Why Preserve Maha'ulepu? | Summary Of Resources

The scenic splendor of Maha`ulepu alone compels the hope of keeping this natural area undeveloped: majestic Ha`upu Mountain over- looking the fertile valley, the dramatic coastal headlands, the intimate bays and long sandy beach. However, it is the remarkable combination of natural, cultural, historic, scientific and recreational resources that makes Maha`ulepu so worthy of protection.

Below are a few key reasons to preserve Maha`ulepu. These are affirmed by the voices of participants in Malama Maha`ulepu and some of the 700 residents who sent postcards to Hawai`i's governor, asking for preservation of Maha`ulepu.

Maha`ulepu has it all!
Maha`ulepu's significant resources include a 5 million year geological record, endangered species - from reclusive blind cave invertebrates to breeding monk seals and humpback whales -, rare native plants, important native Hawaiian and sugar plantation history, and cherished recreational activities.

See summary of natural and cultural resources inventory.

It is one of the few places on Kaua`i, where you can go to a beach and not have hotels and condos blocking the views of the mountains. It is a wild place. As a biologist, rock formations and the fossilized plants found in the rock are providing important historical information about Hawai`i's lowland flora - an area that has virtually disappeared with modern development projects -Kaua`i resident, from a postcard to Governor Ben Cayetano, 2000.

Maha`ulepu is a living cultural landscape, a sacred place or wahi pana to Native Hawaiians. The ancestral remains of the area's Native Hawaiian families are buried at Maha`ulepu. Legends tell that the bones of warriors, invaders from other islands who were killed in battles, are buried in the dunes of Maha`ulepu.

It's wahi pana, a sacred place, where famous ancient battles were fought, where heiau stand, where dunes are filled with Hawaiian bones, and where legends abound. -Branch Harmony, resident, farmer.

Known archaeological sites include Waiopili heiau, petroglyphs, house sites and fishermen's shelters. Archaeological sites in the valley have not been excavated.

Malama Maha`ulepu is currently mapping information from Native Hawaiian land parcels in 1850 which reveal numerous kalo lo`i (taro fields), as well as springs, streams, wetlands and other natural features altered by sugar cultivation.

I am of Native Hawaiian ancestry and there are petroglyphs, heiau and cave burials that I do not want disturbed. I also like to pick limu, fish and swim there. -Kaua`i resident, from a postcard to Governor Ben Cayetano, 2000.

The Maha`ulepu area is an important archaeological and paleoecological research opportunity. At the Makauwahi sinkhole, scientists have identified 40-50 types of birds, most of them extinct or near extinct.

This is the Olduvai Gorge or La Brea Tar Pits of Hawai`i. We keep finding things. We could dig here forever. -David Burney, professor of paleoecology, Fordham University

See article from Malamalama, magazine of the University of Hawaii.

Kaua`i needs open space for the future, not more resort development. According to Kaua`i General Plan, updated in 2000, there are over 5000 more visitor and residential units with partial planning approval for Koloa-Po`ipu alone.

Our wonderful wild spaces along seashores are all disappearing, one by one, and soon there will be nothing at all there to remember how wonderful it was once upon a time -Frances Frazier, writer, translator of Hawaiian documents and literature.

It is one of the only places that local people can go without hotel hassle. -Kaua`i resident, from a postcard to Governor Ben Cayetano, 2000.

Maha`ulepu, the last accessible undeveloped coastal area on Kaua`i's south coast, could be part of a regional preserve. It is adjacent to Kipu Kai, an entire undeveloped ahupua`a or watershed which is a future State preserve. On the northern side of Mt.Ha`upu the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Refuge for water birds and the native Hawaiian Alekoko Fishpond are located on the Huleia River.

Maha`ulepu is beloved to residents. Malama Maha`ulepu continues a 30 year history of local determination to prevent development here.

My husband's family has fished and camped on this shoreline for hundreds of years. I have played on it for thirty years and would like my children and their children to experience a pristine and hotel free area. It is our Yellowstone Park. Save it! -Kaua`i resident, from a postcard to Governor Ben Cayetano, 2000.

I like to see that my family members have some nice places to enjoy. -Kaua`i resident, from a postcard to Governor Ben Cayetano, 2000.

Making ends meet is increasingly tough for the people of Kaua`i. Kaua`i people need and deserve local places of refuge from the stresses of modern day life.

Modern day living requires wilderness areas like Maha`ulepu. Where else can we go to renew our spirits, affirm and our faith and strengthen our souls so that we can continue to support and offer the hand of aloha to children and families who face the overwhelming challenges of modern-day living, but the awesome sanctuary that is Maha`ulepu? -Suzanne Kashiwaeda, resident and educator, from a letter to the newspaper

Conservation of natural and cultural places ensures the economic stability of tourism. A University of Hawai'i Travel Industry Management School study, done in 2001, asked visitors what they would like to see in the future development of Hawai`i. Preservation of natural coastlines (64.4% of respondents) was the top choice followed by natural areas (52.2%) cultural experiences (33.8%), rural charm (33%) and hiking and bike trails (28.6%).

Environmental preservation is key to promoting a vibrant tourist industry and maintaining a good living environment. -Kaua`i resident, from a postcard to Governor Ben Cayetano, 2000.

We don't want Waikiki, Maui or the Kona coast on our island! This place I enjoyed as an impressionable kid and I am determined to have the same for my children! -Kaua`i resident, from a postcard to Governor Ben Cayetano, 2000.

Visitors to Kaua`i support preservation of Maha`ulepu. So far, one third of the over 5,000 people who have signed our record of support, are vacationers.

Maha`ulepu is the kind of coast Northern Californians hope to find in Hawai`i: accessible, pristine, awesome and undeveloped. Any coastline is more beautiful in its natural state. -Visitor, from postcard to Governor Cayetano, 2000.

Land conservation today frequently occurs through collaborative partnering among private and public interests, agencies and organizations, all seeking the methods and the means to benefit landowners. Malama Maha`ulepu stands for cooperative planning and stewardship.

From the onset, Malama Maha`ulepu has sought a collaborative solution to the future preservation of this irreplaceable site. Among the group's state principles is that public access to Maha`ulepu should be perpetual and appropriate, and that the landowner should receive fair value for land dedicated or sold for public purposes. Malama Maha`ulepu is a coalition of people dedicated to preserving Maha`ulepu in a way that does not entertain a contentious process. Out of respect for its past and its future -our past and our future- one would hope a collaborative dialogue concerning its preservation will be sustained. -Sue Dixon, former editor of The Garden Island newspaper.