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This is a photo of all the moku and ahupuaʻa located on the island of Oʻahu. This photo also includes the ahupuaʻa of Palolo. 

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This is a photo of the Ahupuaʻa of Palolo. Some notable land areas include Diamond Head, Palolo Valley, and Kaimuki.  

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The Diamond Head Lighthouse sits on the southern edge of Waikiki and was first built in 1899. The one that stands today was built in 1917. In 1980, the lighthouse was included in the National Register of Historic Places.

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Diamond Head Lighthouse, a Treasured Symbol on Oʻahu’s South Shore

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The Historic Lighthouse on the Slopes of Lēʻahi Crater
By Lexington Smith As you drive along Diamond Head Road on the south shore of Oʻahu on the southern edge of Waikīkī, the lowering sunset hits your eyes and tints the view with an orange haze. Bikers fly down the road as runners trek up it. To

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The Diamond Head State Monument brochure includes information about the history of Diamond Head. Some of the topics can include how the crater was formed, early history, and the environment.

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This image shows Diamond Head from Waikiki beach. There are many other historical photos throughout history that have Diamond Head in the background. This photo is important because it shows how much civilization has evolved around this crater.

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This article was most recently revised and updated by Table of Contents Ask the Chatbot a Question

Diamond Head, cape and celebrated landmark, Honolulu county, southeastern Oahu island, Hawaii, U.S. It lies at the southern edge of Waikiki. An extinct volcanic crater and tuff cone, Diamond Head was the site of a luakini heiau, an ancient ceremonial structure dedicated to the war god and used by the ancient Hawaiians for worship and human sacrifice. Originally called Leahi by native Hawaiians, the feature became known as Diamond Head in 1825 when British sailors mistook some volcanic calcite crystals for diamonds. Leahi Point, located on the western slope, is its highest spot, rising to 760 feet (232 metres). A trail to the summit for military observation was constructed in 1910; it is now a popular tourist destination because of its panoramic views of Honolulu and the Pacific Ocean. The interior of the crater (diameter 0.5 mile [0.8 km]) is visible from Wilhelmina Rise or Maunalani Heights and is accessible by road tunnel. There are exclusive residential areas on its eastern and western slopes. Diamond Head is a state monument and national natural landmark.

Michael Levy.

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Diamond Head | Volcanic Crater, Oahu, Hawaii

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Diamond Head, cape and celebrated landmark, Honolulu county, southeastern Oahu island, Hawaii, U.S. It lies at the southern edge of Waikiki. An extinct volcanic crater and tuff cone, Diamond Head was the site of a luakini heiau, an ancient ceremonial structure dedicated to the war god and used by

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Waikiki: A History of Forgetting and Remembering

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Waikiki: A History of Forgetting and Remembering

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The book titled, “Waikiki: A History of Forgetting and Remembering,” discusses the cultural and environmental history of Waikiki, Hawaii. Mainly how a native Hawaiian community has now turned into a globally renowned tourist destination.

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Waikiki: A History of Forgetting and Remembering

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Waikiki:A History of Forgetting and Remembering presents a compelling cultural and environmental history of the area, exploring its place not only in the popular imagination, but also through the e…

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Honolulu is the capital of the islands of Hawaii. This article gives a history on the city of Honolulu which is a part of the Kona Ahupuaʻa of Oahu. It is also one of the most popular places to visit for tourists.

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Honolulu, capital and principal port of Hawaii, U.S., seat of Honolulu county. A modern city, it extends about 10 miles (16 km) along the southeastern shore of Oahu Island and 4 miles (6 km) inland across a plain into the foothills of the Koolau Range. It is the crossroads of trans-Pacific shipping and air routes, the focus of interisland services, and the commercial and industrial centre of the state. The city-county (area 597 square miles [1,545 square km]) comprises all of Oahu and some outlying islets, which have an area aggregate of only 3 square miles (8 square km) but extend for more than 1,300 miles (2,100 km) and constitute the Hawaiian and Pacific Islands National Wildlife Refuge. It is administered as a single entity and has about 80 percent of the state's population.

