Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 6, 1 June 2022 — ALAKOKO [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ALAKOKO

_V MO'OLELO NUI ^ COVER FEATURE "

RESTORING KAUA'I'S MOST FAMOUS FISHPOND BY PUANANI FERNANDEZ-AKAMINE

" lt is said that his fishpond was buiit in a single night, and that the rocks that were laid for both ofthe fishponds eame from the sea below Makaii'i, whieh is perhaps a mile or so away from Niumalu, but it is also said that the distance away could be two miles or longer." On the verdant east side of the island of Kaua'i, Hulē'ia River flows into Nāwiliwili Bay. At a wide point near the mouth of the Hulē'ia River, just before it empties into the sea, is the 600-year-old Alakoko Fishpond, described by Kaua'i archaeologist Bill Kikuehi as "one of the finest examples in the entire archipelago of prehistoric stonework and fishpond construction." Those who are not kama'āina to Kaua'i may know Alakoko as the "Menehune Fishpond." Mo'olelo about this wahi pana attribute eonstruction of the fishpond wall - an engineering marvel that is a half-mile long and traverses portions of the river that are up to 10 feet deep - to the Menehune, a people who lived alongside,

but separate from, Kānaka Maoli. This mysterious race was renowned for their skill as builders and are credited with other epie construction projects including the 1.3-mile long Kīkīaola (agricultural) Ditch in Waimea, Kaua'i, that is over 20 feet high in places, and Ulupō Heiau in Kailua, O'ahu, a massive heiau with walls up to 30 feet high. AN ABUNDANT LAND 0VERRUN BY MANGROVES Located just south of Līhu'e, Alakoko Fishpond is in the ahupua'a of Niumalu within the moku of Puna. The area has long been a center of activity on Kaua'i, as this 'āīna momona is a region known for its abundance. Along with the resources of Nāwiliwili Bay, at one time there were at least six fishponds in the area. Lo'i kalo and other food crops flourished along the many streams and valleys of the nearby Hā'upu mountain range. The region includes an extensive wetland and estuary that is home to endangered native birds. At the Māhele of 1848, Alakoko and the surrounding land was given to Princess Victoria Kamāmalu. It then transferred to her father, Kekūanāo'a, and later to Princess Ruth Ke'elikōlani. In 1880, Ke'elikōlani sold the property to Paul Kanoa and for 106 years the land was part of the Kanoa 'Ohana estate. In 1986, the Kanoa Estate sold the property to the Okada Trucking Company.

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For most of the 20th century, Alakoko was neglected, becoming overrun by invasive red mangrove. The trees were introduced to Hawai'i in 1902 by sugar planters to mitigate erosion caused by their plantations and ranching. By 1977, dense thickets of mangrove occupied a third of Hawai'i's estuarine habitats, adversely affecting native ecosystems and impacting native species across the pae aina. Mangrove thrived unchecked along the Huleia River, growing over the walls of the Alakoko Fishpond, narrowing the river, and threatening the heahh of the wetlands. MĀLAMA HULĒ'IA IS B0RN Despite the declining condition of the fishpond, in 1973 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and continued to be a treasured wahi pana for the people of Kaua'i. In 1999, the community's eoneem for the ongoing degradation of the watersheds that feed into Nāwiliwili Bay - including Hulē'ia River and other streams - led to the founding of the Nāwiliwili Bay Watershed Council. The council's goals were to restore Alakoko Fishpond, correct stream diversions, control sources of water pollution, and restore lo'i kalo in the region. Paddlers ffom the Kaiola Canoe Club who practice on the Hulē'ia River also felt an increasing sense of urgency to address the mangrove invasion. In 2012, they initiated a mangrove removal project near the club's site at Niumalu Beach Park removing nearly four acres of mangrove by hand. In 2013 and 2014, the club received grants to begin mangrove eradication at a "demonstration" site next to Niumalu Beach Park. The grants also provided funding for native plant restoration and for building community support and partnerships for long term stewardship. In partnership with the Nāwiliwili Bay Watershed

