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Demolition at Kanaha Pond State Wildlife Sanctuary has residents worried about future development at the royal fishponds, but a wildlife biologist assured the public that the work is intended to protect resident native Hawaiian birds.
Fern Duvall, sanctuary manager for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Maui Nui district, said at least 10 people have called him to ask about the work being done at the wetland, which is a National Natural Landmark, and that people continue to stop him at meetings and around town.
“They ask, ‘What’s going on over there?’ and ‘What are you going to build?’ ” Duvall said. “It’s really the opposite. We’re demolishing invasive trees that have been there for decades in order to get it back to its natural state, which would benefit the water birds. That’s our goal.”
The 235-acre pond is home to a trio of endangered native birds: the ae’o (Hawaiian stilt), the ‘alae (Hawaiian coot) and the koloa (Hawaiian duck). Nene and other endemic animals also have taken refuge at the pond.
But hundreds of kiawe trees have taken over much of the wetland area by sinking the water table and reducing its quality, Duvall said.
“It’s hard wood and thorny. It exerts itself easily,” he said.
Work to remove the invasive trees began in November and will need to be completed by April 1 to avoid interrupting the breeding season that lasts until the end of August, Duvall said. He said $150,000 in capital improvement funds was allotted for the removal of kiawe trees, as well as planting native Hawaiian plants.
“It’s really a remarkable thing when you see what the forest was and how much is gone,” he said. “I almost don’t recognize some of the areas and I go ‘Wow, what a difference,’ so it’s really clear to me why the public notices.”
Kanaha Pond was first constructed as one of two royal fishponds by King Kapi’iho’okalani in the 1700s, according to the “Kupu Cultural & Historical Site Guide.” The pond was named in honor of King Kapi’iho’okalani’s daughter in the 1800s and produced large quantities of mullet.
The two royal fishponds of Mau’oni and Kanaha stretched from Kanaha Beach to Queen Ka’ahumanu Center, Duvall said. As the area was filled with construction and roads, native species dwindled.
“All that is left is Kanaha Pond,” he said. “That’s why they’re endangered now because so much of the wetlands have been filled.”
Kanaha Pond survived a tsunami in 2011 that damaged native plants and dramatically drained its water. Feral cats also have harassed the native birds, and the Federal Aviation Administration has sought to lower bird populations due to the risk of birds damaging the engines of jets approaching or departing Kahului Airport.
Duvall said the pond is home to a “very large breeding population,” and a “significant portion” of the population of Hawaiian stilts and coots. He said of the approximately 2,000 Hawaiian stilts in the world, about 200 nest at the pond every year.
“We’re returning it to the vista before the non-native trees came in,” he said. “It will become a native community of native plants and birds, and the idea is really to create what had been there as much as we can before human contact.”
The pond is open daily from sunup to sundown, but will close during nesting season. An observation booth off Keolani Place and across Triangle Square is open year-round.
* Chris Sugidono can be reached at csugidono@mauinews.com.