Restoring Ecosystems and Rejuvenating Native Hawaiian Traditions in Maui

In partnership with NOAA, the Hawaiʻi Land Trust (HILT) is restoring ecosystems and reestablishing Native Hawaiian connections to the land on Waiheʻe Coastal Dunes and Wetlands Refuge on Maui. NOAA's Office of Habitat Conservationawarded the Trust $804,000 through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Actfor this project.

For 400 years, Native Hawaiians maintained a loko iʻa kalo, a fishpond used to raise both fish and taro. Research suggests it may have produced up to 300 pounds of fish per acre and 12,000 pounds of taro, a culturally important root vegetable. This Native Hawaiian practice helped to create an estuary that provided a home for rare birds and nursery grounds for marine fish. It also absorbed much of the sediment flowing downhill from the mountains, protecting coral reefs offshore. Working in remarkable symmetry with nature, Native Hawaiians' traditional mauka-to-makai (mountain-to-sea) land management techniques ensured the health of the environment and the people who depended on it.

Over the last century, Native Hawaiians lost possession of much of their lands. At Waiheʻe, newcomers drained the estuary, diverted the water to sugarcane and pineapple plantations, and converted the wetlands to a dairy farm. Invasive plants and aggressive grasses imported for grazing cattle crowded out native species.

However, in the last few decades, Hawaiʻi conservationists have returned to ancient practices to help restore healthy ecosystems. HILT, members from the Waiheʻe and Waiehu communities, and other volunteers are working together. They are restoring water flow to the refuge, removing invasive species, and restoring a loko iʻa kalo using ʻike kūpuna, ancestral knowledge. The fish and taro harvested from the completed pond will benefit the community.

NOAA funds are supporting:

• Design work, permitting, and construction of a water channel from the Waiheʻe River to restore water flow to the refuge's Kapoho wetlands
• Collaboration with local farmers to clear out vegetation and improve water flow to the land above the refuge
• Staff salaries and a new ecological restoration specialist position
• Community outreach and educational programming for children and adults

Additional funding sources will cover the completion of the fishpond.

HILT leadership hopes involving local people in the restoration process through paid jobs, volunteer work, and educational programs will instill a sense of Aloha ʻĀina (love of the land).

"Our focus is to connect people in place," says ʻOlu Campbell, president and CEO of HILT. "We believe that a beneficial, reciprocal relationship between our people and our place creates a solid foundation for a thriving community. When our land is healthy, our people are fed; when our ʻāina can provide for our people, they desire and are more capable of giving back to that place."

Restoring the Watershed

HILT acquired the property 20 years ago, protecting it from developers who wanted to turn it into a luxury golf resort. Staff and thousands of volunteers worked to remove a tangled thicket of invasive species and plant native trees.

Dr. Scott Fisher, HILT's director of ʻĀina stewardship, conducted core sampling and archeological research to determine how the site might have functioned before colonization. He found ancient pollen inside the preserved claws of an extinct crab species. These tiny time capsules helped inform which native species to plant-species more likely to limit sedimentation and climate change impacts.

Following a 20-year-old legal battle that began in 2004, community groups successfully won the right to restore stream flows in four Maui rivers, including Waiheʻe river.

This legal victory was a significant step toward restoring native ecosystems and reenabling traditional farming practices. A portion of the water, previously allocated to a sugarcane plantation, will eventually be redirected to the refuge. This will allow it to once again nourish taro fields and a fishpond.

"When you live on an island, fresh water is the key to life in so many ways," says Campbell. "In the Hawaiian language, wai means fresh water, and waiwai means wealth-the two are equivalent in Hawaiʻi."

With NOAA funds, HILT is designing and building an ʻauwai (aqueduct) from the Waiheʻe River, which will follow the path of a 15th-century ʻauwai. It will fill the Kapoho wetlands and feed the fishpond and taro fields before flowing out to sea.

HILT's restoration efforts extend beyond the refuge property. They are working to restore and improve water flow to the land above the refuge, a crucial aspect of the mauka-to-makai management. This involves collaborating with farmers upstream to remove invasive species, clear out clogged waterways, and repair damaged water channels. The work will reduce sedimentation and improve water flow to the refuge and the farmers' taro patches.

When complete, the water channel will fill the loko iʻa kalo. Freshwater will enter on one side of the pond, feeding the taro plants. On the other side, seawater will mix with fresh water, creating brackish conditions ideal for rearing marine fish. In addition to growing food, the pond will act as a sediment retention basin. According to one study, taro fields may capture up to 90 percent of the sediment generated upland, keeping soil and runoff from entering the marine ecosystem.

Fostering Aloha ʻĀina-a Love of the Land

For the last 3 years, HILT Land Steward and Educator Kiaʻi Collier and community members have been learning the traditional art of uhau humu pōhaku, dry-stack masonry, to rebuild the fishpond walls. They are unearthing stones from the historic fishpond and stacking them without mortar or concrete. Friction alone holds the stones in place.

"Now I have seven leaders in the group who have the skills in traditional dry stacking," says Collier. "The idea is that they can work on fish ponds elsewhere. We are motivated by how this work benefits the community. We want to pass this on to our children. It's a generational gift."

HILT engages other community members through volunteer events, guided hikes, and school visits. "This summer, we hosted the Hui Mālama Loko Iʻa fishpond conference where a thousand feet of fishpond wall was built in one day," says Denby Freeland, Director of ʻĀina Education. "A boys and girls club, a nearby school, and other groups helped move rocks and set them up for the builders."

More than 3,000 students participate yearly in ʻāina, or land-based, education at Waiheʻe Refuge. Freeland works with teachers to develop lessons about history, geology, native Hawaiian plants and animals, and climate change, incorporating traditional Hawaiian practices and beliefs. For example, geology students might visit the ancient dunes at the refuge and learn the scientific explanation for how they were formed. They would also hear the Hawaiian legend about the goddess Haumea, who created the dunes.

HILT staff find that the land has become a sanctuary for people who have experienced historic trauma and the recent COVID pandemic and Maui fires.

"It is fulfilling to help people come to an understanding of being connected to a space and trying to embody Aloha ʻĀina," says Collier. "Our work creates a space where people feel welcome, find purpose, and can help or just relax and enjoy the beauty."

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.