Refuge staff makes best of budget uncertainty | News, Sports, Jobs

Despite having an information kiosk burn down in March and then having the former refuge manager leave her post in July, the small four-person refuge staff at Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge has dealt with challenges this year and learned more about the refuge in the process.

Despite having an information kiosk burn down in March and then having the former refuge manager leave her post in July, the small four-person refuge staff at Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge has dealt with challenges this year and “learned more about the refuge” in the process.

“We’ve all learned more in-depth about the refuge and learned how to do different jobs with the help of our Honolulu office,” Kealia Pond park ranger Courtney Brown said. She added that more than 20 volunteers also help with wetland restoration, maintenance, interpretation and as visitor center docents.

In July, former refuge manager Glynnis Nakai left her position on Maui to accept the job of refuge manager at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge in Olympia, Wash., according to a National Wildlife Refuge System official. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was unable to hire her replacement nor an administrative assistant to replace one who retired last year, due to a “limited budget,” the official said.

Since July, Oahu National Wildlife Complex refuge manager David Ellis has overseen Maui County’s two national wildlife refuges – Kealia Pond and Kakahaia Beach Park on Molokai.

When asked if it were likely a new on-site refuge manager would be hired for Kealia Pond next year, Ellis said: “There’s no immediate plans . . . but it all depends on the budget.”

For 16 days in October, Kealia Pond staff members and employees of many other agencies felt the impact of a partial federal government shutdown. Recently, Congress passed a budget for fiscal year 2014, and President Barack Obama signed it Thursday.

It remained unclear what the National Wildlife Refuge agency’s budget will be for next year, or how local refuges may be affected. Ellis said that his office has not had the opportunity to analyze the new budget, so “we don’t know what to expect yet.”

He and other Kealia Pond refuge staff members said that a priority would be to replace the pond’s visitor information kiosk that burned down in the early-morning hours of March 28. The fire destroyed the wood, plastic deck, railing and interpretive panels near the kiosk at the Maalaea end of the Kealia Coastal Boardwalk. While the burned 20-by-20-foot open wood structure has been closed since the fire for safety reasons, two other boardwalk kiosks remain open to visitors.

“It’s a big goal of ours to get that up and running again because it’s well-used by visitors,” said Brown. “We’re hopeful it will be sometime soon.”

While Brown declined to give any definite timeline, she said that the materials needed for the repairs have already been ordered.

On average, 17,000 to 18,000 visitors walk the Kealia boardwalk every month. The 2,200-foot-long boardwalk and pocket parking lot were opened in 2009, 15 years after the project was first proposed.

One of the project’s many delays stemmed from problems with its original decking. Initially, the boardwalk was made from recycled plastic, but that material began to crack and warp shortly after installation. This prompted the contractor to order a plastic-and-wood composite from the Mainland, which refuge staff members say has been exposed to the elements but is resilient nevertheless.

“That new composite material has been holding up pretty well,” Brown said. “It’s exposed to so much sun, wind and heat out there, it gets put to the test. Some areas seem to be more weathered, but other areas look to have no problems.”

Brown said that, to her knowledge, there have not been any major repairs to the boardwalk deck or panels since it was installed in 2006.

“I think the panels are in surprisingly great condition,” she said. “We clean them once a month. . . . I haven’t noticed any real degradation of materials or of the bolts, and we’re out there every week.”

One of the ongoing problems at the refuge is vandalism, she said, and staff members systematically paint over graffiti.

The 691-acre refuge is one of the last remaining natural wetlands in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is home to 30 species of waterfowl, shorebirds and migratory ducks, including the endangered ae’o (Hawaiian stilt) and ‘alae ke’oke’o (Hawaiian coot).

* Eileen Chao can be reached at echao@mauinews.com.

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7rq3UoqWer6NjsLC5jqecsKtfobykrctmpZ6vo2R%2FcX2SaGhrZ6Kas7azxGaqrZmWm3qurcqeqmaalajBbrvFZpmunJeawW7BzZycq6yRnru1xY4%3D

 Share!