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Pouhala Marsh
Posted: July 1, 2008
I explored the trails at Pouhala Marsh along the West Loch of Pearl Harbor to see the progress being made by conservation groups to restore this once productive coastal wetland.
Prior to the development of Waipahu, Pouhala Marsh was a productive wetland on the shores of Pu’uloa (Pearl Harbor) abundant in ’ama’ama (mullet), o’ama (goatfish), and crabs. The Hawaiians also cultivated kalo (taro) along Kapakahi and Waikele Streams which border and supply the wetlands with water. Unfortunately, these wetlands were severely degraded by urban development, silt accumulation, water pollution, dumping and invasive species. Since December 2001, the Hawaii Nature Center has been organizing teams of volunteers on a monthly basis to remove the accumulated trash and invasive species in Pouhala Marsh and Kapakahi Stream.
Pouhala Marsh is accessible from Waipahu Depot Road makai of Farrington Highway and is located directly across from the Honolulu Police Academy. A small bridge leads over Kapakahi Stream to a series of dirt roads and trails that encircle and criss-cross the basins and mud flats that make up 70-acre Pouhala Marsh. As I made my way around the margins of the marsh, along Kapakahi and Waikele Streams, across the mudflats, and through trails in the mangrove and pickleweed, I was pleased to see that much of the trash has been removed.
Pouhala Marsh is dominated by invasive mangrove and pickleweed. Few native species, with the exception of ae’o – the endangered Hawaiian Stilt endemic to Hawaii – make Pouhala their home. In the photo above, a pair of ae’o (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni) wade in the clear waters of the marsh.
Pouhala is an important habitat for the Hawaiian Stilt (ae’o). Bird surveys estimate that 10% of the worldwide population of ae’o visit Pouhala. There are only about 1,500 of these endangered waterbirds remaining in the wild. I managed to photograph 14 ae’o (or almost 1% of the worldwide population) in the single above photo taken on the mudflats at Pouhala. The white patches behind the birds are salt crystals dried from evaporated brackish water on the mud flats.
Ae’o are wary of humans. If you get too close, they call out and vocalize their displeasure. If you get even closer, they take to the air, circle overhead and dive-bomb you. Ae’o circled overhead as I took this photo while exploring the pickleweed.
Pickleweed dominates areas of the marsh covered with water with mangrove choking the rest. I saw many tiny non-native butterflies, no bigger than half and inch across, fluttering through tangles of pickleweed.
Many creatures make their home in the marsh. A spider with spiky hairs on its legs waits to ambush unsuspecting butterflies and other insects in the pickleweed.
White cattle egrets forage in the marsh among pickleweed, cattails, and a host of non-native grasses and sedges.
While the removal of invasive species is far from complete, good progress has been made towards restoring this coastal wetland. I was especially pleased to see newly outplanted naupaka, ma’o, ko’oloa’ula, ohai, hinahina, milo and other native plants along the shores of Pouhala Marsh and Kapakahi Stream.
Many thanks to the Hawaii Nature Center, State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Ducks Unlimited, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oahu Research Conservation and Development, the Hawaii Conservation Alliance, the City and County of Honolulu, and countless numbers of the volunteers from a wide range of community groups, military units, churches and schools for their efforts. Your efforts have made a huge difference in restoring this coastal wetland. If anyone would like to join this effort, contact the Hawaii Nature Center at volunteer@hawaiinaturecenter.org
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SOURCES:
Biodiversity of Freshwater and Estuarine Communities in Lower Pearl Harbor with Observations on Introduced Species, Final Report Repaired for the US Navy by the Hawaii Biological Survey, Bishop Musuem Technical Report No. 16, February 2000
Hawaii Wetlands Monitor, Vol 2, No. 1, March 2008
Hawaii Reporter Story on Pouhala Marsh
Honolulu Department of Environmental Services – Kapakahi Stream & Pouhala Marsh
Sites of Oahu by Elizabeth Sterling and Catherine Summers, pg. 29, Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1978
Nate, I truly appreciate you website. I am from Waipahu, and in my old age, now here in NYC for 36 years, I miss the place. So I was very happy to see you piece on Pouhala Marsh.
I discovered the panoramic view of the Wai’anaes one day when I took a bike ride down to the soccer fields on Waipio. I was amazed at how beautiful the views of both mountain ranges were from there. Thank you for your photo of it from the Marsh.
Check it out from the soccer fields. And at sunset. I know you have seen so much of the beauty of Hawai’i but I urge you to take a look from there and please record it as I fear the developers will find themselves destroying the peninsula the first chance they get.
I want to ask if copies of your panoramic in the article above is for sale. I took photos one year and stupidly put it in checked luggage because i did not want the xrays to damage the film. LOST Luggage. Lost film.
Mahalo nui loa again for your website.
Helen Dano
Glad you like the photos. The view of the Waianae Mountains is indeed beautiful. Let me follow-up by email.
what plant is that in the last picture?
The plant in the foreground of the last photo is ko’oloa’ula – the red ilima (Abutilon menziesii).
Great Post. Thanks so much. I was looking for it.