IntroductionOur afternoon stop was to learn more about watershed restoration and we were lucky enough to meet with Melora Purell, the coordinator of the Kohala Watershed Project, which is the ninth watershed within the state of Hawai`i (Kohala Watershed Partnership, 2011). She joined the staff in 2007 and works with implementing management plans in the field, community outreach and education, and fundraising. More information can be found on the Kohala Watershed Partnership's website or their Facebook group.
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Pelekane Bay RestorationPelekane Bay is found on the leeward coast of Kohala and is fed by two streams that originate at 5,400 ft. elevation. Luahine and Waiakamali streams were part of a mesic forest ecosystem that existed before the deforestation due to feral animals and erosion. The goal of the Pelekane Bay restoration is to slow the flow of sediment into the bay and restore the coral reef habitat by restoring native vegetation along the stream corridors and most importantly, install sediment stop fabric that holds back the heavy flow of sediment as it rushes down the mountain when it rains (Kohala Watershed Partnership, 2011).
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Invasive Species ManagementThe Kohala Watershed Partnership has three major goals for the management of invasive species.
1. Identify the species that have the greatest threat in terms of altering the ecosystem. 2. Prioritize areas for control and species to eradicate. 3. Implement control methods. Preserving biodiversity is an important part of the work Melora and her team is currently doing with the watershed project. Invasives can easily take over large areas of land, choking out native species. We walked in an area in which the team had planted thousands of native plants, all of which are mapped and exist in geodatabases and can be manipulated in ArcGIS, as Melora explained. While the Kohala Watershed Partnership has very up-to-date databases, the other partnerships around Hawai`i have yet to match Kohala's progess, and the eventual combination of all geographic data into a single database is Melora's goal. |
Sources
Hawai`i Department of Natural Resources. 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2011 (http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/dofaw/wpp/learn-about-watersheds-1).
Kohala Watershed Partnership. 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2011 (http://kohalawatershed.org/).
Banner photo by Elizabeth Amann
Kohala Watershed Partnership. 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2011 (http://kohalawatershed.org/).
Banner photo by Elizabeth Amann