Hawaiian legend indicates a settlement at Honolulu (meaning "protected bay") in 1100. Overlooked by Captain James Cook and other early explorers, the harbour with its outlet through the reef of Nuuanu Stream and sheltered by Sand Island was entered by Captain William Brown in 1794. After 1820 Honolulu assumed first importance in the islands and flourished as a base for sandalwood traders and whalers. A Russian group arrived there in 1816, and the port was later occupied by the British (1843) and the French (1849) but was returned to King Kamehameha III, who on August 31, 1850, officially declared Honolulu a city and the capital of his kingdom (Honolulu had been the de facto capital since 1845). In December 1941 the city and the adjacent Pearl Harbor naval-military complex came under Japanese aerial attack. Honolulu became a prime staging area for the remainder of World War II, a position it retained during the Korean War and until the end of the Indochina (Vietnam) conflict in 1973. Military expenditure remains an important source of income.

The port serves numerous manufacturing plants in the city-county, including pineapple canneries, sugar refineries, clothing factories, and steel, aluminum, oil, cement, and dairying enterprises. The international airport is one of the busiest in the United States, with nearby Waikiki -which has a beach lined with luxury hotels and contains an aquarium, zoo, and the lively International Market Place for Pacific basin crafts-as the primary destination of tourists.

Honolulu is the educational nucleus of the state and is the site of the University of Hawaii in Manoa Valley (1907) with its East-West Center (established in 1960 for technical and cultural exchange); Chaminade University (1955); Hawaii Pacific University (1953); Honolulu (1920) and Kapi'olani (1965) community colleges; and the Kamehameha Schools (1887) for children of Hawaiian descent. The Bishop Museum (1889) has noted Polynesian collections, and the Honolulu Academy of Arts (1927), considered to be the cultural centre of Hawaii, sponsors a wide range of programs. Punchbowl, a 2,000-foot- (600-metre-) wide crater 1 mile (2 km) inland, contains the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific with some 24,000 graves of World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War dead.

The focus of Honolulu's civic centre is the Iolani Palace (completed 1882); it is now a museum but served as the legislative seat until replaced by the nearby new State Capitol (an unusual rectangular structure featuring legislative chambers shaped like volcanoes and columns shaped like royal palms). Within a two-block radius of the palace are several historic buildings, including Kawaiahao Church (1841) and the early Mission Houses, built in the 1820s from lumber brought from Boston around Cape Horn by the first missionary contingents. The Library of Hawaii and the Honolulu Hale (City Hall) are also in the vicinity. Famous figures born in Honolulu include Queen Liliuokalani (born 1838), U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye (1924), singer and actress Bette Midler (1945), President Barack Obama (1961), actress Nicole Kidman (1967), actor Jason Momoa (1979), and singer Bruno Mars (1985).

Inc. city, 1909. Pop. (2010) 337,256; Honolulu Metro Area, 953,207; (2020) 350,964; Urban Honolulu Metro Area, 1,016,508.

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Honolulu | Location, Description, Populaion, History, & Facts

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Honolulu, capital and principal port of Hawaii, seat of Honolulu county.

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Pālolo Hill has a nice view of the Pacific Ocean, Diamond Head, and Koko head. This article gives a history of the marketing that went into the Pālolo Hill development.

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"And they gathered their friends together and journeyed up into the hill country, and when they did not return others followed, saying unto them - 'Why, therefore, do ye choose to dwell in the hill country?'"

"And they answered, 'For it is here we obtain the freedom of the air, with all its freshness and purity; it is here we get strength for the mind and body, and it is here we enjoy the breath of life.'" (Evening Bulletin, October 21, 1911)

So went the marketing for the Pālolo Hill development - the Homeland of Health - above Kaimuki.

The announcement of the project a year before carried the same positive enthusiasm, "Pālolo Hill may not only be destined to blossom as the rose, but it will be dotted with a thousand homes, the place of residence of delighted sojourners who seek the many incomparable advantages offered by climatic conditions only to be found in the Paradise of the Pacific, but Honolulu in particular."

"The Kaimuki Land Company has completed all arrangements for setting a large force of men at work in the grading of fifty foot streets and plotting some twelve hundred lots in this sightly tract of land located at the terminus of the Hotel street and Waiʻalae car-line."

"Pālolo Hill, commanding a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean, the frowning slopes of Diamond Head, and the bald prominence of Koko Head, will be transformed into a place of much activity before the close of the old year."

"The plans as outlined by the land company are elaborate in the extreme. The first of the week will find teams and graders at work on the roads. ... (The central) avenue will serve as a feeder for the curved and winding highways that weave their way in and around the brow of this eminence."

