One project, funded by The Nature Conservancy’s Ecological Research Program and the Mellon Foundation, is being administered through the NRCS. Ken Kaneshiro, State Conservationist for NRCS in Hawai‘i stated: "This project is in line with our mission to support locally led watershed wide conservation and encourage the use and development of a wide array of modern and sophisticated tools." Kaneshiro adds "we in NRCS have a vision … that local action – neighbors working together – is the most promising foundation for effective land stewardship." The USDA NRCS is also partnered with the US Environmental Protection Agency and other Federal Agencies in the "Clean Water Action Plan" which also encourages a watershed approach to collaborative natural resource stewardship.
The NRCS together with TerraSystems, Inc. of Honolulu, and members of the East Maui Watershed Partnership and the Maui Melastome Action Committee, including The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i , Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Maui County, University of Hawai‘i and the USGS Biological Research Division Haleakala Field Station, have coordinated efforts to conduct a multi-scale monitoring project of the East Maui watershed near Hana. Using GPS (Global Positioning System), GIS (Geographic Information System), hand-held spectrometers, and aircraft based Remote Sensing, the goal is to identify Miconia and other invasive alien plant species against the backdrop of common Hawaiian plants.
The role of NRCS in an interagency effort is to assist farmers and other landowners in the planning and implementation of conservation practices that consider the soil, water systems and water quality, air quality, animals and plants occurring on their land, as well as the social, cultural and economic concerns that affect them. To participate in planning and management at the greater watershed level, land owners and local, State and Federal agencies may participate in Watershed groups to help coordinate local planning efforts that affect their land.
Today many Federal, State and local agencies conduct their natural resources planning, management and research at the watershed or ecosystem level. The SWAPA+H elements of soil, water, air, plants, animals and the human environment can then be considered individually as components of a defined watershed and ecosystem area.
210 Imi Kala Street, Suite 209
Wailuku, Maui 96793-2100
Phone: (808) 244-3729 -- FAX: (808) 242-7005
Hours: 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Serving Olinda-Kula, Hana, West Maui, Central Maui, and Moloka'i-Lana'i SWCD
Neal S. Fujiwara District Conservationist
James J. Ino Soil Conservationist
Michelle G. Tomboc Civil Engineer
Carl M. Hashimoto Soil Conservation Technician
Soil & Water Conservation District
Maggie Kramp Secretary
Phone: (808) 242-2822-- FAX: (808) 242-7005
Hours: 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Serving Maui, Moloka'i & Lana'i
Sharon I. Souza Office Automation Assistant