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Funds for study on
Star-Bulletin staff
restoring Maui refuge
up to SenateU.S. House members passed a bill last week that would provide $250,000 for a study to determine ways of restoring natural wetlands conditions at Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge in South Maui.
The bill for the study of the 691-acre refuge now goes to the U.S. Senate.
The federal refuge, established in 1992, is the nesting ground for native species, including the Hawaiian coot and stilt.
It has suffered as a result of urbanization. North Kihei Road cuts through the refuge. It is adjacent to Maui Electric's Maalaea power plant, and the pond was used as a rubbish dump between 1925 and 1930.
Grazing and agricultural use of land above the pond has increased sedimentation.
Residents near the pond have complained about seasonal swarms of non-native midges and the stench from die-offs of non-native tilapia.
Federal officials have installed road fences to prevent all-terrain vehicles from driving onto the refuge's mud flats and sand dunes. They also have installed sand fences to keep endangered hawksbill turtles from crawling onto the road.
Several years ago, a female hawksbill turtle was killed while crossing the road.
U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink, the sponsor of the bill, said residents recognize the value of preserving native Hawaiian species.
"We need to get the study done so restoration can begin," Mink said. "Once we know the way forward, we can repair the damage that man's actions have done to the ecology of Kealia Pond."