"It is claimed, that there is not a lot in the entire twelve hundred that is of lower elevation than three hundred feet. The highest elevation recorded in the tract is eleven hundred feet. A visit to the tract, where grading operations have already begun, would show that there is no portion of the district that has an unobstructed marine view. (Evening Bulletin, December 9, 1910)

Some background ... William Lunalilo ended up with most of the area known as Kaimuki through the Great Māhele (1848.) Lunalilo was born on January 31, 1835 to High Chiefess Miriam 'Auhea Kekauluohi (Kuhina Nui, or Premier of the Hawaiian Kingdom and niece of Kamehameha I) and High Chief Charles Kanaʻina.

When Kamehameha V died on December 11, 1872 he had not named a successor to the throne. The Islands' first election to determine who would be King was held - Lunalilo defeated Prince David Kalākaua (the Legislature met, as required by law, in the Courthouse to cast their official ballots of election of the next King. Lunalilo received all thirty-seven votes.)

Lunalilo was the first of the large landholding aliʻi to create a charitable trust for the benefit of his people. He was to reign for one year and twenty-five days, succumbing to pulmonary tuberculosis on February 3, 1874.

His estate included large landholdings on the five major islands, consisting of 33-ahupuaʻa, nine ʻili and more than a dozen home lots. His will, written in 1871, established a perpetual trust under the administration of three trustees to be appointed by the justices of the Hawaiian Supreme Court.

His will instructed his trustees to build a home to accommodate the poor, destitute and infirm people of Hawaiian (aboriginal) blood or extraction, with preference given to older people. The will instructed the Trustees to sell all of the estate's land to build and maintain the home. (Supreme Court Records)

In 1884, the Kaimuki land was auctioned off. The rocky terrain held little value to its new owner, Dr. Trousseau, who was a "physician to the court of King Kalākaua". Trousseau ended up giving his land to Senator Paul Isenberg. Theodore Lansing and AV Gear later bought the Kaimuki land (in 1898.) (Lee)

Gear, Lansing & Co, one of Honolulu's first real estate firms, envisioned Kaimuki becoming a high-class residential area, but was stymied by buyers' lack of interest.

Later Charlie Stanton, FE Steere and Frank E Thompson formed the Kaimuki Land Company and took over the Kaimuki tracts. Eventually, they turned it over to Waterhouse Trust Company who sold the land for eight cents a square foot and nine cents for corner lots. (Takasaki)

(There appear to be some interchangeable names of the development entity: Kaimuki Land Company, Pālolo Land Company and Pālolo Land and Improvement Co.)

The Pālolo Land Company is an organization composed of several gentlemen who own upper Pālolo Valley and the scenic portion of Pālolo Hill it overlooks Kaimuki, and from Upper Pālolo Hill half of Oʻahu Island may be seen. Splendid roads have recently been constructed. (Mid-Pacific Magazine)

Not familiar with the Pālolo Hill subdivision name?

It's not clear if any official name change took place, but we now typically refer to this area as "Wilhelmina Rise" and Maunalani Heights. (Some incorrectly say it was developed by Matson in the 1930s; the above notes it was built 20-years before and by local real estate developers.)

However, "The streets are ... named after the steamers that make regular calls at the port of Honolulu. Wilhelmina Rise is a broad and absolutely straight thoroughfare extending for a mile and a half up the slope of Pālolo Hill." (Evening Bulletin, December 9, 1910)

Up Pālolo Hill (Wilhelmina Rise,) you'll find Lurline, Matsonia, Maunalani, Mana, Sierra, Wilhelmina, and Claudine, Matson liners and freighters.

The image shows a drawing of the new Pālolo Hill development (Mid-Pacific Magazine, 1912.) In addition, I have included more related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.
Follow Peter T Young on Facebook Follow Peter T Young on Google+ Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn © 2014 Hoʻokuleana LLC

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"And they gathered their friends together and journeyed up into the hill country, and when they did not return others followed, saying unto them - 'Why, therefore, do ye choose to dwell in the hill country?'" "And they answered, 'For it is here we obtain the freedom of the air, with all its freshness and purity; it is here we get strength for the mind and body, and it is here we enjoy the breath of life.'" (Evening Bulletin, October 21, 1911) So went the marketing for the Pālolo Hill development - the Homeland of Health - above Kaimuki.

