COASTAL RESOURCES

Chapter 5 Coastal Resources ...... 5-1 Shoreline Characteristics ...... 5-1 Coastal Habitats ...... 5-13 Coastal Access and Recreation ...... 5-14 Nearshore Water Quality ...... 5-15 Coastal Managed Areas and Planning ...... 5-15

Figure 5-1. Coastal Resource...... 5-18 Figure 5-2. Coastal Access ...... 5-19

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Chapter 5 Coastal Resources

Huhuluiÿi ka hulu o nä manu I ka ua kakahiaka, Akaka wale no kau mai ka ohu, Ohuohu Punaluÿu i ka wai hü o Kauila,

I ka hoÿowali ÿana pau ÿia E ke kai o Kamehame, ÿA ÿohe wahi hemahema o ka pali o Pohina, Kahiko ÿia nei e ka ohu o Waiÿöhinu.

Tousled are the feathers of the birds In the morning rain, Clearly on e can see through the mist, Punaluÿu is decked out in the swelling waters of Kauila, Completely stirred up By the sea of Kamehame, (but) The of Pohina lacks nothing. Clothed in the mist of Waiÿöhinu. -untitled mele recorded by Mary Kawena Pukui, 1943

SHORELINE CHARACTERISTICS

Kaÿü’s shoreline is over 80 miles in length. Most of the shoreline is rocky low cliffs; where sandy occur, these are usually black or green beaches. Many of these sandy or embayments were sites of former fishing villages destroyed by the 1868 tsunami or 1868 lava flow. There is a strong alongshore and high waves cause strong rip currents in most areas. Many areas along the shoreline have and springs as as underwater springs. Some of the sandy beaches include: Keauhou, Halapë, Kaluÿe, Kamehame, Punaluÿu, Nïnole , Käwä, Green , Waiÿahukini, Kaÿikikiÿi, Pu’u Hou, Kakio, Kahakahakea, Pöhue, Manukä.

The shoreline will be described in sections going from east to west summarizing descriptions from Beaches of the Big (Clark 1985) supplemented by input from Ka’u residents:  Volcanoes National Park (Keauhou-Halapë-Kaluÿe) to Kamehame. Keauhou, once the site of a Hawaiian fishing village, can be reached by hiking 8.0 miles down the Keauhou Trail in the Volcanoes National Park. A low rocky point divides Keauhou into two inlets. Small tidal pools and pockets of black sand line the foreshore of both inlets, but shallow, rocky bottoms make for poor swimming conditions. Snorkeling is good within the inlets. Seaward of the inlets, the deep water, strong currents, and gusty offshore winds make for hazardous conditions. The Hawaiian village was totally destroyed by the tsunami of 1868. Shoreline fishing at Keauhou is limited to Native Hawaiian residents of Kalapana or their guests. South of Keauhou, is another former Hawaiian village called Halapë, also destroyed by the 1868 tsunami. The violent earthquake of 1975 caused a sudden sinking of the shoreline from Keauhou to Kaluÿe. Two campers died at Halapë from the local tsunami caused by that earthquake. Halapë Beach is a beautiful little cove of white sand speckled with bits of black lava. It offers safe, protected inshore swimming. The

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bottom is sandy and gently sloping. Pole fishermen report excellent catches of päpio and ulua along the Halapë shoreline. Halapë is accessed by the 7.2-mile Halapë Trail. High cliffs separate Halapë from the next accessible site, Kaluÿe. Kaluÿe is the third shoreline camping site in the Hawaii Volcanoes National park equipped with facilities and drinking water. At a flat pähoehoe point, wave erosion has formed a small bordered by black sand beach tinted with a little red cinder and fine bits of white coral. Black sand and scattered boulders cover the nearshore bottom of the inlet, but the rough surges do not make for safe swimming. Shoreline fishermen and ÿopihi pickers should be particularly careful along the edge of the point in the splash zone, where there are dangerous waves and many boulders covered with kaunaÿoa mollusks (tube worms that if stepped on can cause severe puncture wounds).

