Latest News.
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Fighting The Project.
Maui residents & kānaka maoli say they will do whatever it takes to fight a one-mile beach restoration project on West Maui. The project at Kā’anapali Beach is considered a short-to-midterm mitigation effort to slow the impacts of sea-level rise & coastal erosion.
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Final EIS Submitted.
The proposed sand recovery method includes a moored crane barge equipped with a clamshell bucket. Barges would be rotating between the sand deposit & two off-loading sites, where the barges would be moored to an elevated trestle or floating bridge to shore. The sand would be transferred to shore along the trestle. Land-based equipment would then transfer the sand from the shoreline to the placement area, where crews would spread sand along the shoreline.
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Project Awaits Final Approval.
The community raised concerns over the environmental & cultural impacts to the area during work. West Maui residents at a BLNR meeting in October said they would take whatever action necessary to stop the project, which they felt would damage the existing reef. The final EIS has been submitted and is pending acceptance from Gov. David Ige. If approved, the project will still require multiple permits.
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Legal Action To Halt The Project.
Kekai Keahi, Lāhainā resident & community organizer, said that residents are pursuing legal action & will do anything necessary to prevent the plan from moving forward. “We are going to take legal action…They have 16 more permits–every step, we will be there.” Concerned residents, including three area canoe clubs, are worried the work will smother the reef, permanently damage delicate ecosystems, & alter the only state-sanctioned canoe race location on Maui.
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Short-Term Bandaid For Sea Level Rise.
The proposed project, if it clears all regulatory approvals, calls for moving sand from an 8.5- acre sand field located approximately 150-800 feet seaward of Kāʻanapali Beach, to widen the beach from 41 to 78 feet.
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Beach Restoration Summary.
Learn the specifics of the proposed project & what the outcomes will be.
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Iwi Kūpuna Discovered.
Iwi kūpuna discovered on Kā’anapali Beach near the Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club in West Maui on July 21, 2022.
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Respect Pu‘u Keka‘a By Removing All Structures.
Pu‘u Keka‘a had no buildings on top; it was the leaping place of the soul (leina o ka ‘uhane), a place with reverence where one gives up the corporal and becomes part of the eternal world — a sacred site. “It is recognized as a historical site; it is recognized as a cultural site; and it’s recognized as a spiritual site…Honor the host and remove everything, then you can go on record that you historically became aware, culturally accepting and spiritually accepting of the place.” - Sam Kaai, b. 1938, Hāna.
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Extreme Degradation.
Resorts causing huge plumes of sediment due to dirt fill placed on our public beach.