Hawaii Governor Will Take ‘Unilateral Action’ To Restore Historic Wetland In Lahaina

Gov. Josh Green is preparing to use his executive powers to bring back one of Hawaii’s most significant historic places after consulting over the past several weeks with some of Lahaina’s top cultural leaders and Maui’s mayor.

A sandbar island known as Moku‘ula and its surrounding fishpond Mokuhinia have been buried for decades under a derelict and now fire-ravaged county park along Front Street. 

The defunct ballfield was once the former seat of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the home and burial place of nobility and where the 1840 Hawaiian Constitution was signed. Attempts to unearth Moku‘ula have faltered over the years, but the Aug. 8 wildfire that destroyed much of Lahaina and killed at least 101 people has rekindled such efforts. 

“We’re going to take unilateral action to restore this sacred space to the community,” Green said in a recent interview.

The governor has tasked his attorney general, Anne Lopez, and the Department of Land and Natural Resources chair, Dawn Chang, to “make it happen.” That means laying the groundwork for the restoration project, which would be the first step, and later creating a separate cultural corridor that would celebrate Lahaina’s unique history and diversity.

Green has been coordinating with Mayor Richard Bissen, Native Hawaiian waterman Archie Kalepa, who sits on the mayor’s Lahaina Advisory Committee, and Ke‘eaumoku Kapu, who runs a Hawaiian nonprofit based in Lahaina where his family has ties dating back generations.

While the details are still being worked out, the executive action Green says he intends to take follows the death of two bills this legislative session that set out to accomplish similar goals. Those measures drew significant opposition, with much of the criticism coming from early versions that had government authorities on Oahu controlling the parameters of a cultural corridor and shaping the pond’s restoration.

The governor said he was clear with Lopez and Chang. He wants them to prepare for a land transfer so that the Moku‘ula and Mokuhinia parcel is put in a trust, or some similar status, to be managed by the Lahaina community, likely by Kapu and his nonprofit Na Aikane o Maui or similar cultural organization.

“Decisions about Lahaina should be made by the people of Lahaina,” Green said.

While the 17-acre wetland lies mostly on county land, making its transformation potentially less complicated, creating a larger cultural corridor could involve private parcels, which has raised concerns over the potential use of eminent domain.

Faraz Azizsoltani, who runs a pool maintenance and aquatics business, owned two properties on Shaw Street which backs up to the county park and former fishpond. 

“It’s not about the money,” Azizsoltani said. “I’m not interested. I want to keep my land.”

Green isn’t convinced it will come to that, and is steadfast on gathering momentum to make the vision a reality.

“This is an opportunity to take real action,” the governor said.

Bissen declined an interview request. In a statement, he said the cultural importance of Moku‘ula is part of Lahaina’s history, and that “any preservation and restoration efforts should be done with thorough and appropriate discussions with all who have a connection with its sacred grounds and its place in history.”

Moving Forward

Kapu is one of the main cultural leaders guiding the vision. On a recent trip to the site of Moku‘ula, he stood next to the charred ruins of the cultural center he runs with his wife, Uilani, and pointed to a drainage ditch that runs alongside his destroyed Lahaina property.

Prior to the fire, the ditch ran dry. Now, the water is back. It’s a sign of what might come next.

“The environment is healing itself,” Kapu said.

The wildfire melted pumps that had siphoned water away from the cultural center and surrounding area since the plantation era, he said. With the pumps burned, water from underground springs is percolating back into natural channels that straddle parts of Lahaina, an area once known as the Venice of the Pacific because of its network of wetlands and ponds and a lush lowland forest.

As the water began returning, Kapu started thinking about Moku‘ula and the fishpond that once surrounded it. 

In February, he and Kalepa said they met with Bissen, Green and his wife, and the idea of restoring Moku‘ula started gaining ground.

Housing thousands of displaced fire survivors must take top priority along with restoring the town’s commercial center, Kalepa and Kapu said. But bringing back Moku‘ula and Mokuhinia should be the next priority.

“You take care of the place, the place takes care of the people,” said Kalepa, a ninth generation Lahaina resident.

While investigations remain underway and lawsuits swirl over who’s to blame for causing the fire, restoration of an important cultural site could help Lahaina’s overall healing, according to the governor.

“The need is clear to restore trust between the community and its leaders and the state,” Green said.

First Lady Jamie Kanani Green is intimately involved, working with Kalepa and Kapu to align their vision and create a roadmap for next steps.

“It’s really a model of how we can move forward even as we are honoring our Indigenous past,” Kanani Green said.

From Royal Fishpond To Mosquito-Infested Swamp

King Kamehameha III kept his royal residence on Moku‘ula. Historical references point to royalty living on the island as far back as the 16th century, during the reign of Maui’s high chief Pi‘ilani.

The fishpond began to dry up in the mid-1800s after sugar plantations diverted water for their operations, according to historical accounts.

By the turn of the century Mokuhinia was a mosquito-infested swamp. It was filled in with coral rubble for hygenic and development reasons in 1914, according to anthropologist P. Christiaan Klieger in his book “Moku’ula: Maui’s Sacred Island.”

If the restoration project goes forward, the ballfield would be dug up, Moku‘ula excavated and water returned to the former fishpond.

Chang, the DLNR chair, said in a recent interview that she thinks there’s enough underground and surface water to reflood the wetland without impacting existing users.

Restoring Moku‘ula and Mokuhinia will mark phase one of the project, Kanani Green said.

Phase two will entail something larger: the creation of a cultural corridor, the exact boundaries of which are still under discussion.

Self-Governance

Cultural corridors can take on a variety of shapes depending on their geographic location. Generally speaking, they are places designed to promote awareness of local history and culture, to celebrate art, industry and other unique features of a place, and to preserve an area’s distinct character.

Sometimes they involve pedestrian walkways, conditions on the appearance of buildings, and restrictions on the kinds of businesses and activities that can occur.

The parameters of Lahaina’s corridor are as yet undefined. The physical boundaries could be confined just to Moku‘ula and Mokuhinia. Or they might start at the post office and extend south to Puamana, for example.

The cultural corridor might follow the footprint of the burn zone, or it might fit within the boundaries of the parts of Lahaina added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1962, which Kalepa and Kapu suggested.

“Those are the kind of decisions we want the community to decide,” Chang said.

State Sen. Angus McKelvey, a fire survivor whose district includes West Maui, said however the cultural corridor comes to be, the discussions must be led by direct descendants of the area and informed by local residents and county, state and federal officials.

McKelvey was the co-author, along with Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, of Senate Bill 3381, which would have created a Lele Community District, a township of sorts overseen by the Hawaii Community Development Authority and governed by an elected nine-member body with authority to make major decisions for the greater Lahaina area, including the Moku‘ula project. The bill passed the Senate but died in the House. 

McKelvey said he’s not unhappy that the bill didn’t move in the House, even though he describes himself as a “fervent believer in the restoration of local rule.” The purpose was to have a discussion about self-governance, he said.

A separate legislative effort, House Bill 2693, sponsored by House Speaker Scott Saiki, would have established a Cultural Corridor Authority to redevelop areas devastated by the wildfire and to restore Moku‘ula and Mokuhinia. It also died.

Local advocacy group Lahaina Strong opposed the bill. In written testimony, the group said the proposed legislation undermined the principle of “let Lahaina lead” by placing excessive power in the hands of Oahu and the state to dictate the redevelopment of Lahaina.

Pa‘ele Kiakona, one of Lahaina Strong’s main organizers, said he supports the current discussions underway to restore Moku‘ula and the surrounding wetland through executive action.

Restoring Lahaina’s most important cultural spot would be a “huge milestone,” McKelvey said.

Beyond the historical value, there are practical reasons to bring Moku’ula and Mokuhinia back, including fire prevention, he said.

Lahaina used to be known for having so many breadfruit trees that one could walk down Front Street and barely see the sun.

If the water is restored in a way that benefits the town, there’s a chance to recreate a healthy native forest, McKelvey said.

“Restoring this water system not only brings about a cultural regeneration but it’s also reestablishing the health of the ecosystem that will protect us from future fire,” he said.

‘Not A Part Of Our Government Culture’

While the park under which Moku‘ula is buried is county-owned, surrounding tracts that might become a cultural corridor include county, state and private lands.

Whether the government will need to exercise eminent domain or whether landowners will trade land or donate their property will have to be worked out, Green said.

The prospect of eminent domain doesn’t sit well with some of Moku‘ula’s neighbors.

Stevan Walton, a chiropractor, also lived on Shaw Street for many years and had his house destroyed in the fire. He and his wife are staying in a rented condo in Kahana while they figure out next steps. 

They’d like to rebuild their home and return to Lahaina, not have the property condemned. Walton is also concerned about recreating a wetland next to his backyard for health reasons.

“What are you going to do about breeding mosquitoes in the middle of town?” he said.

Maui County Council member Shane Sinenci, who testified against the cultural corridor bill because it threatened Lahaina’s autonomy, said he supports voluntary measures and incentives and acknowledges that there is already significant county and state land in this area. 

“As the historic capital and sacred center of Hawaiian culture, it’s only right that the importance of this area is acknowledged,” he said. “If we want to truly heal from the devastation, it is essential that we not only restore physical structures in the area, but also its historical and cultural identity.”

But Sinenci said eminent domain is rarely used in Hawaii — the approach has been to come to a voluntary agreement with landowners to form a win-win. 

“Aside from the debris removal case, we can’t think of another instance when Maui County used eminent domain,” Sinenci said, referring to the county moving forward with plans to acquire land through eminent domain to expand the Central Maui Landfill for fire debris. 

“It’s not a part of our government culture,” he said.

Forging A New Path

An effort in the late 1990s to restore Moku‘ula and Mokuhinia petered out.

The county had given a 35-year lease to a now-shuttered nonprofit, Friends of Moku‘ula, to restore the area in partnership with Maui County and the federal government.

The Army Corps of Engineers, which governs wetlands, assembled a draft environmental assessment and feasibility study. But the project bogged down.

Once an area is deemed a wetland, the Corps has jurisdiction. In community discussions back then, there was talk about Moku‘ula and Mokuhinia becoming a bird sanctuary with restrictions on access and use, Kapu recalled.

That didn’t sit well with everyone. Others wanted to grow kalo at the site. Some wanted a cultural and historical center open to the public.

Walton, who attended some of the community meetings, understood the Corps’ position.

“When you restore a wetland, they don’t just hand it over and say, ‘Have fun on your island,’” he said.

Things will be different this time, according to Green.

“I’m confident we’ll be able to handle it at the state level,” he said. “I don’t think we’re going to need the feds to help us. And if we do, we’ll have no difficulty bringing them along.”

The wildfire has put the state and the Biden administration in “constant communication,” Green said.

Chang has pulled together a group of experts to look into water issues, land title questions, property ownership boundaries, archaeological and hydrological features of the area, and other aspects of getting Moku‘ula and Mokuhinia ready for their potential next chapter.

The group has drafted an executive summary for the governor and is awaiting his direction on next steps, she said.

“There’s an opportunity to utilize this restoration for something extremely constructive and productive towards healing,” said Chang.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.

Civil Beat’s coverage of environmental issues on Maui is supported by grants from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and the Hawaii Wildfires Recovery Fund, the Knight Foundation and the Doris Duke Foundation.