Hawaii
In Hawaii and DC, a growing campaign seeks to restore Lahaina’s precious wetlands
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The dream of restoring a 17-acre pond in Lahaina at the original site of the Hawaiian Kingdom government is gaining ground in Washington, D.C.
Advocate and cultural preservation expert Keeaumoku Kapu, leader of Na Aikane o Maui Community Foundation and a contractor for FEMA as a cultural and history advisor, points visitors to a basement parking lot under the destroyed 505 Front St. Shopping village.
Clear water rises up the ramp to nearly street level.
Kapu says it not rain runoff or ocean water. It’s fresh water coming up from an underground stream that once fed multiple ponds in the area. “Water is making a definitely big, huge statement,” Kapu said.
Kapu says it’s time to be led by the rising water — to take a former city park along Front Street and bring back Loko o Mokuhinia, a large pond that surrounded the island of Mokuula and served as a tomb for royalty before tourism took over Lahaina.
“So there’s a lot of trauma basically came about once the island was covered on the native Hawaiian perspective of why this area was so important, Kapu said.
The restoration of Mokuula has been talked about for over 50 years, but the fire — fueled by the dry landscape — has opened eyes to a physical and cultural transformation.
Maui Wildfires Disaster
West Maui Council Member Tamara Paltin says many believe Lahaina’s emphasis on whaling and plantation history has overshadowed its important role in development of the Hawaiian Kingdom. “There’s somewhat of a little bit of a blank slate feel,” she said I think you know, when we’re talking about the historic district of Lahaina,” she said.
One of the issues that prevented restoration in the past was money.
But with the Lahaina disaster well-known around the world, there seems to be more appetite in Washington for funding things like restoration of wetlands.
Most of Hawaii’s local and national leaders have joined in support of the plan.
“It’s really essential to restore this wetlands and this culturally and ecologically significant area,” said U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. “And if there’s a way that the federal government can help, I’m very open minded to that.”
U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, who represents Maui, was in the historic district Wednesday. She’s proposing historic Lahaina be named a National Heritage Area, eligible for federal funds.
“I think the really, good part is a good portion of the historic areas that people are looking at are already publicly owned by either the state or the county, and so that’s a really great start. So you can already start doing some of the work,” Tokuda said.
Gov. Josh Green announced his support for restoration several months ago.
“We’re also going to, right in that area be kind of recommitting ourselves to the cultural corridor, Mokuula, and that’s a very important thing,” Green said in April.
“So we’re going to be restoring fishponds. We’re going to make sure that we listen to our cultural leaders and the healers in the community.”
Kapu said it won’t be as easy as it sounds, you can’t just remove the groundcover to release the stream.
“I hope that the governor got a bigger wand than we think he has,” he said.
Kapu sees barriers in federal wetland regulations and potential Native Hawaiian burials in the soil used to fill the pond.
He points again to the spring water rising under the destroyed shopping village.
It and the park next door were once the site of a royal inland fishpond, near where the Hawaiian Kingdom Constitution was drafted, and where restoration efforts could start.
“Lo and behold, we already have a fish pond.,” he said. “All we have to do is take the mascara off, and we have the wetlands right there.”
The owners of 505 Front St., equity real estate firm Fowler Property Acquisitions, said they would not comment on any plan for the property.
It could be the first step to a potential freshwater renaissance of culture and history that advocates say could educate generations, attract and inform visitors, protect against fire and begin to change the dry climate of West Maui.
Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Hawaii
Hawaii County Surf Forecast for March 04, 2026 | Big Island Now
Forecast for Big Island Windward and Southeast
| Shores | Tonight | Wednesday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| North Facing | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 |
| East Facing | 3-5 | 4-6 | 4-6 | 5-7 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly cloudy. Numerous showers. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | In the upper 60s. | ||||||
| Winds | East winds 5 to 10 mph. | ||||||
|
|||||||
| Weather | Partly sunny. Numerous showers. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | In the upper 70s. | |||||
| Winds | East winds 10 to 15 mph. | |||||
|
||||||
| Sunrise | 6:37 AM HST. | |||||
| Sunset | 6:27 PM HST. | |||||
Forecast for Big Island Leeward
| Shores | Tonight | Wednesday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| West Facing | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 1-3 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly sunny until 6 PM, then mostly cloudy. Hazy. |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | In the upper 60s. | ||||||||||
| Winds | West winds around 5 mph early in the afternoon, becoming light and variable. |
||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Weather | Partly sunny. Hazy. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | In the mid 80s. | ||||||||
| Winds | Light and variable winds, becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon. |
||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Sunrise | 6:41 AM HST. | ||||||||
| Sunset | 6:31 PM HST. | ||||||||
The current moderate northwest swell will continue a gradual decline through Thursday. A small west-northwest swell will arrive on Friday and hold through the weekend, followed by a small north-northwest swell early next week. Choppy east shore surf will build to near seasonal average by Wednesday as trade winds strengthen over and east of the islands. Little change is expected along east facing shores through the weekend, followed by a possible decline early next week if winds veer southerly. Surf along south facing shores will remain small to tiny through the weekend, and some islands may an increase in choppy surf if southerly winds develop early next week.
NORTH EAST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Semi choppy with ESE winds 5-10mph in the morning increasing to 10-15mph in the afternoon.
NORTH WEST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Clean in the early morning with ESE winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions move in during the morning hours with the winds shifting W 5-10mph.
WEST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Semi glassy in the morning with N winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting WNW 5-10mph.
SOUTH EAST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Light sideshore texture in the morning with NE winds 10-15mph. This becomes Sideshore texture/chop for the afternoon.
Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov and SwellInfo.com
Hawaii
Hawaii delegation continues to blast U.S. attack on Iran | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Hawaii
Blood moon to dazzle Hawaii skies tonight
We recognize you are attempting to access this website from a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA) including the EU which
enforces the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and therefore access cannot be granted at this time.
For any issues, contact news@kitv.com or call 808-535-0400 .
-
World7 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts7 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Denver, CO7 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Louisiana1 week agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Oregon5 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling
-
Florida3 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Maryland3 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Wisconsin2 days agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin