Ka Iwi barriers to cost $175,000

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

The state will spend $175,000 to design and build permanent barriers along the Ka Iwi coastline to keep vehicles from further jeopardizing two endangered plant species.

For years, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources has relied on Volkswagen Beetle-sized boulders placed on the perimeter of the rugged shoreline at the far end of East Honolulu to keep out cars and four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Off-road enthusiasts manage to get through, anyway.

Now, the state plans to extend the guardrails along the Kalaniana'ole Highway edge of the area, said Dan Quinn, parks administrator with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

"We've been fighting a losing battle for years," Quinn said. "We've been trying to keep it under control with rocks. But now we want to manage the area better and make sure that these plants are undisturbed."

Two endangered plants grow in the area: Marsilea villosa, a fern, and Cyperus trachysantos, a sedge.

Several cultural artifacts also are along the shoreline.

The state's efforts are consistent with a multiphase management plan to protect the area.

The Ka Iwi plan — adopted after much public debate in 1996 — moved forward in 2001 after the city purchased the land from Kamehameha Schools.

The state has received a $5 million federal grant to assist in the purchase, but in accepting the money it must make improvements to the roadway, bury utility lines to clear the view plane, and make the scenic lookout by Makapu'u safer for visitors.

The state has worked to bury utility lines along Kalaniana'ole Highway, and bids will go out in the next couple of months on other improvements, including paving two parking lots, Quinn said.

The plan is ambitious and could ultimately include a visitor center, cultural center, restrooms, picnic areas, trails and wetland restoration. But the state has no plans to move forward with those improvements at this time because of financial constraints, Quinn said.

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.

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