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Environment

News stories regarding Molokai’s outdoor environment

Students Help Restore Dryland Forest

Friday, November 4th, 2022

Students Help Restore Dryland Forest

By Sage Yamashita, Intern Reporter

High school students are working with local nonprofit Molokai Land Trust to replant dryland forests on the island’s northwest side. Molokai High School’s Natural Resource class has been volunteering since September, and their work isn’t done. They have committed to volunteer every month till December to help reach the goal of reintroducing over 8,000 native Hawaiian dryland forest plants into their natural environment.  

The Kawakiu Watershed Restoration Project is 7.25 acres based at the Mokio Preserve. The first 2.25-acre plot was built in 2010 and planted from 2011 to 2015. It has 95 percent Native Hawaiian plants and is fenced to keep deer and cattle out.…

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Why Save Seeds?

Friday, November 4th, 2022

Community Contributed

By Glenn I. Teves, County Extension Agent, UHCTAHR

Our tropical climate on Molokai is unique compared to other parts of the U.S. and Europe, where most of our seeds originate. The warm nights in the tropics are brutal for many varieties developed outside of the tropics. What may grow well in those areas may not grow well here so we need to find varieties that grow well here, or we need to develop them. Tropically adapted seeds are difficult to access, such as those from Southeast Asia, South China and the Philippines. Seeds from Africa, India and South America are even more difficult to access.  …

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Rainy Season Outlook

Friday, October 28th, 2022

By Jack Kiyonaga, Community Reporter

Good news: it is going to rain more, at least according to the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) most recent predictions for this year’s wet season.   

As Molokai residents know, a drought has persisted on the island, especially on the west and southwestern regions. While these areas of Molokai are currently rated as “severe to extreme drought,” recent rainfall “should result in some improvement,” according to Kevin Kodama , NOAA Senior Service Hydrologist at the Honolulu Forecast Office. 

The U.S. Drought Monitor, a national metric of drought conditions, currently lists western portions of the island as D3 or “extreme drought,” the fourth of five levels of drought.…

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Mixed Feedback on OHA’s Ocean Policy

Thursday, October 20th, 2022

By Jack Kiyonaga, Community Reporter

Office of Hawaiian Affairs representatives arrived on Molokai last week to discuss ocean management policy, with a list of set questions. Attendees had their own questions, however, and OHA staff left with a clear message from Molokai.

“No one speaks for us but ourselves,” said Mana’e lawai’a Leimana Naki. 

Molokai Kanaka spoke for themselves. They spoke of what the great expanse of ocean has meant to them and their families and their island. 

“Molokai prides itself on this balance,” said one community member referencing Molokai’s reciprocal relationship with its environment, both from a cultural perspective and a practical one, to sustain the community’s subsistence lifestyle. …

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Arce Sworn In as First County Ag Director

Wednesday, October 19th, 2022

Arce Sworn In as First County Ag Director

By The Molokai Dispatch Staff

Molokai’s Rogerene “Kali” Arce took the oath of office two weeks ago as the first director of Maui County’s new Department of Agriculture. A Molokai resident and Hawaiian homesteader, Arce has more than three decades of experience in Hawaii’s agriculture industry. 

“Under Kali Arce’s leadership, we are making progress toward re-establishing agriculture as a key segment of our economy,” Mayor Michael Victorino said. “With support from our new Department of Agriculture, farmers are helping to provide our residents with fresh produce and higher-paying jobs, apart from the hospitality industry.”

Arce assumed her new position in July.…

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County Energy Cost-Savings Program

Wednesday, October 19th, 2022

Maui County News Release 

Maui County taxpayers can expect to benefit from $73 million in energy and water conservation cost savings from a 20-year energy cost savings agreement with contractor Johnson Controls.

“This is a fiscally responsible project that saves taxpayer dollars, creates local jobs, reduces our carbon footprint, and, importantly, frees up clean water that we can use for affordable housing,” Mayor Michael Victorino said. “Reducing dependence on fossil fuels means we are taking money out of an oil tanker and keeping it right here, investing in jobs for our residents.”

The contractor expects the project will create more than 40 local jobs for the engineering, project management and maintenance support.…

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Agricultural Micro Grant Available

Wednesday, October 5th, 2022

MEO News Release 

Molokai farmers and ranchers have an opportunity for funding assistance. Applications for the popular Agricultural Micro Grant Program 3.0 – which offers up to $25,000 to Maui County small farmers and ranchers – will be available beginning Monday, Oct. 17.

The $3 million Maui County-funded program, administered by Maui Economic Opportunity’s Business Development Center, is open to operating farms on less than 12 acres and livestock ranches up to 40 acres possessing a county business or state general excise license as of July 1, 2022. Preference will be given to women and Native Hawaiians.

Grants may be used to directly impact the availability of locally-grown produce, livestock and poultry and other related products.…

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Arce Confirmed as County’s First Ag Director

Thursday, September 29th, 2022

Arce Confirmed as County’s First Ag Director

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

Molokai’s Rogerene “Kali” Arce received unanimous approval from the Maui County Council last week when she was confirmed as the first director of the new county Department of Agriculture. After an application and selection process earlier this year, she was named the appointee for the position, pending the council’s confirmation, and has already begun her role for the department, which was launched on July 1. 

“Mahalo to Councilmembers for their unanimous approval of Kali Arce. Her leadership of this important department is crucial in advancing Maui County’s self-reliance and economic diversification,” Victorino said in a press release.…

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Ka‘auwai ‘Ohana Aim for Food Security

Thursday, September 29th, 2022

Ka‘auwai ‘Ohana Aim for Food Security

By Paul Hanley | Community Reporter

“Our goal is to help increase our family’s and our island’s food security by inspiring others to start growing more of their own food,” says Fina Ka’auwai. Fina and her husband Wayne, who grew up living and working on farms on Molokai, are slowly increasing food production for their family of six on their one-acre plot in Ho’olehua.

In addition to hunting, fishing, and growing traditional crops, they have expanded into chickens, aquaculture, and “rainbow” fruits and vegetables. Part of their formula for success has been diversifying their diet. Their lush gardens are bursting with variety.…

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Reef-Toxic Sunscreen Blocked

Thursday, September 29th, 2022

Reef-Toxic Sunscreen Blocked

By Jack Kiyonaga | Community Reporter

Starting Oct. 1, Maui County is banning the sale, usage and distribution of nonmineral sunscreen. Only sunscreen with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide as active ingredients will be allowed. The ordinance, which was passed last year, is an effort to lead actions to protect reefs from environmental degradation. A historically significant move, this sunscreen ban is the first of its kind in the U.S. 

The chemicals found in many mainstream sunscreens can wash off our bodies and into the ocean, causing bleaching to coral, decreased reproduction to fish and accumulation in the tissues of many kinds of marine life, according to scientists.…

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