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Help support clean ocean water and healthy coral reefs at benefit for Maui Nui Marine Resource Council at Flatbread Company on November 23

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PAIA, HI — Enjoy some exceptionally delicious wood-fired pizza and support efforts to protect Maui’s coral reefs at a Benefit Night for the nonprofit Maui Nui Marine Resource Council at Flatbread Company in Paia on Tuesday, November 23.

All pizzas purchased between 5 pm and 9 pm that day will help raise needed funds for Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s work to restore healthy coral reefs, clean ocean water and abundant native fish to the islands of Maui County. The Flatbread Company will donate $3.50 for each large flatbread and $1.75 for each small flatbread sold during the benefit, whether the pizza is for takeout or in-restaurant dining. The Flatbread Company is located at 89 Hana Highway in Paia.

Maui Nui Marine Resource Council is a nonprofit organization celebrating 14 years of working with the local community to create culturally appropriate, effective science-based solutions to serious local threats facing our reefs. Projects include:

• Ocean water quality monitoring at 29 Maui beaches through the community-based program Hui O Ka Wai Ola
• Improving ocean water quality in Māʻalaea Bay by using caged oysters to filter sediment and other pollutants from the ocean water
• Preventing sediment and pollution runoff from Pohakea watershed into Māʻalaea Bay
• Educating visitors about protecting coral reefs by using only mineral-based sunscreens, avoiding walking or standing on corals, and keeping snorkel fins up and away from the reef while snorkeling
• Promoting reef friendly landscaping that avoids the use of reef-harming herbicides and pesticides

“We recognize that Tuesday evening will be a time when folks are preparing for their Thanksgiving feasts, so why not take a break from cooking dinner by ordering a delicious wood-fired Flatbread pizza — and experience the added satisfaction of helping to raise funds to protect Mauiʻs coastal waters and coral reefs,”  said Anne Rillero, Communication, Community Outreach and Development Manager at Maui Nui Marine Resource Council. “Each pizza sold during this benefit night will make a difference — whether you choose to dine at the Flatbread Company restaurant or take the pizza home.”

To learn more about Maui Nui Marine Resource Council, visit www.mauireefs.org.

Jill Wirt Joins Maui Nui Marine Resource Council as Project and Research Coordinator

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Robin Newbold, Board Chair and co-founder of Maui Nui Marine Resource Council (MNMRC), has announced that Jill Wirt has joined MNMRC’s staff as Project and Research Coordinator.

Wirt holds a masters degree specializing in coastal and marine resource management from the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management – University of California, Santa Barbara. She obtained her bachelor’s degree at San Diego State University in Environmental Sciences.

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While pursuing her masters degree, Wirt worked for Maui Nui Marine Resource Council as a Communication & Programs Assistant, where she coordinated with resort properties to arrange for the installation of the “Protect Maui’s Coral Reefs” informational signs, now located at 39 Maui shoreline locations. She also led marine debris educational programs. Wirt has also worked as a naturalist with Pacific Whale Foundation, The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara, and The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua. She was the co-investigator for a NOAA Marine Debris Grant awarded to Pacific Whale Foundation, and was the social media coordinator for Skyline Eco-Adventures on Maui. After completing her masters, Wirt was an Eco-Entrepreneurship Fellow through the Bren School, where she laid the foundation to start her own nonprofit, Bringing Young Women to the Ocean, to engage and encourage young women to pursue marine science and other STEM fields through camps and mentor programs.

Wirt will be managing Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s “Reef Friendly Landscaping” project, which is working in South Maui to encourage resorts, hotels, golf courses, businesses and homeowners to move away from synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides that are causing harm to Maui’s nearshore coral reefs and populations of native fish and marine wildlife. The program offers “Reef Friendly Landscaping” certification to businesses, with complimentary consulting by a local organic landscaping expert to help properties move toward safer land care practices.

Wirt will also assist with field monitoring of Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s Oyster Bioremediation Project in Må’alaea Bay, a vetiver-planting effort planned for this fall in Pohakea Watershed, along with grant writing and grant management. As part of Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s ongoing support of the Maui Nui Makai Network, a network of community and partner groups that care for ecosystems on which Hawai’i’s people depend, Wirt will provide assistance with their social media and outreach.

