Project Site

Only 5-10 percent of the dryland native forest remains in Hawaiʻi.  This restoration project seeks to establish such a forest in perpetuity on the hillside called Pu’u o Ehu, which is the watershed that feeds Hāmākua Marsh.

Hāmākua Marsh and adjacent Kawainui Marsh make up the largest remaining wetland habitat in the State.  It is a wildlife sanctuary owned by the Hawaiʻi State Department of Land and Natural Resources. It is home to three species of endemic and endangered waterbirds.

The area has a rich cultural and geographical history.  The area once supported a large native Hawaiian population who managed the resources for both inland fishponds and wetland taro production.

Hāmākua Marsh used to be a stream flowing from Kawainui to Kaʻelepulu (now Enchanted Lake) but the water flow has been diverted.  The wetland now marsh depends fully on rainfall and runoff of the adjacent watershed called Puʻu o Ehu.

Hāmākua Marsh Wildlife Sancturary is now protected conservation space.  It naturally provides opportunities to learn about and practice habits that build climate resilient communities.  It is a place to study first-hand how people and nature can work together to enhance the planet’s capacity to sequester and store carbon, while preserving and protecting cultural and natural resources. Although wetlands account for only about 3% of the earth’s land surface, they store around one third of all soil carbon.  Protecting them keeps that carbon in the ground.