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This image is of the Pālolo Valley District Park in Kaimauki. This is a part of the ahuppuaʻa of Pālolo.

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This article describes a new housing improvement project within Palolo. There is a $35M budget for this housing upgrade project. This proves to show there are improvements wanting to be made in this area.

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Palolo housing to receive $35M upgrade | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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A roughly 70-year-old public housing complex in Palolo Valley is slated for refurbishing two decades after being privatized and renovated under an arrangement touted as a state and national model.

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An image of the Palolo Valley.

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Saint Louis School has written a piece of the ahupuaʻa they are located in. This is located on their website in ʻĀina-Based Learning. This is a school located within this ahupuaʻa.

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From the mountain to the sea, our ahupua'a is that of Pālolo and is sometimes mentioned as that of Waikīkī. Extending from the ridge of Awaawaloa (2447 ft.) and Pu'u Lahipo (2621 ft.) and descending the ridges of Wa'ahila and Kalaepōhaku to the wetlands of Kapahulu and Waikīkī, and including the off-shore surf sites such as Kalehuawehe ("Populars"), and comprised of smaller sub-sections, thisahupua'a has its own rich collection of oral traditions, ormo'olelo, that speak of the significance of this area in earlier times.

Saint Louis School stands on a prominent land feature-"the rocky promontory"-in Hawaiian, Kalaepōhaku. Nineteenth-century records indicate that this section, or'ili of the Pālolo 'ahupua'awas granted to High Chief Abner Kuhoʻoheiheipahu Pāki, father of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. Earlier traditions speak of this as a fertile and productive region, enough to sustain a population center during the time of the 16th-centuryali'i 'aimokuor king of O'ahu, Kākuhihewa.

This roughly triangular wedge juts from the Ko'olau range, and is divided into three major segments: Wa'ahila running along the east wall of Mānoa valley, Kūmauna or Kaumana at the center summit, and Kalaepōhaku bordering Pālolo valley. The foot of the ridge is bordered by Pālolo stream where the ancient lava of the Kaimukī cone pushes against the older Ko'olau slopes.

In 1922, the Society of Mary--the Marianists--purchased this parcel of 204 acres from the Estate of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop for $62,000. Construction of the first five main buildings of St. Louis College was completed by 1929, serving grades 1 through 12.
Heiau
Archaeological surveys and earlier accounts refer to several heiau in this area, as well as a number of petroglyphs, burial caves, and agricultural structures--the remnants of which still exist today. Mau'oki, a healing heiau said to have housed a spring from where curative waters flowed, was one of seven sites of worship that existed in ancientahupua'a of Waikīkī. The location of this heiau is uncertain, though one possible location is where the SGT. Joseph Silva Rifle Range stands on the Saint Louis campus. Mau'oki was an agricultural heiau dedicated to the god Lono, and early accounts indicate thatmenehunehad transported rocks from Pu'u Kawiwi at the head of Wai'anae valley to constructed this three-sided structure that opened to the west. Around 1883, Mau'oki was dismantled and its stones used for road construction.

Petroglyphs
Evidence of early human habitation along the stream that borders the Kalaepōhaku campus is not limited to agricultural structures. A 1933 Bishop Museum survey by McAllister and Emory documented petroglyphs or ki'i pohaku as having existed on a bluff above Pālolo stream on the ma uka bank just where the St. Louis Drive bridge stands today:
Destroyed by a new bridge on the Palolo Stream. The figures of the two groups are indistinct and crude. The groups were about 25 yards apart; one group, according to Emory, were "eight human figures, all solid, triangular, bruised, except one linear"; the other group were "five figures, all solid, triangular, bruised, all careless of execution, but old and certainly the real thing." http://data.bishopmuseum.org/HAS2/index.php?b=d&ID=9230&r=s Pālolo Stream
There were possibly extensive taro terraces along the banks of the Wai'oma'o, Pukele and Pālolo Streams. Pālolo Valley as having "extensive wet-taro lands" (Handy and Handy 1972:483). Pālolo Stream was "large and capable of irrigating terraces along its course on both sides...(and) there were terraces... all along Wai'oma'o and Pukele Streams, which join to form Pālolo Stream. Far back in these little valleys wild taro was found in abundance in 1935" (p.483). Pālolo Valley is the "clay valley"(Pukui et al. 1974:178). The clay sediment traps water which makes ideal growing conditions for taro.

