A contractor working on the Kula Community Watershed Alliance’s Wipe Out Wattle Project uses fall-protection equipment while removing black wattle from a steep slope. Photo courtesy Kula Community Watershed Alliance

Timed to coincide with the onset of Maui’s dry season, the Kula Community Watershed Alliance has launched an effort to eradicate black wattle.

According to the alliance, its Wipe Out Wattle project is a strategic, community-powered approach to remove an invasive, fire-prone species and restore ecological resilience to land affected by the 2023 Kula fire.

A fast-growing, fire-adapted tree covered in fine hairs, black wattle is considered a high risk on the state’s noxious weed list as it threatens native habitats by competing with indigenous vegetation.

Black wattle was introduced to the Kula Forest Reserve in the late 1800s, and its presence has led to heightened water loss in riparian zones. With its new project, the Kula Community Watershed Alliance says the group is targeting 15 acres of steep gulch terrain bordering 46 burned properties, where thick stands of invasive hardwoods once dominated and black wattle is now regrowing aggressively.

The effort is being funded through a combination of federal, state and private sources as well as local partnerships. The project prioritizes steep gulch areas too hazardous for volunteer crews, utilizing certified contractors equipped with fall-protection systems and trained in erosion-sensitive, best-practice land stewardship, according to the group.

“Wipe Out Wattle is part of our long-standing four-step land restoration strategy, built in direct response to what our community has asked for,” said Sara Tekula, the community alliance’s executive director. “Those steps are: stabilize, protect, restore and maintain. Removing invasive fire fuels both stabilizes and maintains the land with wildfire mitigation in mind. As fire season returns to Maui, we’re here to protect people, property, and place.

By targeting aggressive fuels like wattle, the goal is to reduce the wildfire risk and prepare the watershed to regenerate with native species.

The Kula Community Watershed Alliance was created in August 2023 by 40 landowners and tenants directly impacted by the Kula wildfires. Black wattle was the dominant tree in many of the undeveloped areas that burned, and it played a significant role in fueling the fire.

This photograph shows a burned property covered in wattle regrowth before it was removed. Photo courtesy Kula Community Watershed Alliance

This photograph shows a burned property that was covered in wattle regrowth after the black wattle was removed. Photo courtesy Kula Community Watershed Alliance

“From the beginning, our founding members — all fire survivors — were adamant that we not allow the wattle to return,” Tekula said. “There was a powerful belief that another way forward was possible. Wipe Out Wattle is the result of that determination and fulfills KCWA’s promise to convert this landscape to one that’s more resilient and safer for our communities.”

Key funding for the effort is coming from the U.S. Forest Service’s Wildland Urban Interface Grant Program administered by the Hawaiʻi Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization, and HydroFlask.

According to the alliance, the project’s implementation phase focuses on approximately 120 acres of burned wattle forest. Since early May, Wipe Out Wattle project managers and interns have conducted site visits with more than 30 landowners in the priority zone, with additional properties under review for future phases.

A pile of young wattle saplings is being hauled away as part of the Kula Community Watershed Alliance’s effort to wipe out wattle. Photo courtesy Kula Community Watershed Alliance

As part of the project’s implementation, removed wattle trees will be mulched and spread in native restoration zones to prevent erosion, retain soil moisture and suppress regrowth of invasive species. Community volunteer opportunities and educational events will be announced in the coming weeks.

“We’re proud to stand with our neighbors in this next chapter of fire recovery,” Tekula said. “Wipe Out Wattle is not just about removing a tree–it’s about restoring balance.”

In addition to invasive species removal and native planting site preparation, KCWA has also secured and is installing deer-proof fencing across fire-impacted properties and recently completed the construction of two 1,440-square-foot hoop houses to grow thousands of site-appropriate native plants for outplanting.

For more, visit kulacommunitywatershed.org or follow KCWA on Instagram at @kulacommunitywatershed.