KIHEI — A project to replace the temporary fencing along Kealia Beach with a more durable plastic lumber fence has been stalled, with just a little over a half mile to go.
In January, volunteers and staff of the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge began constructing the new permanent fence along North Kihei Road, designed to prevent nesting turtles from accidentally clambering onto the roadway.
“The objective was to form a barrier to protect sea turtles, primarily hawksbill sea turtles that are coming ashore and nesting on the beach,” said Glynnis Nakai, manager of the Kealia Pond refuge.
The project was expected to be completed in early February but was stopped due to insufficient materials. Nakai said that the refuge staff is in the process of finding another company able to supply the durable plastic lumber used in the fence in order to continue with the construction.
“The idea would be to locate another plastic fabricating company to bring out more material so we can finish off where we stopped,” she said.
There are no companies in Hawaii that could match their needs.
According to Nakai, the project is approximately 6/10ths of a mile from being finished. When materials will be available and when the fencing can be completed is still undetermined.
“I would say a few months,” she said.
The old fence, a combination of wire and wood slats, will be removed once the new fence is complete, but for now, it’s staying up as a primary barrier to turtles climbing the roadside sand dune.
“Also, there’s areas where we wanted to keep some fence up to help build back the dunes because it has been impacted so much by vehicles,” she said.
The old fence was installed a decade ago after two incidents in which female hawksbill turtles carrying eggs were struck by cars and killed after they had crawled over the dune in search of a nesting site.
Neither of the fences affects access to the beach, Nakai said. Both fences have spaces for people to walk through, and the new fence is low enough for most people to easily step over.
“We have openings so that people can go to the beach,” she said “And that was one of the important things about building the fence. Although we want to protect sea turtles, we also want to provide access for people.”