The stream bends westward on its downward flow, just at the east end of the Saint Louis campus, looping around the base of the campus and diverted in the 1930s to join Mānoa Stream in a conjoined man-made channel to the Ala Wai.

To get an idea of how drastically the streams in the Waikīkī ahupua'a have been altered in the past 100 years, see this map of Waikīkī streams and their original routes:

http://totakeresponsibility.blogspot.com/2013/01/waikiki-streams.html.

Pālolo Stream originally headed ma kai approximately where the Public Storage building stands today. It joined the Pahoa Stream and then entered the sea where now Ohua Avenue intersects Kalākaua Avenue. Along with the Mānoa and Makiki Streams, these "three waters" or Nā Wai 'Ekolu fed a vast complex of wetland taro fields and fishponds as early as the 15 th century A.D.
Kalaepōhaku
A part of what makes history real is that it is not just in books or locked away in boxes. It surrounds us in our environment. It forms us and is also made over the span of our own lifetime. The lands which are known by the name, Kalaepōhaku, are actually part of the Ahupua'a of Waikīkī. One native tenant, Kamakani, was granted the entire 'ili (land division) of Kalaepōhaku as a Royal Patent Grant (No. 224), by Kamehameha III in 1850 .

For hundreds of years prior to : house sites (platforms and walled enclosures); dryland agricultural terraces and mounds; Kamakani receiving the land grant in fee-simple interest, people lived at, worked, and died in the Kalaepōhaku vicinity. As a result, s everal types of cultural features are known to have occurred on the land , and include , but are not limited to
lo'i kalo (taro pond fields); walls; habitation and burial caves; trails; shrines and storied places.

The historical record leads one to believe that the naming of Kalaepōhakuis associated with supernatural beings of various body forms. Most notably, traditions of mo'o, beings who could take human and "lizard-like" water forms ( mo'o were fierce protectors of water features). While there is apparently no direct account which has survived the passing of time, it appears that the place name, Kalaepōhaku, is tied to the residence of a " mo'o" who would at times rest upon the rocky promontory which is the source of the name, " The-stone-point." Piliamo'o, Pāhoa, and Kalaepōhakuokamo'o are key names in this history.

One would expect, that in undertaking a level of documentary research, that traditions of this place would be uncovered, while at the same time, historical accounts leading up to the establishment of Saint Louis at this site would be re-discovered. An oral historical component would also help fill in the gaps where written sources have been left unpenned.

Periodic exercises in cultural anthropology and natural history-where students work in the field around the school-would enrich the student experience, and expose them to a sense of place that would strengthen their connection to Saint Louis, and their island home.

From Cultural Historian Kumu Kepā Maly, November 10, 2010
Ahupua'a o Pāloloweebly and map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1HTJGWFLt8ivnLAVcOIShYMfpuuE&ll=21.318096285741465%2C-157.78774573969466&z=15

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Honolulu Palolo Valley Neighborhood Tour

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Honolulu Palolo Valley Neighborhood Tour

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This video can give an idea of what life can be like in the Pālolo Valley.

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Honolulu Palolo Valley Neighborhood Tour - Hawaii, USA

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The Kaʻau crater is reached from the end of the Pālolo Valley. There is a trail but it is closed to the public.

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The Kaʻau tuff and basalt flows were erupted during a high stand of the sea (probably during plus 95-foot (Kaʻena) stand of sea) (about 1-million years ago – a ‘youthful’ volcanic outburst.) …

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The Pālolo Stream has now become a new educational site for the students of Saint Louis. This article is based on the vision to restore the Pālolo Stream. The Pālolo Stream is a significant place for Hawaiians.

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A Shared Vision to Restore Pālolo Stream

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Palolo Stream has become a new educational site for students from Saint Louis. The young men from the school have been working hard to restore the stream to its original state. Before visiting the site, the students must learn a few basic things. Indigenous Science and Forensic Science Teacher Alyssa Jackson, explained the learning process.…

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Castle's surf break is historic since Duke Kahanamoku caught a wave from there all the way to Waikiki beach. His statue also stands in Waikiki Beach. It is important to include the ocean and surf breaks since surfing is a big part of Hawaiian culture.

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Traditional Hawaiian practices can clash with current regulations and restrictions. In Pukele Stream in Pālolo Valley, farmers face strict regulations especially in taro growing. This shows places of nature within the Palolo Valley.

