If you’ve ever driven around or flown over South Maui you’re familiar with the vast, wind swept beauty on display from McGregor Point out to Cape Kinau. With Haleakala reaching towards the heavens in the east and the West Maui mountain range framing this mighty vista, it always draws plenty of oohs and aahs from those lucky enough to see it.
The gusty and ever present northeasterly trades rush through the Maui isthmus, bottlenecking into a broad bay, creating hard offshore conditions that blow the tops off the perfect waves and the surface of the open sea out to the horizon. Surfers, their boards chattering across the choppy faces, race the “Ma’alaea Freight Train”, known worldwide as the fastest rideable wave in the world, Humpback Whales breach and nurture their young in the deep cobalt and aquamarine waters, and sunburned tourists stroll through the retail shops, resort condos, and visitor attractions of Kihei, Kamaole, Makena, and Wailea. The natural interplay between the extensive beaches, cliffside vantage points, and wide ocean crescent of this section of Maui make it unique in the island chain. And as they occur everywhere in Hawaii, lying almost unnoticed amongst the many attractions in this area are weighty environmental issues that are being addressed by local environmental groups. Beach and ocean traffic is high here and both impose demands and compromises on the environment that require their scrutiny and persistence.
Ho’aloha Aina volunteers hard at work restoring and optimizing the sand dunes on a Kihei beach. Their work is critical to maintaining the integrity of the dunes, removal of invasive plants, controlling public foot traffic, and crafting a favorable ecosystem for wildlife. (Photo: Courtesy of Bob Richardson)Started in 2001, Ho’aloha Aina (“Friends of the Land”) is a dedicated core of about 15-20 South Maui residents who’ve taken on coastal ecological management projects such as beach foot trail establishment, invasives removal, wildlife conservation, reduction of illegal dumping, the sound redistribution of dredged sand, and native Hawaiian plant reintroduction and maintenance.. They’ve even made inroads in the area of eco-tourism, where visitors get to participate in some of these activities while vacationing on Maui. Ho’aloha Aina’s sand dune restoration and stabilization efforts are a primary mission and an undervalued environmental work piece in Hawaii, If not for their hard work, the presence of Hawaiian plants such as Naupaka, Pohuehue, Akiaki, and Pohinahina would be left to the mercy of the elements. “The strong tradewinds are a big factor in the erosion of the sand dunes,” says volunteer leader Bob Richardson, “and an arbitrary foot trail established in less than two weeks can take up to six months to re-grow,” he said. The combined erosion agents of high winds and trampling have accelerated the degradation of the dune zones.
In addition to local volunteer labor, the good works of Ho’aloha Aina are bolstered by the kokua of Maui County, a grant from the Hawaii Tourism Authority, and public donations. Here, county lifeguards in Kihei lend much welcomed hands-on support, helping grateful volunteers haul away green waste with their ATV. (Photo: Courtesy of Bob Richardson)In addition, nesting areas of the indigenous Wedgetail Shearwater are disturbed by unchecked human activity. The elevated dunes and moderate foliage up and beyond the high tide line are the ideal habitat for this vulnerable and federally protected species of seabird to nest and raise its young. Ho’aloha Aina has worked intensively to establish main trails and conditioning the public to use them exclusively with educational signage and clear trail markers. This has created a safer refuge from human incursion.
Conservationists place identification bands on Wedgetail Shearwaters to help monitor their populations. The Shearwaters are highly dependent on select Southern Maui coastal habitats for nesting and raising their young. (Photo: Courtesy of Bob Richardson)Just offshore, there are quite a few commercial whalewatching, snorkeling, and sightseeing boat tours coming out of Ma’alaea Harbor. The boat tours can last for hours and guests often have to relieve themselves while out at sea. That’s understandable. The problem is that instead of having the waste pumped from their tanks when ashore, these tour operations can legally dump the untreated sewage directly into the ocean.
A vile slick of human excrement stains the blue waters off South Maui. By themselves, the individual dumps may not look big, but the cumulative effect could be devastating. How amazing (and disconcerting) that this isn’t illegal? (Photo: Courtesy of Mark Middleton)Another local environmental group, called Pump Don’t Dump, is pushing for a ban on the direct dumping of sewage into the ocean by these operators. Mike Moran of PDD explained their timely beginning. “It was at true grass roots effort of Maui residents who frequented the ocean on the South side, and had been confronted with fecal matter and sewage slicks while doing many recreational activities there. Several letters to Maui News on the topic caused us to meet and go with the effort.” In good faith or by law, these operations must be induced to have the effluent pumped from their boats while docked, so that it may be treated. Untreated, the waste introduces bacteria, toxins, and other pathogens into the water. Is it possible that this practice could be contributing to increased shark sightings and attacks, fish kills, and foul algae blooms? At the very least, it can’t be helping.
Pump Don’t Dump activists protesting the deliberate disposal of raw sewage into South Maui waters. According to the PDD website, most boat tour operators have ceased the practice, but a few continue to dump directly into the ocean. (Photo: Courtesy of PDD)Moran says that unabated dumping continues, and adds that the state could’ve been a lot more proactive in putting a stop to the actions of careless businesses. Because of the political foot dragging, the proposed ban has yet to be passed into law. “We have no idea when it will happen, as we have tried since 2001 without success; possibly when there is an administration change in the Governor's (Linda Lingle) office, and not if Lt Gov. (Duke Aiona) takes over, as he stated he has same position as current governor. As shown on our website, the governor is the key, as her request for the Whale Sanctuary to be declared a no dump/no discharge zone would likely cause the cessation. A rule change at the Sanctuary, which is co-managed by the Federal (NOAA) & state (DLNR) could do it without legislation. The public can contact the governor or DLNR chair Laura Thielen to ask for this,” he said.
Whale season in Hawaii starts in mid-October. Humpback whales such as these come to birth and raise their calves in the relative calm of Ma’alaea Bay and beyond. Who knows what kind of human caused maladies await them? (Photo: Courtesy of Mark Middleton)It’s puzzling how often the simplest of solutions always seem to be mired in bureaucratic red tape and the public (and environment) suffers through long periods of gestation before anyone of authority steps forward to make lawful change. Meanwhile, as the political hankering continues, the ocean is being systematically contaminated. I mean, dumping fresh turds into a wildlife sanctuary sounds immediately wrong doesn’t it? Hopefully, it doesn’t take an administration change for something positive to take root.
People, especially those who live in Hawaii, need to identify any and all disruption and indiscriminant fouling of our beaches and ocean and help work towards change. Ho’aloha Aina and Pump Don’t Dump are great examples of this important sector within our island community.
To learn more about their efforts, visit these websites;
Go to Mark Middleton’s online galleries to see more great images of South Maui;
