Ukumehame Wetlands: Mapping High Potential Restoration Areas and Supporting Long-Term Resilience along West Maui’s Coastline

The historic Ukumehame wetlands of West Maui have been severely degraded since the 20th century due to sugarcane agriculture, ditch diversions, and infrastructure development, resulting in excessive sedimentation to the downstream Olowalu reef. This agricultural and infrastructure development has accelerated the loss of native habitat and distanced traditional Hawaiian land stewardship practices. An upcoming realignment of the Honoapiʻilani Highway, currently running through Ukumehame, presents a unique opportunity to restore these wetlands and recover critical ecosystem functions. This project, conducted in partnership with The Nature Conservancy Hawaiʻi and the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife, seeks to identify and map high-potential restoration areas, characterize wetland bird interactions, and incorporate Traditional Ecological Knowledge to inform and advance this effort.