One rock at a time
Restoration of the Kaloko Fishpond in Kailua-Kona aims to preserve one of Hawaii's ancient feats of engineering
By Karin Stanton
Associated Press
KAILUA-KONA » The Kaloko Fishpond sea wall is a giant, complex interlocking puzzle of lava rocks that stretches across 250 yards of bay front and across more than three centuries of Hawaii's history.
The sea wall has been in the process of being rebuilt one stone at a time since 1998, slowly reviving one of Hawaii's cultural and spiritual practices along with it.
The rebuilding started off a long-term community-based restoration project, Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park ranger Richard Boston said.
"The park's founding legislation is unique. It's mission is to sustain and revive traditional and cultural practices," Boston said. "We want to develop not just something to look at, but something that brings the old traditions back."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Attendees of the state fishpond consortium venture out onto the Kaloko Fishpond sea wall in Kailua-Kona. The 250-yard-long, 30-foot-wide rock wall dates back more than 300 years and is central to Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park's $1.5 million restoration project. CLICK FOR LARGE
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The $1.5 million Kaloko-Honokohau project is the latest aimed at perpetuating one of Hawaii's greatest engineering feats.
Some fishponds can never be restored. Kona Airport sits on the site of a fishpond that was swallowed by the 1801 lava flow from Hualalai volcano. So each new project is an opportunity to keep the culture alive.
Boston noted that the restoration is essentially a local effort, despite the 11-acre Kaloko Fishpond sitting within a national park that also features house site platforms, petroglyphs, a stone slide and heiau dating to the 13th century.
"The park was established with local community input, and they didn't stop there," he said. "There are lots of challenges in developing fishponds. We have to do everything right. We are reaching out to the local community, and it's not just one person, but a group of people here."
When residents realized they were losing much of the coastline to resort development, they pushed the federal government to protect the fishpond once called "the refrigerator of Kona."
Established in 1978, the 630-acre park is one of the few stretches of unimproved coastline along the 10 miles between Kailua-Kona and Kona Airport.
Standing on the sea wall and looking north toward the airport affords a view of huge orange construction trucks and cranes clearing the shoreline. The Kohanaiki subdivision covers 550 acres and boasts $2 billion in real estate sales, Boston said.
Immediately to the south, the state plans to expand Honokohau Harbor by 600 slips and build 1,800 time-share units, two hotels, shops, restaurants, a marine science education center and a health/wellness facility.
Boston said the park wants to plant tall screens of native vegetation, more as a sign of respect than to delineate boundaries.
The long-term plan also includes a working pond offering educational experiences for visitors and Hawaii's youth, as well as turning a profit as a local food source.
"We're not huge on the tourist map yet," Boston said. "Visitation is a good thing but that's not our only mission."
He estimates it will take at least another two years to complete the northern end of the wall.
Funding is complicated and coming up short, he said.
A $200,000 grant from Save America's Treasures called for matching funds. Boston said the grant will lapse unless $35,000 is secured by June 1. "And it's not coming from the park service," he said.