Aloha Kakou,
I am writing about the wetland pond and National Refuge habitat at Kanaha in Kahului. I am a nature lover and a full time student at University of Hawaii (outreach Maui) focus on Hawaiian Studies and Environmental Studies. I am extremely concerned about what is happening at Kanaha Pond and the surrounding wetland. Basically to sum up the situation, the wetland has a lot of history; Legend tells how this was a wetland turned into two royal fishponds built by King Kapi’ioho’okalani of Maui in the early 1700s to fatten up fish such as mullet for eating when there was a kapu on fishing during the breeding months. The legend says that the stones to build the ponds were passed hand to hand for a distance of a half mile or more. Later Kamehameha named the ponds Kanaha and Mauoni after King Kapi’ioho’olani’s son and daughter. These two ponds produced huge quantities of mullet until the early 1900s and then in 1910 the harbor was dredged and Mauoni Pond was filled in and is now covered by oil storage containers. Back in the day this area was clean water, fed by springs and had an ebb and flow to the ocean. The dredging ruined the natural environment and created a lot of problems such as the water flow, and funky polluted water which made it unsuitable for fish production and that just phased out. The land changed hands several times before being designated as a National Bird Sanctuary and Refuge.
After doing some research and reading I became aware of some inconsistencies and conflicting information that just does not add up especially in relation to what is happening now and the fixing of the water pump that helps to maintain present water quality and levels in the pond. The pump completely gave out during the tsunami in March 2011. So now the pond is drying up and a stinky mess. There are over 90 species of birds that frequent and live in the area and it is a major habitat for three endangered and endemic species of birds to Hawaii; The Hawaiian stilt, Coot, and Duck, as well as the sphinx moth. The pond also is where the prized Makaloa Sedge used in weaving of fine mats grows.
So from what I can understand, the area has been approved to build a six story medical plaza along Hana Highway and the boarder including one acre of the pond land. How this was approved is shady because for one thing we the public have not been able to way in and the land is held in public trust so we should have some say about this area and what is happening. In my opinion it gets funky in the process because the information is conflicting as to who is responsible for number one fixing the pump to the pond and number two who is giving permission to build the medical plaza and three the future of the pond in relation to the environment, the endangered species and hello it is already a protected bird refuge and sanctuary. I drive past every day and do not see proper care or protection being observed by those in charge of management. After doing my research it just seems like the red tape is everywhere and agencies are passing the buck and making excuses that have no merit whatsoever. For instance, according to the Maui News, the Federal Aviation Administration wants fewer birds - to reduce the chance of birds damaging the engines of jets that fly in and out of Kahului Airport. But when I was doing research I came across this article which is talking about the same thing back in 1971 where two studies found that the birds at Kanaha Pond do not pose a threat and actually fly too low to be in the path of the planes. It is important to understand that the FAA and the Dept. of Transportation have ultimate authority and control of the area even though the Dept. of Forestry and Wildlife is in charge of managing the sanctuary and of fixing the broken pump.
I took this out of the above link….you should read the entire link.
“At this time the Department of Land and Natural Resources was required to request permission from the Department of Transportation to allow improvements of the sanctuary. The pond and surrounding area had been set aside for public recreation and wildlife purposes under a revocable permit issued by the Hawaii Department of Transportation in accordance with terms of the deed. Under the terms of the deed if the land was to be used for any purpose other than airport business, it would need to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA turned down the request, under the grounds that flying birds may be a hazard to aircraft. After two independent research projects, which showed that birds visiting the pond do not fly high enough to affect the airport, permission was eventually granted. In 1973 an agreement was signed that would allow construction of protective moats and nesting places, improvement of observation shelters and occasional dredging to eliminate the summer-time smells.”
So I could go on and on about this but, I am truly disgusted with the information that I have uncovered. How about the six story building being too high for the planes to land? These people making and granting permits are not adding up. I put in one link to a surfer who wrote a letter to the editor (Maui News) because although he mentions nothing of the endangered species and the environment surrounding the ponds he does talk about public rights, the process of the permit for the medical plaza and his main gripe is that the view in Kahului will be ruined forever and I thought this is another way to look at what is happening to our ‘aina. It’s bogus all around and the bottom line seems to be that even laws protecting our endangered species and ecosystems don’t hold up for the government and the FAA, they just do what they want.
Annjulie Vai
Permit granted for medical plaza
Maui news and Fern Duvall
Mana’o from Skippy Hau
Scroll down past the surf clips and there is a letter to the editor Maui News.http://mauisurfreport.blogspot.com/2011/08/do-you-like-barrels.html
