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Kula Community Watershed Alliance is a land restoration initiative led by many of the fire survivors living in the burned areas of the August 2023 wildfire that devastated Kula, Maui. With the guidance of subject matter experts, we have joined together as neighbors in unified support of our land‘s recovery from the fires and the establishment of a safer landscape and optimum watershed health in our area. We are committed to stabilizing and regenerating the disturbed soil, restoring and protecting site-appropriate native flora and fauna, and stewarding the long-term vitality of the lands we call home.
Restoring the fire-damaged lands of Pōhakuokalā, Kula.
In August 2023, approximately 230 acres of the Waiakoa watershed in Upper Kula, including over 23 homes and dozens of structures and a thick forest of invasive Australian Black Wattle trees, burned to the ground. This historic wildfire took place inside a steep valley referred to as Pōhakuokalā in higher elevations, and Pūlehu in lower elevations.
According to historical record, this invasive tree-dominated landscape was once one of the most biodiverse native habitats on the slopes of pre-contact Haleakalā. A critical source of fresh groundwater and a food source for endangered native species, this area–a montane, mesic forest once hosting a convergence of both windward and leeward species–is in need of our support now more than ever.
The people living in this watershed have seen the health of the land decline over decades, and in the aftermath of the wildfire, are eager to restore vitality to the place they call home. This region is equally important for our neighbors down stream: the waters that flow through our gulches feed Keālia Pond and the South Maui wetlands – home to endangered species.
This critical watershed has been seriously destabilized and is now at risk in the aftermath of the wildfire. Neighbors immediately joined together to commit to the recovery and long-term stewardship of this special place. The Kula Community Watershed Alliance was founded by those stewards.
Together, the Kula Community Watershed Alliance strives to stabilize, protect, restore, and maintain the burned areas and beyond. Learn more about our process, which is guided by a group of subject matter experts, below.
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Our first step is to safely set a healthy foundation to build from. We are beginning with a badly damaged and disturbed landscape–the fireʻs intensity combined with soil dehydration prior to the fire has left us with completely sterile soil. In order to repair it safely, we will be working with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (part of the USDA) to apply a treatment made of invasive woody material collected nearby. We casually refer to this phase as “Mulch the Gulch,” though this phase is more likely to include wood chips in the hardest hit areas.
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The restoration of this fire-effected area comes with many challenges, not the least of which is invasive species–both flora and fauna. The lands in our area were disturbed well before the fires, filled with invasive trees–primarily Acacia mearnsii, or Black Wattle, native to Southeastern Australia that is prolific, fire prone, and damaging to our tropical soils. Our area is also known for a large Axis Deer population, which is devastating watersheds all over Maui County. As an Alliance, we are committed to prioritizing landscape resilience Kula.
This is why weʻll need to engage in what‘s called in “Assisted Natural Regeneration,” meaning that human efforts will need to support the process along the way. We will do everything we can to “Wipe out Wattle” and to keep Axis Deer away from our restoration site. This will be achieved through a variety of methods, including systematic weed control and fencing where appropriate.
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With the guidance of ecological and cultural advisors, we will restore a healthy watershed environment using site-appropriate native plants and trees planted in the burned areas to return native groundcovers to the understory, shrubs to the mid-story, and magestic trees to the canopy.
This area of Kula, known as Pōhakuokalā (and Pūlehu just downhill), is home to a montane mesic forest known to biologists as a former home to a tremendous amount of biodiversity. As much as possible, we strive to restore the ecological identity of this area through careful sourcing of seeds and saplings. Several partner organizations have already begun growing these for us.
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Stewardship is a marathon, not a sprint. We are committed to the long-term maintenance of our restoration area, and this will include weeding, fence repair, and more weeding.
Community work days to maintain our watershed (in the safest areas of the restoration zone) will be a big part of our maintenance plan. Sign up for our mailing list to be informed of upcoming volunteer opportunities.
Instroduction to Watershed
Discover the magic of watersheds, where raindrops journey through hills and valleys to reach a common destination.
Rainfall & Runoff
Raindrops paint the landscape, trickling down hills to form tributaries that tell the story of our land.
Watershed Divide
Witness the watershed divide, where the land makes a choice, guiding rainwater towards different destinations.
Tributaries & Convergence
Join the dance of tributaries as they converge, shaping a powerful flow that defines the essence of our watershed.
Percolation to Groundwater
Some raindrops choose a hidden journey, percolating into the earth to join an aquifer, a life source beneath the surface.
Neighborhood Council
Each member of our Council is a fire survivor living or working in the burn zone. All have committed to restoring the lands they tend back to a fire-safe native habitat, and are committed to assisting the Kula Community Watershed Alliance as stewards of the group‘s resources.
Dave Chevalier, President
Sabrina Fehlmann, Vice President
Elizabeth Anderson, Treasurer
Andrea Perkins, Secretary
Glenn James
Lisa Liu
Monica Loui, Kula Sandalwoods
Dan McEvoy
Kyle Ellison, Mālama Kula (Ex-Officio)
Sara Tekula, Limua Maui
Executive Director
Advisors
The following supporters have offered their time, expertise, and wisdom as we return vitality to the land where we live:
Steve Anderson, Restoration Ecologist
Danny Boren, Skyline Hawai‘i
Sarah Bryan, Nā Koa Manu Conservation
Clifton Dodge, Kīnā 'Ole Sustainable Land Use
Scott Fisher, Hawaiʻi Land Trust
Paul Gillespie, Green Earth Landscape
Joseph Imhoff, Skyline Conservation Initiative, Limua Maui
Kealiʻi Reichel
Michael Reyes, Maui Environmental Consulting
Rich Tully, Tully Studio
Watch the Watershed
Have you noticed anything new in your watershed? Submit your observations to our crowdsourced citizen science project to get to know our watershed better.
Join the Alliance.
Are you a concerned resident living in the fire affected areas of Kula?
A potential partner that can bring resources to our effort?
Join the Kula Community Watershed Alliance and connect with
like-minded neighbors who are dedicated to restoring the lands they call home.
Latest Updates from the Alliance
Make a Gift
Post-fire recovery, soil stabilization, and land restoration of this magnitude is a long-term stewardship process that requires hard work, specialized equipment, expertise, and resources to properly execute. Please give what you can to help us make our neighborhood fire safe, recover the land, and support its vitality.