Council, members of Kaiola Canoe Club, under the leadership of Stevan Yee, formed Mālama Hulē'ia in 2015 as a nonprofit dedicated to removing the mangrove in and around the Hulē'ia River, including Alakoko. Jan TenBruggencate, president of Mālama Hulē'ia's board of directors, was a paddler with Kaiola when he was asked by Yee to sit on his founding board of directors. "Stevan recognized that mangrove was a scourge on the landscape and proposed that we start cutting it - and a large plurality of the mangrove lands were around the fishpond. We started as a mangrove removal operation and we heeame a fishpond conservation organization," he said. Mueh of the mangrove that needed to be removed, including in and around Alakoko Fishpond, was within the 102-acre property owned by the Okada 'Ohana - whieh meant access, risk and liability issues had to be addressed and resolved with the landowner before work could begin. "We had a million-dollar grant ffom the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Coastal Wetlands Restoration Program pending that required a 20-year maintenance commitment," explained Mālama Hulē'ia Executive Director Sara Bowen. "We needed to have an agreement in plaee with the Okadas, so we were diligent in finding solutions for their concerns." After two years of of negotiations, access to the land was granted to Mālama Hulē'ia in 2017. MANGR0VE REM0VAL BEGINS IN EARNEST With grants secured and a lease agreement, Mālama Hulē'ia could begin the laborious process of removing acres of mangrove ffom the watershed in earnest. Along with community volunteers, kōkua to start the work eame from an unexpected plaee. 'A friend, Bryan Valett, with a backgound in earth-

work and heavy equipment operation was visiting from Washington," said Bowen. "We hiked down to the fishpond and when he saw all the mangrove his eyes got bright and he said, 'this project is calling to me."' Mālama Hulē'ia rented a fleet of excavation machines and cranes, and Valett returned to Kaua'i in January 2019 with a highly skilled crew that was willing to work for airfare and accommodations. Within three months the crew from Washington removed 10 acres of mangrove from the property. Since then, Mālama Hulē'ia has cleared out an additional 16 acres of mangrove ffom the fishpond and surrounding area using an amphibious excavator designed to work in muddy areas. While big machines have been used to help clear the landward perimeter of Alakoko, the removal work along the half-mile-long wall had to be done by hand. "Ihe hand work was all done by volunteers who we lovingly eall our 'menehune crew,"' said Bowen. "The crew is comprised of six retirees, all of whom are skilled chainsaw operators. They eame to Alakoko a eouple of days a week for nearly two years until the entire wall was cleared." Removing acres of mangrove is more than just cutting the trees - aside from debris removal, roots and seeds must be pulled up by hand. Mueh of the work was aecomplished by volunteers who help on community workdays, or through various school and community volunteer groups. When the pandemic hit, lockdowns prevented volunteer groups ffom coming out but the amphibious excavator had just arrived and so their work continued. Ihen in January 2021, the Okada family put Alakoko up for sale. A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TRUST F0R PUBLIC LANO Leadership at Mālama Hulē'ia knew that their lease to the land could be terminated, and they hoped to position themselves to be able to purchase the land should the Okadas decide to sell. However, they did not anticipate it would happen so quickly. "As an organization we always had an interest in purchasing," said Mālama Hulē'ia board member and past president Mason Chock. "Our vision is about management of the entire estuary and watershed. This is a historical gem with cultural significance; it was in our interest to purchase Alakoko from a community protection standpoint." An online petition in support of Mālama Hulē'ia purchasing Alakoko garnered more than 5,000 signatures. Overwhelming community support aside, the property was listed for $3 million and Mālama Hulē'ia did not have that kind of money. So they reached out to The Trust for Puhlie Land (TPL). "They [TPL] have a long, solid history of land acquisition, specifically for what we were trying to accomplish," said Chock. "So it was easy to connect with them and ask them to serve as our broker. I think the whole acquisition was successful due to them."