Halape  Kamehame. Kamehame is the name of a littoral cone located on the shoreline directly below Pähala. Fronting this cone is a of black cinder sand tinted green with olivines. The shoreline for miles on either side of this beach consists of low sea cliffs. This windy beach is steep and incoming surf often generates a strong and powerful rip currents. Local fishermen use the littoral cone as a mark for offshore fishing grounds. The top of the hill offers a spectacular view inland from Hilina Pali to Ka Lae. Kamehame is a remote wilderness area with no facilities or shade. There is no convenient public access. It is visited primarily by ÿopihi pickers and pole fishermen.

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Kamehame  Punalu’u to Käwä. The beautiful black sand beach of Punalu’u was the site of a major Hawaiian village, also destroyed by the 1868 tsunami, rebuilt, evolved into a thriving village with the growth of the sugar industry in Kaÿü, declined with the advent of the automobile and modern roads where trucking the sugar in bulk proved more economical than shipping in bags, but still supported a sizable population until the 1946 tsunami. The beach lies between Kahiolo and Puÿumoa points. The southwestern point, Puÿumoa, is the site of the County beach park, complete with parking, showers, restrooms, pavilions, drinking water, electricity, and camping sites. Because lava is exposed at the water’s edge along the northern portion of the , swimmers tend to concentrate at the southeastern edge of the bay. This is also the location of a small one-lane boat ramp. Swimmers and snorkelers should be cautious about venturing beyond the boat ramp due to a powerful that constantly runs out the boat . From the boat channel to Puÿumoa, a line of lava boulders form an irregular natural breakwater that partially protects the end of the beach near Puÿumoa Point. Occasionally, some surfers and body surfers ride the small waves near the point, but caution must be exercised because the water movement is always toward the boat channel, into the rip current. The inshore waters from Punalu’u to Nïnole have long been a popular fishing area for both pole and throw-net for a variety of fish. Koloa, a small beach between Punalu’u and Nïnole, was once famous for its ‘ili’ili hanau, “birthing stones”. Few remain today as a result of (before it was prohibited) and tsunamis. Nïnole , famous for its mullet, received freshwater from icy springs. High storm surf and tsunamis destroyed the pond walls. But the springs continued to flow until 1980, when extremely heavy rains washed tons of soil and boulders down the intermittent stream that empties into the pond, burying the pond and springs. Nïnole Cove is a small public beach park with no facilities developed with the resort complex. A small inlet and several small ponds in the lava rock are shallow and protected for children. Several pockets of black sand also offer some small beach areas for easy entry and exits into the nearshore waters. The otherwise rocky shoreline, high surf, and dangerous currents preclude all swimming in the open ocean. Pole fishermen report some good catches taken from these rough waters. Käwä Bay

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is known for its surfing. Käwä was also the site of a Hawaiian fishing village, destroyed by the 1868 tsunami. Besides surfing, it is a popular fishing and camping site. The eastern edge of Käwä Bay is a massive ÿaÿa flow, the site of Keÿekü Heiau. The heiau offers a commanding view of the shoreline and points mauka, including Puÿu Makana, the flat-topped hill located directly inland. A black sand beach sprinkled with olivines rims the head of the bay. The northeastern end of the beach consists primarily of pebbles and fronts a small brackish -fed pond that marks the seaward end of the intermittent Hilea Stream. Driftwood and wind-blown trash litter most of the southwestern end of the beach. Large sand deposits cover most of the inshore bottom of the bay, over which surf driven by prevailing trade winds break. A rip current usually runs toward the northeastern end of the beach where it converges with brackish water escaping the pond and flows out to sea along the northeastern point of the bay. In the open ocean, strong alongshore current usually pull toward Honuÿapo. Diving is fine during calm conditions, but divers should always be alert for strong currents and sharks, both common in the area. Beyond Käwä toward Honuÿapo are several small ponds and inlets and a large number of springs. The springs well up not only from the shoreline, but from the ocean bottom as well. Honuÿapo was also the site of a Hawaiian village destroyed by the 1868 tsunami. It also had a fishpond known for its mullet. Honuÿapo Bay was deepened in the 1870s and wharf completed in 1883. With the new landing, improved roads, and railroad line, Honuÿapo became a busy industrial port with several large warehouses and other associated structures in addition to the mill just inland. As with the Punaluÿu landing, Honuÿapo gradually fell into disuse during the 1940s as large trucks took favor. The 1946 tsunami battered the wharf causing its abandonment. The grounds that once accommodated the former landing and port facilities were converted into a public beach park by the plantation and various local civic clubs, then turned over to the county and named the Whittington Beach Park in honor of one of the early-twentieth-century residents of Kaÿü. Whittington Park consists of a grassy field with a coconut grove, picnic pavilions, picnic tables, restrooms, and showers. Offshore of the park, pounding waves and strong currents prevail throughout the year, allowing little opportunity for safe recreational swimming. Fishermen report that these rough waters are often productive. Picnickers and campers occasionally see the white- tailed tropic seabird (Phaethon lepturus dorotheae or koaÿe kea) that nest in the high sea cliffs adjoining the park.