“We are delighted to have Jill join our team, with her passion for protecting the marine environment and her experience in helping to enact conservation and educational programs,” says Newbold. “She will be a tremendous asset to our small, hard-working community-based organization, where we rely upon each of our staff to bring their talents, determination and unwavering commitment to the important work we do to protect Maui’s coral reefs, nearshore ocean waters and native fish populations.”

To learn more about Maui Nui Marine Resource Council, please visit www.mauireefs.org.

Free Presentation “Saving a Species: “Rehabilitation as a Conservation Tool for Hawaiian Monk Seals” Offered on Weds., Aug. 4

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Hawaiian monk seals are endangered, with fewer than 1,400 animals left on earth — yet they have recently been in the news, as videos and photos have surfaced showing the seals falling victim to harassment by visitors who get too close or attempt to touch them, sometimes for social media content. Learn more about Hawaiian monk seals at a free presentation called “Saving a Species: Rehabilitation as a Conservation Tool for Hawaiian Monk Seals” on Wednesday, August 4 at 5:30 pm HST via Zoom where two special guests from The Marine Mammal Center’s dedicated hospital for monk seals, Ke Kai Ola, on Hawai’i Island will highlight their conservation and outreach work.

The Center’s Lauren Van Heukelem, Response and Operations Coordinator, and Dr. Sophie Whoriskey, Hawaiian Monk Seal Conservation Veterinarian, will speak at this event, part of the “Know Your Ocean Speaker Series” which is hosted every month by Maui Nui Marine Resource Council.

Researchers estimate that about 30 percent of Hawaiian monk seals are alive today due to conservation efforts led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and partners like the Center. The mission of The Marine Mammal Center focuses on global ocean conservation through rescue and rehabilitation, scientific research, and education.

Reserve a spot at the free presentation by visiting https://www.bitly.com/monksealwebinar

“We are hosting this special presentation with the awareness that public education is needed to help protect our Hawaiian monk seals from harassment or injury,” says Anne Rillero, Communications Manager at Maui Nui Marine Resource Council. “These animals are among the most endangered seals on earth.”

Dr. Whoriskey received her bachelor’s degree from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, and her veterinary medical degree from the Atlantic Veterinary College. She first came to The Marine Mammal Center in 2015 as the intern veterinarian in marine mammal medicine and pathology where she spent two years training with marine mammal medicine experts.

In 2020, she returned to the Center as a full-time Hawaiian Monk Seal Conservation Veterinarian. She leads the Center’s Hawaiʻi animal care operations, dedicated to the rehabilitation, conservation and research of the endangered Hawaiian monk seal.

Whoriskey has extensive field experience in remote and harsh environments and has participated in research projects from Alaska to Antarctica, all with a mission of advancing the global body of knowledge on marine mammal health.

Born and raised in Hawaiʻi, Van Heukelem received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in Marine Biology. She has participated in many research studies both in Hawaiʻi and the Northern Mariana Islands on various topics.

As the Response and Operations Coordinator, Van Heukelem oversees the monitoring of the endangered Hawaiian monk seal population on Hawaiʻi Island. She runs the Center’s 24-hour hotline for reporting seal sightings around the island and coordinates outreach and population assessments on a daily basis.

“On Hawai’i Island, we operate Ke Kai Ola, the only hospital dedicated to Hawaiian monk seals, providing support for monk seals found throughout the Hawaii archipelago,” says Van Heukelem. “Utilizing a 24-hour response hotline and a variety of education and outreach programs, we aim to advance conservation practices that empower our local community to protect this rare species.”

This presentation will focus on the center’s mission and work over the past 45 years in California and Hawaiʻi. Since opening Ke Kai Ola in 2014, The Marine Mammal Center has treated 36 Hawaiian monk seals and supports the work of NOAA’s Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program by providing the only long-term care facility for this endangered animal.

These monthly virtual events are supported by the County of Maui Mayor’s Office of Economic Development.

The event’s emcee will be Darla Palmer-Ellingson, local radio show host of the public affairs program, Island Environment 360 Maui’s only commercially broadcast public affairs show on environmental and related Hawaiian cultural topics, aired on the stations of H-Hawaii Media.