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After spending hours hauling hau branches into a pile, I look up through a hole in the canopy that others have made with machetes and pruners. Sunlight streams through the opening and lands on the stone wall of an ancient agricultural terrace while the men take a breather on the flat bed of earth they've cleared. One day, this will be a place of learning and healing. Then the thought occurs to me: Have we just done something illegal?

In hidden valleys across the state, hau trees and brush are being cleared as ancient Hawaiian lo`i (terraces) and auwai (watercourses) are restored to working order. Who is doing this? People wanting to teach children Hawaiian culture, Hawaiian families practicing their customary rights, entrepreneurs seeking an extra source of income, people wanting to live a simple, clean life of sustainable farming, and many more.

Some are unaware of the permits that such work may require. Others who are aware proceed on their own in knowing disregard of the rules.

Should they be punished? Or should they be given a pass since, after all, the work is merely to revive a pre-existing land use? For any crop, those questions would be difficult enough; for taro, burdened with its rich history and meaning for Hawaiians, the questions are enough to leave regulatory officials scratching their heads in puzzlement.
The Gauntlet
Hawaiians were sticklers for protocol. In Native Planters in Old Hawai`i by E.S. Craighill Handy and Elizabeth Green Handy, it states that when plants sprouted their first few leaves, farmers would thank the god Kane in prayer. After the huli had grown a bit and the farmer weeded his patch and pressed the taro plants into the soil, and farmers would pray to the god Ku to make them grow big and strong. "After this prayer, no one must go into the lo`i," they write. Before harvest, farmers prepared a ritual fire, and with a young taro shoot and leaves, again said a prayer to Ku.

Protocol remains important to Hawaiians and much of the recent restoration has been done in the Hawaiian way. When more western-style regulations are thrown into the mix, the process of restoration can become so cumbersome, confusing, and challenging that many throw in the towel rather than do things by the book.

Consider Ha`ena, Kaua`i, where the Department of Land and Natural Resources' Division of State Parks is overseeing the restoration of a series of lo`i kalo (taro fields). Members of a local community group are doing most of the work, but it falls to State Parks to make sure everything is done according to regulations. The division has applied for three stream permits from the Water Commission, has developed an archaeological restoration plan, and has had to commission a water engineering study. To comply with the DLNR's Land Division requirements, State Parks must have the Board of Land and Natural Resources approve a Ha`ena State Park Master Plan or a Conservation District Use Permit.

The Ha`ena project is larger and more complicated than most other restorations. On top of the work of restoring more than a dozen agricultural terraces, there are abandoned cars, piles of garbage, and about 60 trees to remove. Even for an agency such as State Parks, the hurdles are high and have required thousands of dollars and will take more than a year to clear. But even for people with smaller projects in mind, many of the same obstacles exist; for such people who lack the resources and staff of a state agency, those hurdles can seem insurmountable:

á The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requires permits for doing practically any kind of work in the country's coastal waters, waterways or wetlands. Projects with minimal impact require only a general permit that requires little paperwork. In 1997, the Army Corps developed a regional general permit for rebuilding lo`i kalo that streamlines the permitting process. According to a source at the Corps, a few permits have been issued, notably in the Hanalei area.

á Under the federal Clean Water Act, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits control water pollution by regulating sources that discharge anything into the water. Since taro farms often divert water from and into streams, NPDES permits could be required. According to a DOH representative, however, few if any have been issued for taro operations.

The Water Commission requires permits for diverting water from streams, for altering stream channels, and for water use - activities that often come into play in taro cultivation.

Taro farmers in the Hanalei and Hule`ia National Wildlife Refuges of Kaua`i have been granted special permits because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided that the fields have a beneficial impact on the bird species there. No one may operate in the refuge without a special permit.

County governments require permits for development along or near the coast in the designated Special Management Areas. That "development" could include anything from the "placement of solid or liquid material, or thermal waste" to grading or mining to a "change in intensity of use of water ecology," to list just a few of the actions identified in the rules of the City and County of Honolulu. State law exempts some projects, such as building a single-family residence, but the restoration of ancient lo`i is not among the exemptions.

In lands that have been placed in the state Conservation District, restoration work must be done under terms of a Conservation District Use Permit granted by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.