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Punaluu

Kawa

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Honuapo  Ka’alu’alu. The shoreline from Kawa to the Green Sand Beach consists chiefly of sea cliffs that are exposed to the open ocean. The pounding waves have created storm beaches, such as at Waikapuna and Kamilo. The at Waikapuna rests on a low, wide lava terrace. Extremely dangerous shoreline conditions preclude almost all aquatic activities, except shoreline fishing. The shoreline is arid, desolate, and continually windswept. At Kamilo, waves have cut into the point a large bay-like indentation that has an assortment of ponds and channels, most of which are exposed at low and submerged at high tide. A narrow ribbon of white sand forms a beach along the inland border of the low-lying tidal area. Kamilo, which means “swirling currents”, is littered with debris brought by the ocean currents—logs, drift wood, ropes, nets, and trash. Ka’alu’alu and Paiaha’a are bays lined with small pockets of green or black sand. Ka’alu’alu is one of the few protected embayments in Ka’u. It served for many years as the major port of the district. It was the landing nearest to Waiohinu, once the main village of Ka’u. The port’s importance declined with the growth of the sugar industry. The construction of a wharf at Honuapo was more accessible and centrally located to the sugar mills. Cattle ranchers, however, continued to use Ka’alu’alu; remnants of the old cattle-loading chute remain at the northern point of the bay. A sizable Hawaiian fishing community once lived on the , swept away by the 1868 tsunami. The 1946 tsunami destroyed the wall of the fishpond that confined the narrow inland portion of the bay. This former fishpond inlet is now a tidal wetland that attradcts both land and water birds and diversity of marine life. Debris and driftwood wash up along the shoreline similar to Kamilo. Paiaha’a is one of three places in Ka’u known in former times for surfing, the other two being Punaluu and Kawa. The area is not easily accessed and no longer surfed regularly.

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Waikapuna

Ka’alu’alu

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 Green Sands Beach to Ka Lae (South Point). Green Sand Beach , also known as Mahana or Papakölea, is at the base of Pu’u Mahana, a littoral cone formed by an ancient eruption of Mauna Loa. High surf produces a powerful break and very dangerous rip current. During calm periods, swimmers, bodysurfers, and divers frequent the beach and the sandy inshore waters. Shoreline fishermen try their luck on the rocky points. The beach is accessed by a rutted 4-wheel drive road. This isolated spot has no facilities, shade, or water. Ka Lae or South Point is the southern most point of the Hawaiian and the 50 states. Turbulent currents converge close to shore creating conditions conducive to big-game fish including ÿahi and ulua. To overcome the strong winds and currents, one of the unique ways the Hawaiians apparently fished the grounds was to drill holes in the ledge at the water’s edge, tie their canoes with a long rope, and allow the wind and the current to pull the canoe out to the desired spot. Today, fishermen use a similar method sailing floats out to sea dragging the baited hooks. The canoe mooring holes are part of a significant group of archaeological sites, referred to as the South Point Complex, considered one of the most important pre-contact sites. South Point Park, is an undeveloped park that offers spectacular views.