Mūlnmū Hulē'io staff and board members joined with staff from the Trust for Puhlie Lond to celebrote the tronsfer of the 102-ocres of lond thot includes Alokoko Fishpond ond the surrounding oreo to Mōlomo Hulē'io. The key contributors of mono'o ond 'ike for this ortide ore: Moson Chock (third from the left); Soro Bowen (fourth from the left); Peleke Flores (eighth from the left); ond Jon TenBruggencote (fourth from the right). - Photo: Mālama Hulē'ia

"At the time, there was a lot of land being purchased SEE ALAK0K0 ON PAGE 20

sight unseen by people from the mainland who have all this disposable ineome," said Bowen. "So there was a lot of stress. We needed to get this done quickly. We had so mueh community support, but the processes for accessing puhlie funds ean take years to negotiate so partnering with the Trust for Puhlie Land was really important."

ALAK0K0 Continued from page 19

"I don't know how we could have done this deal without them," said TenBruggencate. "They were a key and stalwart partner. They handled the negotiations on our behalf. We clear invasive weeds and protect historic sites - we're not dealers in land, that's not our skill set." The Trust for Puhlie Land helped Mālama Hulē'ia secure a private donation from the Chan Zuckerberg Kaua'i Community Fund of the Hawai'i Community Foundation. The community support helped expedite the process and in November 2021 title for the property was transferred to Mālama Hulē'ia. L00KING F0RWARD With ownership of the property secured - and restrictions added to the deed to ensure that the land is protected forever - Mālama Hulē'ia ean focus on the future. The organization updated their strategic plan to add in the kuleana of ownership and stewardship of the land in perpetuity, but recognize the need to involve the community in visioning. 'A major component of our stewardship is developing a master plan that has deep eommunity involvement," said Bowen. "Master planning will address clearing the mangrove ffom the rest of the watershed and bringing the fishpond into heahh and vitality. We are also interested in revitalizing the lo'i kalo and planting dryland crops to get back to being more food sustainable and we want to involve the community - but what does that look like? "We're also actively developing our partnership with our neighbor, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Hulē'ia Refuge bird sanctuary. Part of restoring the heahh and proper functioning of the fishpond is reconnecting the hydrology that is part of the land. This partnership will allow us to take an ecosystem approach to our work." Education is core to their vision and over the years thousands of haumāna have visited Alakoko. It's a perfect outdoor classroom where subjects like math, science, language arts, history and culture ean be easily integrated into the organization's restoration efforts. During the pandemic, when school visits were disallowed, Mālama Hulē'ia partnered with Kamehameha Schools to develop six online curriculum units that reinforce what students learn when they eome to Al-

akoko. Five Kaua'i schools and one O'ahu school are helping pilot the curriculum. With pandemic restrictions relaxing, Mālama Hulē'ia resumed its community workdays in March and will resume school visits in the new school year. 'Alakoko is at the pinnaele of what ean be because it's all-inclusive," said Chock. "It ean be a living learning center. It also gives us the ahility to build social and eeonomie capacity for our community. If you think about it from a kānaka perspective, everything we want in terms of self- determination stems from our ability to have places where we ean learn who we are and who we want to be. "The key is to create a successful model so the community feels ownership and the fishpond is still managed properly. We want to create a learning environment that will endure for generations." ■ For more information about Alakoko, or to volunteer or donate to the work ofMālatna Huleia go to: https://malamahuleia.org/organization/. The opening quote is takenfrom " Moolelo o ka Lahui ILanaka i ILapaia Menehune, o Kauai," a story by James H. Kuhau Kaiwi, transcribed and translated by Tiele-Lauren Doudt of Mālama Huleia. It was part of a cotnpilation published in 1920 by Thotnas G. Thrutn as "Story ofthe Race ofPeople Called the Menehunes, ofKauai" in the "Journal of the Polynesian Society."

Mūtuanui Kitashima, a haumana from Kanuikapono Puhlie Charter School, pulls out stubborn mangrove seedlings from the loko i'a (fishpond). - Photo: īina Aiu