Birds will get their sanctuary

By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

After receiving necessary permits and overcoming a land-use challenge, the state is moving forward with its plan to create a 70-acre wetlands bird sanctuary at Pouhala Marsh near Pearl Harbor's West Loch.

All of Hawai'i's native water birds remain on the endangered species list, and feral dogs, cats and mongoose routinely kill the chicks and eat the eggs, preventing repopulation, said Sharon Reilley, wetlands conservation manager for Ducks Unlimited, a waterfowl conservation organization. This project offers the possibility of turning that around.

"Right now they cannot reproduce because of the human activity and predators," said Reilley. "We feel like we have a good shot of recovering the species with restoration and management. We expect to see huge population growth."

Reilley said the sanctuary is about the only intact wetland area remaining in Pearl Harbor. "There is so little of what used to be left," Reilley said. "Pearl Harbor has lost about 75 percent of all the wetlands to development."

In early 2000, the state announced its plan to create the Pouhala Marsh bird sanctuary and had expected to begin construction last summer. But the plan was held up for approval of a special management area permit from the city and a conservation district use permit from the state.

A challenge by two utilities also held up the project. Fuel pipelines owned by Tesoro Hawai'i Corp. and the Gas Co. run through a section of the sanctuary as part of the state's "energy corridor"; the utilities did not want the area fenced in and they had liability concerns. An agreement was subsequently reached to allow the companies access to the pipelines for maintenance.

"We agreed not to do habitat improvement over the energy corridor so they wouldn't incur additional liability in terms of endangered species liability," said Dave Smith of the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife. "A lot of the liability they were concerned about already existed and we weren't going to increase that."

Using a $260,000 grant, crews have begun using bulldozers to gather piles of rubbish dumped in the area and will install a fence around the site by the end of October, according to Smith.

"We are basically securing the area, making it safe for the birds by putting up a fence to keep predators out and people from dumping garbage in there," Smith said. "We are not doing any major grading or moving dirt."

Ducks Unlimited has helped with the planning and design of the sanctuary and is now doing limited restoration work. Some brush is being removed and water will be regulated to the site. The state will operate and maintain the site, which is near the Ted Makalena Golf Course and Waipahu Intermediate School.

Reilley said there is tremendous community support for the project, that it will be tied into the planned Pearl Harbor Historic Trail, and that the Hawai'i Nature Center is developing an education program at the site.

"It has the potential of being able to draw people back to nature, even in an urban area," she said. "How many places can you walk practically out your back door and see endangered species?"

Ati Jeffers-Fabro, the Nature Center's education director, said the education program was successfully field-tested last year. He hopes to have 40 classes of about 60 children each visit the site next year. "The class is an introduction to the wetlands and how the ecosystem affects the things around them," said Jeffers-Fabro. "We talk about management, the adaptation of the birds in the area to survive and the concept of interdependence.

"Getting them into an area that is wild and showing them how it is tied into their environment, they learn a real appreciation for it."

Reach James Gonser at 535-2431 or jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com.