To reserve your spot at this free Zoom webinar, please visit https://www.bitly.com/monksealwebinar

 

Eleu (PP08), a weaned female Hawaiian monk seal pup rescued from Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Refuge, rests during rehabilitation at The Marine Mammal Center’s Ke Kai Ola hospital and visitor center in Kailua-Kona, HI. The young female seal’s name means one that is active, alert, energetic, lively and nimble. Credit Lauren Van Heukelem © The Marine Mammal Center, NOAA Permit #18786-03

 

Hawaiian monk seals RK26 (on left) and RL50 (on right) rest on a beach. As the world’s largest marine mammal hospital, The Marine Mammal Center actively monitors endangered monk seals that frequent Big Island beaches to check on their condition, but its experts do not serve in a law enforcement capacity. Credit Sheila Latta © The Marine Mammal Center

The Maui News: Maui has the highest number of tiger sharks, attacks in state

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Not only does Maui have the highest number of tiger sharks in the state, the area also sees the most shark attacks, according to local scientists who have tracked and studied Hawaii sharks for decades.

Shark bite frequency by island from 1995 to 2021 shows that Maui outpaces any other Hawaiian island with about 40 nonfatal bites and five fatal bites, research from the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology shows. Oahu is second with slightly more than 20 nonfatal bites. Hawaii island is third with about 15 nonfatal bites.

Despite shark attacks off Maui in November, December and February, shark expert Kim Holland said he and colleagues are surprised that there aren’t more attacks, given how many tiger sharks are actually in the water.

“One of the things that has to come across in this conversation: The amazing thing to me and my colleagues is not how many shark attacks there are in Hawaii, it’s how few shark attacks there are in Hawaii,” he said. “If you think of how many tens of thousands of person hours of ocean users there are in the water and how common we know large sharks are, the fact that we have two (attacks per year) to five (attacks) to zero to eight to two to four to zero attacks per year is really astounding.”

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Free July 7 Zoom Presentation by Dr. Craig Downs and Hawaii Senator Mike Gabbard: “Education vs. Enforcement: Next Steps Beyond the Enactment of Hawaii’s Sunscreen Law”

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KIHEI, HI— Hawaii’s ban on sunscreens containing the reef-harming chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate went into effect on January 1, but is the law effective in protecting our local coral reefs and marine animals as intended? Is the ban being enforced? What’s the latest scientific evidence about the chemicals that are replacing these two ingredients in some brands of sunscreen? Are new laws needed?

Get the answers to these important questions on Wednesday, July 7 at 5:30 p.m. via a free Zoom presentation featuring special guest speakers: Dr. Craig Downs, whose groundbreaking research educated the world about sunscreen chemicals and their role in coral reef decline; and Hawaii Senator Mike Gabbard, who authored the legislation that resulted in Hawaii’s ban on the sale of sunscreens that contain the chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate.

The presentation titled “Education vs. Enforcement: Next Steps Beyond the Enactment of Hawaii’s Sunscreen Law” is sponsored by the County of Maui Mayor’s Office of Economic Development and hosted by Maui Nui Marine Resource Council as part of the organization’s “Know Your Ocean Speaker Series.”

This event is free, but advanced reservations are required. To reserve your spot, please visit https://bit.ly/SunscreenWebinar.

Downs graduated from Hiram College with a B.A. in philosophy and biology, received his M.Sc. from Syracuse University, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii in cell and molecular biology. He has published over 50 scientific papers and a number of book chapters in scientific textbooks, and is the co-editor of the CRC press veterinary book, Diseases of Corals, as well as founded a number of companies and nonprofits relating anywhere from animal welfare to environmental conservation and exploration.

Downs has held positions as research professor at University of Hawaii’s School of Medicine and Sweet Briar College. He is currently an invited professor at Sorbonne University (France) and is the Executive Director of Haereticus Environmental Laboratory, a non-profit scientific organization dedicated to increasing the scientific, social and economic knowledge of natural environmental habitats in order to better conserve and restore threatened environmental habitats and resources.

Gabbard, who has represented District 20 since 2006, which includes Kapolei, Makakilo, and portions of Kalaeloa, Waipahu, and Ewa, has authored 54 bills that became law relating to energy efficiency, renewable energy, endangered species protection, industrial hemp, the environment, public safety, and more.