While the state Historic Preservation Division has no administrative rules, it has required archaeological surveys for work on state land or in areas having significant historical sites.
Few Violations
In a 1994 documentary by Victoria Keith and Dana Naone Hall called "Back to the Roots," Wai`anae's Eric Enos talks candidly about the time decades ago when he and his youthful friends tapped a stream diversion that had robbed water that once fed taro for sugar. With a couple of pipes poked into the diversion, Enos was able to provide water to the lo`i kalo they had restored.

Enos, founder of the Cultural Learning Center at Ka`ala Farm, is held in high regard by many up-and-coming taro farmers and his farm has spearheaded efforts to teach Hawaiian culture through the cultivation of taro. He defends their actions by noting that the lo`i and an auwai that fed it were on the land long before the diversion was made. In his mind, there was no question that they had rights to use the water and needed no permission from the ditch owner or the government to exercise those rights.

Sometimes even state agencies seem to avoid running the full gamut of permitting. In the mid-1990s, the Division of State Parks encouraged the restoration of lo`i in Kahana Valley on O`ahu's windward side. The entire ahupua`a is owned by the state and managed by State Parks as a cultural park. When members of families who had been longtime residents in the valley began clearing their ancestral lo`i, photographs published in the press showed them working side by side, pulling weeds and clearing brush - all without benefit of any DLNR permits.

Al Rogers of Kahana State Park says that while the whole valley lies in the Conservation District, the work requires no permit. "There's a lot of controversy," he said. "We're kind of operating under the theory that if you're not changing the use you don't have to go thorough the CDUP process. We're just putting something back. Nobody's got on us" for the work.

Wetland taro is a water-intensive crop. Ancient Hawaiians used auwai to divert water from a stream or a spring into the taro patch. Lo`i systems were designed to divert water back to the stream once it moved through the patches. Over the years, lo`i restoration projects have been popping up all over the state. Yet the Water Commission's database lists a few permits or applications for restoration of auwai and only one violation.

One reason for the low numbers is that people aren't diverting as much water for taro as they are diverting for other purposes. "We've caught guys putting things in the stream for aquaculture and crop irrigation, corn and other stuff," says Roy Hardy of the commission staff. "For taro, there have been less than a dozen incidents over the past dozen years."

According to Hardy, the commission relies heavily on complaints to determine stream diversion violations. "When people are drilling wells, you can see it," he says. A little PVC pipe stuck in a stream in someone's back yard, perhaps hidden by brush, is much harder to find.
Hands Off
Even when the Water Commission's staff members know of regulatory violations involving work on lo`i and auwai, they seem reluctant to enforce with penalties.

Take the case of work along Pukele Stream in Palolo Valley.

The project traces its origins to 1994, when the Department of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency launched a major project intended to clean up the Ala Wai Canal watershed, an area that includes Manoa and Palolo valleys. As part of the project, the Palolo sub-watershed group undertook to restore lo`i at Pukele Stream.

Palolo is easternmost of the wet taro valleys on O`ahu's Kona side. Native Planters describes Palolo Stream as "large and capable of irrigating terraces along its course on both sides and below the end of the valley on land now covered by houses. There were terraces, some on steep slopes, all along Waiomao and Pukele Streams, which join to form Palolo Stream. Far back in these little valleys wild taro was found in abundance in 1935."

The watershed project was to take place on the campus of Ke Kula Kaiapuni `o Anuenue, O`ahu's first K-12 Hawaiian language immersion school. Like Ka`ala Farm, Anuenue school's lo`i would help pupils learn Native Hawaiian culture hand in hand with the cultivation of taro and production of poi. As an added bonus, the restored lo`i were to filter the infamously polluted stream water that drains into the Ala Wai canal. Traver Carroll, a member of the Palolo sub-watershed group and land agent with the DLNR, says the restoration began around 1998.

Soon thereafter, work on the auwai came to the attention of Water Commission staff. While the David Higa of the Water Commission staff insists that the staff never proposed that the six-member commission levy a fine for the violations, a source close to the school says the school was put on notice that it could be subject to fines of totaling tens of thousands of dollars. That prompted Carroll to write the commission in May 1999, in hopes of obtaining an after-the-fact permit.

