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Kahikinui groups press DHHL for more funding, ROEs and faster water infrastructure
Summary
Community groups outlined restoration, fire mitigation and fog‑drip water capture projects at Kahikinui, reported ~$44 million invested to date in restoration partnerships and asked DHHL for right‑of‑entry, continued fencing and a possible $1.5M carryover for road improvements.
Andrea Buckman, executive director of Uhiwai o Haleakala, told the commission the Kahikinui area contains much of Maui’s remaining dry forest and stressed the significance of protecting headwaters through fencing, invasive‑animal removal and reservoir repair. Buckman recounted long‑running partnership work and said restorations have been supported with more than $44 million to date in public funding and grants.
Community leaders described technical work already under way: perimeter fencing (9.3 miles cited in testimony), fencing inspection and repair, and pilot reservoir repairs to support aerial water‑drop operations. Kaōkinui representatives described a FogDrip capture pilot that they said produces up to about 2,000 gallons of water in a single day and requested support to install an overland pipeline; a Maui HIKI NA cohort grant was mentioned with a local share of roughly $150,000 for phase‑2 installation.
Funding and administrative asks included right‑of‑entry requests for restoration and fire‑mitigation corridors, SHPD compliance support, additional fencing and remediation funding for a former armory site in Kahului. One community leader requested that DHHL consider a $1.5 million carryover from trust funds to support community‑managed road improvements and asked the commission to allow the nonprofit to administer those funds.
Selected quotes: "Most of that is public money, taxpayer money through CIP fencing... DHHL has put in some money. I hope we can increase that," — Andrea Buckman. "Data collected shows that we're able to produce 2,000 gallons of water in a single day," — Kaohanai speaker describing fog‑drip capture.
What happens next: Commissioners acknowledged the programs and said they will review ROE requests, budget carryover proposals and coordinate with planning and land‑management divisions. No formal DHHL approvals were recorded on these agenda items during the session.