Green Sands Beach

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South Point  Waiÿahukini to Manukä. On the lee side of South Point, Waiÿahukini was situated between a 500-foot cliff and a branch of a 1868 lava flow. In the time before there was a road between South Kona and Kaÿü, Waiÿahukini was the gateway to the eastern half of the island. Because of the hazardous wind and current conditions to paddle around South Point, canoes from Kona would land at Waiÿahukini and travel would resume inland by foot. With improved roads and boats, Waiÿahukini began to decline. The last residents abandoned the village at the outbreak of World War II. Fishermen and campers continue to visit the area, but there is no convenient access for the general public. Two sections of beach front the former village, but neither is good for swimming. The eastern section is a white sand beach at the base of Pali o Külani. The nearshore is a shallow and rocky shelf upon which surf is often breaking. Considerable amounts of white sand have been blown inland upon which naupaka (Scaevola) flourishes. Two brackish water ponds are mauka of the naupaka. The smaller pond provided drinking water for the residents and was called Wai o Ahukini, water of Ahukini (a supernatural woman), giving the place its name. During periods of calm seas, snorkeling and diving conditions are good. Surfers report occasional rideable breaks. Fishing is the dominant activity of this area. There are also significant archaeological sites in the area. Kaÿikikiÿi was a former fishing village that shared the gateway role with Waiÿahukini. The lava flow of 1868, however, partially destroyed the village. Kaÿilikiÿi Beach borders a small bay set between two rocky points. Pebbles cover the entire foreshore, but a large amount of green sand makes up the backshore overgrown with pöhuehue or beach morning glory (Ipomoea pes-caprae subsp. Brasiliensis). Offshore, the water drops quickly to overhead depths. Although conditions are suitable for swimming, the small bay is unprotected from the open ocean and high surf comes in straight and unchecked forming rip currents that converge offshore with strong alongshore currents. Occasionally, the waves are surfable. The area is best known for its fishing. There is no convenient public access. Puÿu Hou, standing 240 feet high, is a littoral cone formed by the 1868 flow. Wave erosion has created three beautiful green sand beaches at its base. The easternmost beach contains three distinctively colored materials—black cinder, red cinder, and green olivines, making it one of the most

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unusual beach in the Hawaiian Islands. With a steep foreshore and abrupt drop to overhead depths, this beach is not safe for swimming. Even during periods of calm, persistent alongshore currents flow past this completely unprotected stretch of beach. Low sea cliffs line the shoreline from Puÿu Hou to Kahakahakea, but several storm beaches of white sand cover the rocks below Puÿu Waimänalo and Puÿu Kaimuÿuala. A pocket of white sand occupies a small kipuka at Kakio, the only low-lying area in the makai edge of the 1887 lava flow. This rugged reach of shoreline is frequented primarily by ÿopihi pickers and pole fishermen. There is no convenient public access. The moderately long white sand storm beach at Kahakahakea is strewn with lava fragments, giving it a salt-and-pepper appearance. Boulders and broken lava front the entire length of the beach, preventing safe entry and exit points. Wave breaking continually over the rocks precludes almost all in-water activities. A number of natural brackish water ponds occupy various cracks and depressions to the rear of the beach. Pöhue is a beautiful little pocket of white sand with a sand-bottomed inlet. During periods of calm seas, this beach is one of the safest swimming areas in the district and offers excellent snorkeling opportunities. For boaters, it is known as the best refuge from the wind between South Point and Kaunä Point. Hazardous conditions occur during high surf with powerful shore breaks, backwash, undertows, and rip currents. Fronting Puÿu Ki to the east of the bay is one of the best low cliff ulua fishing grounds. To the west of Pöhue, is a storm beach of white sand, lava fragments, coral rubble, and pebbles. Immediately offshore is a wide, shallow, rocky shelf that precludes swimming. Just inland of the beach is a large rectangular brackish water pond, Kanonone Pond, which is encircled by coconut and hala trees. Between Pohue Bay and Manuka, the Road to the Sea leads to pocket beaches at Humuhumu and Awili Points. The Manukä archaeological complex, which is part of the shoreline to mountain ahupuaÿa Manukä Natural Area Reserve, includes the former fishing village, a heiau, a hölua slide, petroglyphs, and a trail system. The little bay at Manukä is the only low-lying opening in the sea cliffs from Keawaiki to Niuÿou, a distance of nearly 10 miles. Manukä beach consists of coral rubble, lava fragments and white sand. Swimming conditions are poor because of the shallow and rocky bottom. Numerous deep fissures in the bottom and an underwater cliff attract an abundance of reef fish and other sea life, affording excellent snorkeling and scuba diving opportunities during calm conditions. At times of high surf, rip currents cause hazardous conditions. A backshore of kiawe provides some protection for campers, primarily goat hungers and shoreline fishermen. Access via a jeep road is open to the public, but it is very rugged and negotiable only by four-wheel drive.

