Hawaii department of land and natural resources, division of forestry and wildlife (dofaw), is proposing a two year (2023 2025) shovel readyproject to restore 22 acres of intertidal estuarine wetlands…

Hawaii department of land and natural resources, division of forestry and wildlife (dofaw), is proposing a two year (2023 2025) shovel readyproject to restore 22 acres of intertidal estuarine wetlands in the hule IA river estuary, located within the nawiliwili BAY watershed on the island ofkaua'i. The lower watershed contains important estuarine wetlands, habitat for highly endangered native waterbirds, migratory birds, bats, andaquatic species, as well as significant cultural resources including alakoko fishpond, a 600 year old loko i'a kuapa (brackish water fishpond).the proposed project will focus on recreating the hydrological and vegetation functions necessary for native birds and diadromous and estuarinefish to thrive. This is the second phase of an overarching goal to eradicate invasive red mangrove (rhizophora mangle) within the entire hule'iariver watershed. IT is located on the boundary between the fishpond (phase i) and the hule IA national wildlife refuge (NWR), immediatelyadjacent to the first phase and leverages the previous work done under a national coastal wetland conservation grant (ncwcg). The first phasesuccessfully accomplished removal of 26 acres of highly invasive mangrove and establishment of 14 acres of native coastal wetland vegetationresulting in restored wetland function and habitat for four endangered waterbirds. The proposed project area land ownership comprises 17 acresbelonging to the NWR, and 5 acres owned by a community based nonprofit organization, malama hule IA (MH).MH, the sub recipient, if awarded, has garnered overwhelming community support with more than 5,000 volunteers and many conservationagencies contributing to the successful restoration at the adjacent fishpond. Phase i was completed in 2021 accomplishing all goals in a timelymanner. This project (phase II) will continue the efforts to restore native habitats to support a healthy and thriving coastal wetland ecosystem.because of the community, local, state and federal partner support, malama hule IA was able to purchase the fishpond property in 2021 forpreservation in perpetuity. The NWR has issued a special use permit to MH to continue restoration and stewardship efforts on their property. Mhhas the capacity, record, and desire to commit to long term ecosystem management, including monitoring and maintenance of the site to eliminatethe invasive species and promote the successful recruitment of native species for both phase i and II project areas. Together phase i (38 ) andphase II (21 ) accomplish 59 of the overarching goal to eradicate invasive mangrove from the entire watershed and result in 36 acres ofrestored estuarine wetlands. Dofaw and MH are already working on another funding proposal for phase three, to address the remaining 41 through a statewide mangrove removal initiative.