The Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission has launched a 14-month campaign to restore the Hakioawa Watershed and protect the island’s windward nearshore waters and reefs.
The $80,000 project is being funded by federal Environmental Protection Agency money that was awarded to the commission in a grant by the state Department of Health Clean Water Branch.
“This helps support our continuing goal of healing Kahoolawe’s environmental degradation and protect this treasured place for future generations,” said Michael Naho‘opi‘i, the commission’s executive director.
The degradation of Kahoolawe comes from being ravaged by wild goats for 200 years as well as from being the home of a ranch for sheep and cattle from 1858 to 1941. When World War II broke out, it became a bombing range for the Navy and its allies until 1990.
The Navy conducted a 10-year, $4,000,000 cleanup campaign that ended in 2004, but only 75% of the island’s surface was cleared of unexploded ordnance and only 10%, or 2,647 acres, was cleared to a depth of 4 feet.
About 45 square miles in size and 7 miles southwest of Maui, Kahoolawe is in the rain shadow of Haleakala. While it receives relatively little rainfall, it once had a thriving native dryland forest.
Hakioawa, the closest point to Maui, was once the historical center of the island and is home to many archaeological artifacts.
It is on the windward side of the island and often sees precipitation when the leeward sides don’t, which makes it especially susceptible to erosion. Indeed, major storms are known to turn the nearshore waters brown, with the mud smothering some of the island’s best reefs.
Naho‘opi‘i said the commission identified the area as a priority for restoration several years ago, and the grant money will continue the work on the eroded slopes above Hakioawa and allow for the hiring of an additional staff member who will oversee the project.
“It really helps us at this time,” he said of the grant money. Budget cuts, he said, have affected the agency’s bottom line and resulted in vacant positions being taken away.
The overall goal of the project is to improve coastal water quality by reducing erosion through the removal of invasive alien plant species and the reintroduction of native seedlings.
Over the next year or so, 50 volunteers will contribute 4,000 hours to reintroduce 5,000 native plants above Hakioawa.
Twenty new soil erosion control devices — check dams and wattles — will also be built, along with inspecting and repairing older devices as needed.
Much of the watershed area has been only surface-cleared of ordnance, which makes it too dangerous to dig a hole to plant.
How do you plant a seedling when you can’t make any holes in the ground?
You get innovative and plant on top of the ground with rock mounds, rock rows and burlap “burritos” that capture the dust from the wind and mud from the runoff.
“They’re like mini garden beds,” said Maggie Pulver, KIRC’s public information specialist.
Some 40 native dryland forest plant species have been used in the restoration of the fragile ecosystem on Kahoolawe over the past 20 years, she said.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency is accepting only volunteers who can travel to the island from Maui. Volunteers pay $200 for four days on the island and the privilege of being able to help heal the land.