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Wai’ahukini

Puu Hou

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Pohue Bay

Road to the Sea

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Manuka Bay

COASTAL HABITATS

Kaÿü’s coastal resources provide rare and important habitat for threatened and endangered species. Kaÿü has the best known or monitored honu ÿea (Chelonia, Hawksbill Turtle) nesting sites and honu (Chelonia mydas, Green Sea Turtle) feeding sites—Halapë, Kamehame, Punaluÿu, Käwä, ÿAwili Point, and Pöhue Bay. Kaÿü’s shoreline also has several anchialine ponds and tidal wetlands, that are habitat for endemic shrimp and insects. Ka’u’s coastal strand vegetation is considered the best preserved, most extensive, and most diverse native coastal vegetation in the State (personal communication, R. Warshaur, biologist). This vegetation is vulnerable to vehicles, ungulates, and invasive species. The best area is on State land at Ka’alu’alu where DLNR is in the process of protecting this area under a Forest Reserve designation. Other concentrations exist at Kawa, Kananone, and Kamehame.

Keaoi Island Sea Bird Sanctuary is located off the at Halapë.

Coral Reefs of Kaÿü are considered to be in generally healthy condition. This may be due to the lack of urban development in Kaÿü. In more urbanized areas of Hawaiÿi, coral reefs suffer from damage due to sediment and urban runoff. Kaÿü’s coral reefs are documented in the 1981, “West Hawaiÿi Atlas” (ORCA, Ltd./D.P. Cheney) as well as the “Atlas of the Shallow-Water Benthic Habitats of the Main Hawaiian Islands” (NOAA, 2007). The NOAA navigational charts identified coral reefs only north of Kamilo Point, although the more recent 2007 NOAA benthic survey did not corroborate this area as significantly different. The 2007 NOAA benthic survey identified Ka’u’s nearshore bottom as primarily rock and boulder. There are some sand pockets. The only significant aggregate coral reef was at Ka’alu’alu.

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The convergence of currents at South Point creates a unique habitat for deep sea fishing relatively close to shore.

COASTAL ACCESS AND RECREATION

Coastal recreational facilities are located at the following areas: County Beach Parks (picnic, camping, showers, restrooms)-- Punaluÿu Harbor and Honuÿapo Bay (Whittington Park); Boat ramps-- Punaluÿu and Kaulana Ramp; Camping—camping with facilities but only accessed by hiking are the three sites in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Keauhou, Halapë, Kaluÿe); camping with facilities accessible by the general public are the two County beach parks.

Other shoreline activities occur in areas without facilities, often resulting in damage by off- road vehicles, trash, and unsanitary conditions in bushes or ponds. Fishing and ÿopihi picking—good areas in several locations, but noted areas are South Point and Pu’u Ki (near Pöhue Bay) for the bigger game fish. Snorkeling/diving—Although there are many diving areas, a noted snorkeling area is Manuka; surfers and divers need to watch for sharks at Käwä; Swimming-- Safe swimming areas, characterized by a sandy beach with gently sloping sandy bottom with minimal currents during calm conditions, include Halapë, Punalu’u, Nïnole Cove, Käwä Bay, Green Sands Beach, and Pöhue Bay (Clark 1985); Surfing/body surfing-- Recognized surfing or body surfing sites are located at Halapë, Punalu’u, Käwä Bay, Paiaha’a, Green Sand Beach, and occasional waves at Wai’ahukini and Ka’ikiki’i.

Recognized vehicular mauka-makai shoreline access include the road to Punalu’u Beach Park, road to Whittington Beach Park, South Point Road (although DHHL has attempted to block access in the past), and Road to the Sea (private road through Ocean View Ranchos to ÿAwili Point where the public has unrestricted use). A popular vehicular route that appears to be public but requires further dispositive resolution includes the road to Ka’alu’alu (disputed by DHHL). Pedestrian trail rights (right to walk, but not right to drive) have been established for the ancient trail to Pohue Bay that ties into Kamaaina Boulevard in the Ocean View Ranchos subdivision (Civil No. 01-1-0389). Na Ala Hele has claimed that a trail to Waikapuna is a public trail, which is being resolved through a subdivision application process (SUB NO. 07-605). Permission is required to access Wai’ahukini (details on mauka-makai access rights from personal communication with D. Chang, shoreline access consultant to the County Planning Department).

The Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail envisions a shoreline trail from the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park through Ka’u, South Kona, North Kona, South Kohala, all the way to Upolu Point in North Kohala. The trail combines three kinds of trails: ancient trail predating western contact (pre-1778), historic trail developed post-contact as part of the government road system and vested as a public trail under the Highways Act of 1892, and linkages connecting the ancient and historic trail segment (NPS 2009). The determination whether the trail segment is an ancient or historic trail is critical where the trail crosses private land. The State’s Na Ala Hele Trails & Access Program conducts an “abstract” to document ownership, i.e., whether the trail existed before 1892. In Ka’u, a physical trail along the shore exists from Halape to Honuapo. There is a gap along the cliffs between Honuapo and Waikapuna where the presence of a defined trail does not seem to exist. Thereafter, a physical trail seems to exist all the way to South

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Point and then from South Point to Manuka. The segments with questionable public ownership are noted on the map.

NEARSHORE WATER QUALITY

The Department of Health (DOH) has classified all of the nearshore waters of Kaÿü as Class AA. Hawaiÿi Administrative Rules Section 11-54-3 describes the objective of Class AA waters to, “remain in their natural pristine state as nearly as possible with an absolute minimum of pollution or alteration of water quality from any human-caused source or actions. To the extent practicable, the wilderness character of these areas shall be protected”. DOH routinely monitors the water quality at one station located at Punalu’u.

COASTAL MANAGED AREAS AND PLANNING

There are several types of government-managed marine programs including marine life conservation districts, natural area reserves, fisheries management areas, and wildlife sanctuaries. In Kaÿü, there is only one designated management area—0.5 nautical miles offshore at South Point is a Bottomfish Restricted Fishing Area established in 1998 and regulated pursuant to Hawaiÿi Administrative Rule 13- 94. Bottomfish species covered by these rules include: a) onaga, b) ehu, c) kalekale, d) ‘opakapaka, e) ‘ukikiki (or gindai), f) hapu’u, and g) lehi. It is unlawful for any person to take or possess these seven bottomfish species while in a vessel that is drfting or anchored within the South Point Bottomfish Restricted Fishing Area, except in times of emergency.

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Recent and ongoing planning studies related to coastal resources include recommendations from a State coastal conservation task force and County Honuÿapo study. The South Kona-Kaÿü Coastal Conservation Task Force prepared recommendations for the preservation of the character and culture of Kaÿü to the 2007 State Legislature. Recommendations included: creation of a special preservation zone called the “Kaÿü Coastal Protection Trust”; creation of a South Hawaiÿi Fisheries Management Council; creation of a local advisory board to assist the State Department of Land and Natural Resources in decision making where development is proposed on land proposed for protection; and, establishment of a “No Development” setback line from the coast (DLNR 2006).

Currently, the County has retained a consultant to develop a Park Resources Management Plan for Honuÿapo Park. A draft plan proposes recreational use areas designated in the plan as community parks, wilderness camp area, and the majority of the site restored or managed as natural and archaeological preserves (Townscape 2009).

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For nonpoint source influx to the nearshore waters, Ka’u residents have observed that the first streams to flow after initial rainfall are Hilea, Punaluu, and Maula, followed by Ninole. There would need to be a relatively bigger storm for the other streams to flow (Summit #2 comments). After extremely heavy rains, sedimentation of the nearshore bottom has occurred in the area from Kamehame to Honuapo (Summit #2 comments). Groundwater flow to the nearshore waters are noticeable at Manuka, Ka’alu’alu, Waikapuna, Honuapo, Kawa, Punaluu, cracks near the shoreline between Punaluu and Kamehame, Ku’e’e Ruins, Kaaha, and Halape (Summit #2 comments).

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Figure 5‐1. Coastal Resource

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Figure 5‐2. Coastal Access

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