Kari Kalima for information at 722-6642.

Another fundraiser is being planned at Bubbies Homemade Ice Cream & Desserts in the Koko Marina Shopping Center on Tuesday evening.

Reilly said it’s do-or-die time for the Ka Iwi fundraising, and she’s planning to accelerate her efforts, including calling twice as many people each day and asking donors to give again.

“It’s definitely crunch time,” Kaakua said.

If the funds aren’t raised in time, the Trust for Public Land is looking at backup strategies, including taking out a loan to allow the nonprofit to buy the property and hold it until all funds can be raised.

But that’s far from ideal, Kaakua said, because even more money would have to be raised to pay the interest on that loan, about $87,000 for an additional year.

“We would much rather close the deal and focus on stewardship,” she said.

For information or to make a donation, go to kaiwicoast.com.