RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Kawai Nui Marsh is the largest remaining wetland in Hawaii, encompassing approximately 830 acres of land in Kailua, Oahu; and

WHEREAS, the early Hawaiians named the area Kawai Nui Loko, or "the big freshwater pond"; and

WHEREAS, the Kawai Nui Marsh provides an important habitat for four endangered species of native Hawaiian water birds and for migratory bird species, and is identified by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as a water bird recovery area; and

WHEREAS, the Kawai Nui Marsh serves as a critical flood control basin to protect the developed lower-lying areas of urban Kailua and the water quality of Kailua Bay; and

WHEREAS, on February 2, 2005, the Kawai Nui Marsh was designated by the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance as one of three wetlands of international importance in the United States; and

WHEREAS, numerous groups have contributed to the care and protection of this valuable natural resource, including the Kawai Nui Heritage Foundation, the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), and the United States Army Corps of Engineers; and

WHEREAS, the Kawai Nui Restoration Project is an ecosystem restoration project being developed under the direction of DLNR; and

WHEREAS, the Kawai Nui Heritage Foundation, established in 1983 as a non-profit corporation, is the outgrowth of more than 50 community organizations and many concerned citizens who, for over a decade, have worked together to protect, enhance, and introduce others to Kawai Nui Marsh's diverse resources; and

WHEREAS, as a result of the actions of the Kawai Nui Heritage Foundation and its members, inappropriate public and private developments have been either modified or prevented, and major elements of the Citizens' Park Plan have been adopted by the State's Resource Management Plan for Kawai Nui Marsh; and

WHEREAS, Kawai Nui Marsh is adjacent to and affected by the Kawai Nui Flood Control Project, a United States Army Corps of Engineers’ authorized and constructed facility; and

WHEREAS, in the early 1960s, the City and County of Honolulu purchased 749 acres of Kawai Nui Marsh from a private corporation that had proposed a residential development on 200 acres of marsh land; and

WHEREAS, to fully implement the Kawai Nui Marsh Master Plan, the State must secure a land transfer for the project site from the City and County of Honolulu to the State of Hawaii; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the House of Representatives concurring, that the City and County of Honolulu, the State of Hawaii, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers are urged to meet to resolve the land-ownership issues involving the Kawai Nui Marsh to protect and preserve the natural resources of the marsh; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to Hawaii's Congressional delegation, the head of the United States Army Corps of Engineers' Honolulu District, Governor of the State of Hawaii, Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, and President of the Kawai Nui Heritage Foundation.

Report Title:

Kawainui Marsh; Protection