One of those bills that became law in 2018, SB 2571, is the ban of sale or distribution in the state of any sunscreen that contains oxybenzone or octinoxate, or both. Last session, Gabbard introduced SB 366, which would ban the sale, offer of sale, or distribution in Hawaii of any sunscreen that contains two more chemicals, avobenzone or octocrylene.

The speakers plan to address whether or not sunscreen pollution is a symptom of unsustainable tourism and coastal development, how we get visitors and residents to comply with the new sunscreen law, and who is responsible for enforcing it.

This panel will also provide information and tips on how you can help to protect the marine environment.

Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s “Know Your Ocean Speaker Series” events are held monthly via Zoom. Support for these events is provided by the County of Maui Mayor’s Office of Economic Development.

The virtual event’s emcee will be Darla Palmer-Ellingson, local radio show host of the public affairs program, Island Environment 360 Maui’s only commercially broadcast public affairs show on environmental and related Hawaiian cultural topics, aired on the stations of H-Hawaii Media.

To reserve your spot at this free Zoom webinar, please visit https://bit.ly/SunscreenWebinar.

Free Presentation on “Growing Up Fast: A Land-Based Coral Nursery for Restoring Hawaii’s Reefs” Offered During Earth Week

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KIHEI, HI— In honor of Earth Day and Earth Week, the public is invited to a free presentation on “Growing Up Fast: A Land-Based Coral Nursery for Restoring Hawaii’s Reefs” on Zoom on Wednesday, April 21 at 5:30 pm.

The presenter will be coral specialist Christina Jayne of the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources Hawaii Coral Restoration Nursery. The talk is hosted by Maui Nui Marine Resource Council, as part of its monthly “Know Your Ocean Speaker Series.”

Coral reef restoration is the process of raising new corals — often from fragments of coral salvaged from the wild — in a protected, nurturing environment, then transplanting them out into the ocean to grow and form new reefs. When combined with efforts to improve coral reef habitat, it is viewed as a way to help coral reefs survive the stresses of climate change and warming ocean waters.

For the past two years, Jayne has worked for the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources as a coral restoration specialist at the Hawaii Coral Restoration Nursery on Oahu with director David Gulko. Before moving to Honolulu, she earned her bachelor’s in Marine Biology from the University of California San Diego and her masters from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.“Hawaii’s reefs are extremely unique and Hawaiian corals have some of the slowest growth rates in the world, which is why the State has taken an innovative, land-based approach to coral restoration,” notes Jayne.

Hawaii’s first state coral nursery, which is managed by DAR, opened in 2016 at the Anuenue Fisheries Research Center on Oahu.

Corals are brought to the Coral Restoration Nursery and are rapidly grown using a series of aquarium-based techniques that help them to generate large coral colony modules in a fraction of the time it would take naturally, which can be out-planted back on the reef.

The nursery typically uses corals for out-planting from harbors because of their lower ecological value compared to corals from natural areas, says DAR, and they may also be more resilient to any challenges and environmental changes.

University of Hawaii Sea Grant researchers are also conducting experiments at the Anuenue facility to understand different environmental conditions, like light and water movement, that are useful for growing corals quickly. Creating the best environment for the corals to grow rapidly will help to restore local reefs after disturbance events such as bleaching or physical damage.

Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s “Know Your Ocean Speaker Series” events are held monthly via Zoom. Support for these events is provided by the County of Maui Mayor’s Office of Economic Development.

The virtual event’s emcee will be Darla Palmer-Ellingson, local radio show host of the public affairs program, Island Environment 360 Maui’s only commercially broadcast public affairs show on environmental and related Hawaiian cultural topics, aired on the stations of H-Hawaii Media.

To reserve your spot at this free Zoom webinar, please visit https://bit.ly/coralnurserywebinar

 

PacIOOS Water Quality Sensor Partnership Program Enhances Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s Water Quality Monitoring in Māʻalaea Harbor

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MĀʻALAEA, HI – Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s ocean water quality monitoring efforts in Māʻalaea Harbor are being helped by a new underwater data sensor that the organization has borrowed through the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) Water Quality Sensor Partnership Program. The new data sensor collects data every five minutes on water temperature, salinity, turbidity, chlorophyll and ocean depth.

