Hoaloha ‘Āina is a grass roots organization committed to community stewardship and the protection of our shoreline by protecting the land from vehicular traffic, keeping the land free of trash, and by building and maintaining a walking trail that effectively connects the South Maui Heritage Corridor. It begins with individuals who have a commitment to work toward an end goal in cooperation with state and county agencies whose lands are impacted by our endeavors. Hoaloha ‘Āina falls under the umbrella of Tri-Isle Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc., a 501C (3) corporation for tax deductible contributions of materials and funds                                                        .

HISTORY:                   See it in pictures here!

Bob and Lis Richardson began constructing a trail from the Kihei Boat Ramp to the Surf Side Resort in 2001. There was already a tiny, but overgrown and hazardous footpath in place, so it was not too difficult to see how to expand what was already there by clearing out the brush, trimming the trees, and removing the hazards. Over time, the path was widened to a comfortable 3 feet allowing users a viable alternative to walking on South Kihei Road for that stretch of land. Today, the path is 5-8 feet wide, lined with coral, and mulched.

                                                                                      Photo:Interpretive signs augment the trail experience

On the other side of the Boat Ramp, the lands toward Kamaole Beach Park III were sorely misused. People had dumped appliances, cars and car parts, furniture, landscape and construction debris, batteries and tires—not to mention a mountain of incidental trash like bottles and cans.

It was too large a project for two people to take on, so the Richardson’s organized a workgroup in April of 2003. The crew of about 12 local neighbors cleared out truckloads of garbage and Community Work Day arranged to have all the gathered items picked up with a loader and huge truck. Since that time, the Richardson’s have been picking up litter in the area every Monday morning.

Some Monday’s, the couple would find new appliances, abandoned cars, or furniture that had been dumped. They hauled out beds, couches, tires, and as many as eight large bagsful of garbage weekly. Contractors would just pull in and continue to dump their construction waste anywhere behind any tree. Homeless would come in and use the area, filling it with trash and human waste. Parties with drugs and alcohol were evident and neighbors complained about crime and drug sales. Abandoned vehicles were a common sight, perched on the cliffs only to be torched later, making removal very difficult. Vehicles had access to the area and would delight in driving over the dunes creating ruts, and erosion problems were developing with every new trail cut by the joy-riders. When it rained, the loosened sands would run off into the ocean funneled by the ruts and tracks, eventually suffocating the ocean coral. When the coral is lost, the fish are gone too—the upset of the ecosystem affects everything. If this abuse continued to go unchecked, the area might never recover. Could this impending disaster be preventable?

ADOPT-A-HARBOR:

In 2004, the Richardson’s applied for the Adopt-A-Harbor program through Miles Lopes, the Harbor Agent for the Kihei Boat Ramp, calling themselves and any other volunteers Hoaloha ‘Āina (Friends of the Land). They began to clean up the Boat ramp area in addition to the lands on each side of it. The Kihei/Wailea Rotary Club had already adopted the Boat Ramp and worked diligently every quarter to come in and perform major services that would otherwise go undone due to County and State funding shortages like regular weed whacking, mowing, and trash pick up. Hoaloha ‘Āina filled in with weekly trash pick-up, tree trimming, mulching of the picnic areas, and developing a continuation of the trail north of the boat ramp. The Rotary was very supportive of this additional effort in the Boat Ramp area and now Hoaloha ‘Āina and the Rotary have combined forces on several workday occasions.

Photo: Sign by the boat ramp harbor indicating Hoaloha 'Aina as official Adopt-A-Harbor Volunteeers.

 

JERSEY BARRIERS:

In cooperation with the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Harbor Agents, Department of Boating and Ocean Recreation, Maui Police Department, the Kihei Community Prosecutor, Kihei Community Association, and Roads Department; a meeting was held to discuss possible solutions. After several meetings and reviewing all relevant issues, it was agreed that the most notorious problem was vehicular access to the area. It was determined that if the upper parking area could be contained, erosion of the sand dunes would cease and the shoreline could effectively be preserved. Barriers happened to be available that could be donated to the cause and a work crew was formed to get the job done of installing them.

Within a few days, the “jersey barriers” were in place and the ground was smoothed for a new look to the upper dirt parking lot. The barriers had graffiti and were painted in different colors, but Sherwin Williams stepped up to the plate to donate 25 gallons of paint. The barriers were painted with two coats of paint within a week by Hoaloha ‘Āina and they now look as though they belong to the area.