Keʻanae Field Trip and Community Meeting

Monday, June 16, 2025

Location: Ke’anae Uka 13375 Hana Hwy. Right turn at Mile Marker 16.8 into property entrance, right before the base yard.

11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Lunch, Brief introductions and Field trip

Participants and experts will tour taro fields, visit Nahiku to view Makapipi stream area from Hana Highway and Pua’a Ka’a State Wayside Park area to view water system where water enters Ke’anae.
The field trip is by invitation only.  Please RSVP to Gina Young at [email protected] or (808) 250-6589

4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Dinner, Expert Panel and Discussion:

The East Maui Watershed, approximately 120,000 acres, provides the largest source of surface water in the state.  It is essential that our community plays a role in the management and use of these water resources to ensure that our community benefits. The East Maui Water Authority and the Public Finance Initiative will engage attendees in discussions about the current state of the watershed and their community, surfacing perspectives on the strengths and challenges that need to be addressed.

The meeting will include: 

• Welcome and Historical Information by Ed and Mahealani Wendt.
• East Maui Water Authority update and presentation on its goals, current state of resources, and the importance of community inclusion and decision-making.
• Introduction of participants and experts.
• PFI and the East Maui Water Authority will engage attendees in deep diving discussions about the current state of the East Maui watershed and local watershed communities, surfacing perspectives on the strengths and challenges that can be addressed through the management of this vital asset in Maui’s cultural and natural ecosystem.
• Experts and staff of the Public Finance Initiative will then present a moderated panel that will  broaden the community’s understanding of water and watershed issues on a larger global scale and discuss how other communities  are addressing issues and priorities that are similar to the challenges facing the East Maui Watershed (i.e. practices from indigenous groups handling water and land management issues informed by their cultural values and practices derived from ancestral knowledge; England’s experience with the public trust doctrine, ways to translate community vision into actionable strategies, and ways to fund the desired future of the watershed guided by principles of equity, access, and community).

Goals:

Information from the meetings will be used to guide the EMWAʻs efforts in working with the state and private interests and form the basis of the first ever community-based, culturally rooted watershed management plan for the East Maui surface water collection area.  We will discuss how and why community equity, input, cultural knowledge and practices should be considered in the watershed management and water resource discussion. Maui Hikina community members, ‘Aha Wai O Maui Hikina members and Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Interim Committee of East Maui Stakeholders will share their knowledge about the watershed areas, their vision for the future, and desired outcomes of watershed and water management in the area. Decision-makers outside of Maui Hikina will have a better understanding of the physical realities of East Maui by seeing it for themselves and hearing directly from the community. 

Part of the East Maui Water Authority Community Conversation Series June 16-18