The PacIOOS program supports scientists and natural resource managers to collect water quality data in order to inform research, conservation, planning, and resource management projects in the U.S. Pacific Islands region. The data sensor is owned and maintained by PacIOOS under the supervision of Dr. Margaret McManus, Chairwoman of the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

“We are grateful to PacIOOS for the use of this data sensor that will help us learn more about the effects of tides, swell, rain events, and runoff on water quality within Māʻalaea Harbor and to monitor water quality variability over time,” reports Amy Hodges, Programs and Operations Manager at Maui Nui Marine Resource Council.

Mounted 1 or 2 meters below the ocean’s surface, the sensor package is relocated by divers from Maui Nui Marine Resource team to a new site within the harbor about once per month. The sensor package was installed in 2020 and is scheduled to be used in Māʻalaea Harbor through 2021.

The PacIOOS data sensor will help guide Maui Nui Marine Resource Council as it implements its watershed management plan, which aims to reduce sediment and pollutants in Māʻalaea Bay and its harbor. Professor Margaret McManus

“In recent decades, declining ocean water quality has led to significant deterioration of Māʻalaea Bay’s reefs,” says Hodges. “Monitoring by the community-based program Hui O Ka Wai Ola — which was co-founded and is co-managed by Maui Nui Marine Resource Council, The Nature Conservancy and West Maui Ridge to Reef Initiative —  using ocean water samples grabbed from the ocean edge has shown turbidity (sediment) and excessive nitrogen as primary causes of impaired water quality.”

Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s staff also assist with gathering ocean water quality “grab samples” from the shore. All combined, the Hui O Ka Wai Ola sampling and the MNMRC staff grab sampling results in data from 5-10 sites every three weeks in Māʻalaea Harbor.

Maui Nui Marine Resource Council has also been using a Manta data sonde, purchased with a grant from LUSH cosmetics, to gather water quality data in the Harbor. The sonde is towed behind a kayak and records real time data as it is pulled through varying depths through the water.

The organization has also been testing the nitrogen isotope ratios (δ15N values) in macroalgae (limu) tissue to determine the possible sources of nitrogen pollution in the harbor and the bay. Other ongoing testing in Māʻalaea Bay conducted by MNMRC includes current drift analysis studies, underwater coral cover and fish transects, and stormwater sampling.

To address Māʻalaea’s sediment issues, MNMRC is working to improve stormwater management in the 4,000 acre Pohakea watershed adjoining Mā‘alaea Bay. In 2018, MNMRC commissioned Maui Environmental Consulting (MEC) to create the Pohakea Stormwater Management Plan following meetings with Hawai‘i Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW), Māʻalaea Village Association, Maui Ocean Center and other stakeholders.

MNMRC has been enacting the priorities in this plan. In 2020, MNMRC installed firebreaks in Pohakea watershed to suppress frequent wildfires that occur in this windy, dry region, causing loss of vegetative cover that helps hold soil in place and prevents erosion. Partners included DOFAW, Maui Electric Co. and Goodfellow Bros. Inc.

MNMRC and Maui Environmental Consulting began monitoring headcuts (erosional features) in 2020 to quantify soil loss at four of the most severely eroded sites in the Pohakea watershed nearest the harbor. Their monitoring showed a loss of an estimated 64,050 pounds, or 32 tons, of soil from just two head cut locations in a single moderate rainstorm in January 2021. The lost soil was likely transported via culverts directly into the ocean, contributing to a severe brown water event in Māʻalaea Bay.  MNMRC is now working to obtain funding to work with Maui Environmental Consulting and Goodfellow Bros. to repair two of the most severe head cut locations to reduce the sediment runoff.

Maui Nui Marine Resource Council launched an oyster bioremediation project in Māʻalaea Bay in 2020 to utilize caged oysters as a natural method of water filtration. A single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of ocean water per day, removing sediment and pollutants. During 2020, MNMRC installed more than 10,000 oysters and conducts periodic monitoring to assess their growth rates and health. Data from the PacIOOS data sensor will help measure changing ocean water quality conditions in response to the oyster program.

