Loʻipūnāwai on the southern coast of Moloka‘i, Hawaiʻi

Kaupapaloʻi o Kaʻamola

This 1.2-acre site on Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi is a loʻi pūnawai (spring-fed taro pondfield), emptying directly into Kāinaʻohe, a 17.2-acre loko iʻa (fishpond).  It is one of eleven coastal wetland sites were chosen for a study that developed a protocol for prioritizing coastal wetland restoration sites.

Over the last decade, Ka Ipu Makani, a local non-governmental organization, has worked in collaboration with the landowners, land tenants, and community volunteers to restore the loʻi pūnāwai. Between the loʻi and the loko iʻa, there is a groundwater-fed herbaceous wetland containing peat soil (a coastal fen). Although directly adjacent to the sea, the fen is a freshwater wetland due to the steady flow of groundwater it receives from the uplands. Aeʻo have recently been observed at the site and migratory birds such as ʻakekeke (Ruddy Turnstone [Arenaria interpres]) have also been seen using the fen area.