“The progress of our projects to clean up Māʻalaea Bay’s water quality will be measured by resulting data from the PacIOOS data sensor and our other monitoring methods,” says Hodges. “We to see evidence of improved ocean water quality, through reductions in sediment and excess nitrogen, an essential step in restoring coral cover and reef health in Māʻalaea Harbor and in the bay.”

To learn more about the PacIOOS Water Quality Sensor Partnership Program and view data, visit https://www.pacioos.hawaii.edu/water/sensor-maalaea/#about.

Founded in 2007, Maui Nui Marine Resource Council is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization working for clean ocean water, healthy coral reefs and abundant native fish for the islands of Maui County. To learn more, visit www.mauireefs.org.

 

CAPTION: Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s Grace Silver helps to prepare a site in Mā’alaea Harbor for the data sensor on loan from PacIOOS.

Public invited to free webinar on “Shark Research in Hawaii – With an Emphasis on Maui” by Dr. Kim Holland on Wednesday, March 3

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KIHEI, HI – Recent shark attacks that occurred off the coast of Maui in November (2020), December (2020) and January (2021), as well as an incident in February (2021) which involved a large shark biting a kayak, have many ocean users concerned and curious about the sharks found in our nearshore waters. The public is invited to learn more about our local sharks at a free Zoom presentation titled “Shark Research in Hawaii – With an Emphasis on Maui’ by Dr. Kim Holland. Dr. Holland is the Research Professor at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, (HIMB) at University of Hawaii at Manoa and the founder of the Shark Research Group at HIMB.

This free talk is hosted by Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s “Know Your Ocean Speaker Series” and will take place on Wednesday, March 3 at 5:30 pm via Zoom. The presentation is free, but advance reservations are required. To reserve your spot, please visit https://bit.ly/SharkWebinar

For over 40 years Dr. Holland’s research has focused on the biology and movement patterns of large marine fishes such as tuna, billfishes and sharks. He has been a pioneer in helping to develop and deploy cutting edge tracking technologies that allow unprecedented insight into the movement patterns of marine fishes.

His presentation will include a brief overview of tracking technologies with an emphasis on what has been learned about the movements of sharks around Maui Nui.

“While many Maui residents and visitors are fearful about sharks, it’s important to remember that sharks play an important role in maintaining Hawaii’s ocean ecosystems,” said Anne Rillero, Communications, Community Outreach and Development Manager at Maui Nui Marine Resource Council. “We’re looking forward to learning more about Dr. Holland’s findings and insights about Hawaii’s sharks.”

Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s “Know Your Ocean Speaker Series” events are held monthly via Zoom. Support for these events is provided by the County of Maui Mayor’s Office of Economic Development.

The emcee for this event is Darla Palmer-Ellingson, local radio show host of the public affairs program, Island Environment 360 Maui’s only commercially broadcast public affairs show on environmental and related Hawaiian cultural topics, aired on the stations of H-Hawaii Media.

To reserve your spot at this free Zoom webinar, please visit https://bit.ly/SharkWebinar

 

Experts tag a tiger shark with a tracking device in the waters off Maui. The satellite tag gets attached to the shark’s dorsal fin and sends a signal every time the fin surfaces the water. Photo Credit: HIMB

Public invited to free Zoom presentation about unique collaboration of 7 environmental projects funded by Maui CARES

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Program provided employment for more than 70 Maui and Molokai residents

“It’s like Maui County’s own version of the Civilian Conservation Corps”

KIHEI, HI – During the Great Depression, the government-sponsored Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) provided paychecks for 3 million unemployed young men and provided valuable labor for conservation projects across the country.

With unemployment at record levels due to COVID-19, a new program followed this historical CCC model and put more than 70 Maui and Molokai residents to work in November, providing seven local conservation nonprofits with needed labor to benefit coral reefs, cultural resources and the environment.

The public is invited to a free presentation on Weds. January 27 at 5:30 pm on Zoom to learn about this unique collaborative employment and workforce training program and the impact it had on our local environment. The presentation will include videos, photos and firsthand accounts of the projects and accomplishments, with information on how the projects incorporated traditional Hawaiian cultural practices and modern technology to prevent sediment pollution in the ocean and protect valuable cultural resources.

It’s free, but registration is required. To sign up, visit https://bit.ly/mauiCARES

This unique collaborative employment and workforce training program was made possible through the County of Maui Office of Economic Development’s Maui CARES program, which was funded by the Federal CARES Act. As the fiscal sponsor, Maui Nui Marine Resource Council oversaw the administration of the Maui CARES funding for the projects and managed the rapid employment of more than 70 new hires with the help of simplicityHR by ALTRES.

The workers participated in conservation and restoration projects in Olowalu, Waihe’e, Keanae, Kipahulu, Hana and Moloka’i. All of the projects were rooted in Hawaiian cultural practices and values which serve as the foundation of our community. Their work was filmed by Inflatable Film of Kula. The evening will include video premieres exclusively for webinar attendees.

“Through this presentation, attendees will be immersed in a virtual experience to feel the importance of Kuleana, ʻOhana, Kōkua, Aloha ʻAina, Mālama ʻAina, and Hānai ʻAina, said Ekolu Lindsey, President of Maui Cultural Lands and a principal organizer of this program. “Be inspired to follow in the footsteps of those who have come before us, as we share our legacies with you.”

The participating nonprofits include:

Ka Honua Momona on Molokai worked to restore two ancient fishponds, which will help trap sediment before it reaches the open ocean – with the benefit of also producing fish for local people.

Kipahulu ‘Ohana in East Maui improved a lo’i, or wetland taro farm. The taro plants will slow the flow of stormwater, allowing time for sediment in the water to settle, rather than flow out to sea.

Hawaiian Islands Land Trust in Waihe’e worked to remove invasive species along approximately 3,000 linear feet of Kalepa Stream to lower sediment loads in the nearshore waters off Waihe’e and protect offshore corals.

Ke Ao Hali‘i (KAH) in Hana worked on 27 acres of publicly owned land at Mokae/Kaholaiki and another ~2 acres of contiguous land, directly above Hamoa Beach. Their project included invasive plant removal and native habitat restoration for seabirds and insects, and a biological survey of ‘opihi as a baseline for a possible ‘opihi rest area in the future.

Kipuka Olowalu in West Maui reestablished washed out and damaged lo’i (taro fields), rebuilt vanished lo’i and prepared lo’i for planting in the Olowalu Cultural Reserve. Workers removed overgrowth, fire hazards and invasive plants; planted native plants and crops and repaired infrasturcture.

Na Moku ‘Aupuni O Ko‘olau Hui in East Maui worked on watershed management and stream maintenance, as well as stream and ditch monitoring in the East Maui Irrigation system to establish accurate data for stream and ditch flow and loss as a basis for making sound future management decisions related to this resource and delivery infrastructure.

Each of the nonprofits will be presenting their work and accomplishments through photos, video and stories from the field.

Na Mamo o Mu‘olea in East Maui focused on land and shoreline management on a county parcel (which Nā Mamo O Mū’olea has a 50 year lease). It included removal of invasive plants around a rock wall that is on the historic registry, and preparation for wall restorations, maintenance of two heiau on the property, installation of new fencing around an area designated for native trees and medicinal plants, and maintenance and repair of feral animal controls.

“This presentation is a celebration of all that was accomplished and learned,” said Lindsey. “We encourage the public to attend to connect with these organizations and the workers who put heart and soul into these challenging and impactful projects.“

The emcees for this event are Ekolu Lindsey and Darla Palmer-Ellingson, local radio show host of the public affairs program, Island Environment 360 Maui’s only commercially broadcast public affairs show on environmental and related Hawaiian cultural topics, aired on the stations of H-Hawaii Media.

About Maui Nui Marine Resource Council

Maui Nui Marine Resource Council is a community-based nonprofit organization celebrating 13 years of working for healthy coral reefs, clean ocean water and abundant native fish throughout Maui County. Our work includes co-managing the Hui O Ka Wai Ola Ocean Water Quality Monitoring Program in South and West Maui, efforts to reduce pollution in Mā‘alaea Bay (through erosion-control efforts in the Pohakea watershed and using oysters to filter sediment and pollutants from ocean water), coral reef research, visitor education programs and more. Learn more at www.mauireefs.org.