As Carroll explained it, a diverted spring water outlet allowed for the initial restoration, done under the supervision of kupuna Uncle Eddie Ka`anana, who had taught hundreds of school children at Ka`ala Farm. At full capacity, Carroll wrote, 11,500 gallons a day could be diverted, of which 11,000 would be returned to the stream.
"While the well-being and health of the streams in the Ala Wai Watershed are our primary concern, we feel strongly that É we are entitled to use this resource as long as our use does not negatively impact the stream, its aquatic inhabitants, or other downstream users," he wrote, citing "the acknowledged historical appurtenant right to use stream water on this land for the cultivation of kalo and the community building and educational potential of this project."

No permit was forthcoming, but the Water Commission staff seems to have dropped any thought of fining the school. In October 1999, the commission's director, Linnel Nishioka, wrote principal Charles Naumu: "I congratulate you for the work you have accomplished in transforming Anuenue School's backyard from a jungle to a lo`i and garden where one can enjoy the outdoors and Pukele Stream. I was impressed when I visited the area earlier this month."

She continued, "I am not recommending and do not foresee that the commission would levy any fines for doing the work. Also, my staff would be very happy to work with Anuenue School on stream-related projects that would be eligible for federal funding."

For a short while, Water Commission staff worked on after-the-fact approvals for the project to take to the commission. To date, nothing has been presented to the commission for approval, and the school is diverting water without permits.

Carroll told Environment Hawai`i, "We sat down under the tree with Uncle Eddie and some people from the school and the head of the Water Commission. We had a long talk and it evolved into it wasn't necessary to get a permit."

Nishioka says, "We decided that enforcement under the circumstances - we were at the time considering whether or not we even wanted these rules - was inappropriate." Although Nishioka's comments and those of her staff say nothing of the delicate issue of Hawaiian sovereignty, this, too, may have come into play in the decision. In the Water Commission file on the diversion is a news clipping from an October 1999 Honoululu Advertiser article headlined, "Defendants say Hawaiians not subject to state, county law." The article is about Hawaiians driving without licenses or automobile safety inspections, and camping without permits.
On the Back Burner
A similar situation arose on Moloka`i in 1997, when Mahealani and Glenn Davis and a number of their friends undertook a lo`i restoration project in Halawa Valley, where almost all the land is in the state Conservation District. The community built a 30-foot-wide dam on Halawa Stream that diverted water into an auwai that fed their fields. The project has since been lauded for its beautiful restoration.

A complaint by Moloka`i resident George Peabody to DLNR enforcement officers led to the discovery that the Davises and those working with them had no permits from the Water Commission or the Land Board. Rather than pounce on them, the Water Commission tried to work with the Davises on getting after-the-fact permits. But as the months wore on, it became clear that the issue was much larger than the single diversion of Halawa Stream.

On October 23, 1998, Mahealani Davis wrote to Tim Johns, then the Water Commission's director: "We feel the present form and process is reflective of the unfinished business (definition of the relationship) between the state of Hawai`i and the native people of Hawai`i. We do not see clear points for our traditional activities, nor are we assured our rights will not be diminished if we participate in a 'regulatory' procedure. Guess the bottom line is we need some clarification of the relationship between the state of Hawai`i and regulatory process requirements and renewed traditional/stewardship activities."

A month later, the Water Commission convened a meeting in Honolulu with taro farmers and permitting agencies to work out a solution. At the Honolulu meeting, Higa says, the farmers found out how long and complicated the permitting process was going to be and "realized they had an immense task."

In May 1999, the state Office of Environmental Quality Control took the lead in working with the taro group Onipa`a Na Hui Kalo, which Glenn Davis chairs, and the Queen Lili`uokalani Children's' Center, which has provided institutional support to Hui Kalo and its lo`i restoration efforts across the state. The OEQC was "trying to get taro farmers and permitting agencies to get together and work out ways to facilitate issues of permitting," says OEQC's Leslie Segundo. Once farmers and agencies get into a dialogue, Segundo says, "then they can identify weaknesses in the system and propose legislation [to fix them]. But first, they need to find common ground in interpreting regulations."

The effort seemed promising but has since stalled. Glenn Davis suffered an aneurysm in 1999 and after that, Segundo says, "things kind of fell apart. We were hoping to get federal grant to help out, but it fell throughÉ It's something we want to pursue, but it's on the back burner."

Enforcement at the DLNR also seems to be on the back burner: According to Ed Sakoda of the Water Commission, no action has been taken regarding the Davises' situation because of hang-ups at the Land Division. Yet Sam Lemmo of the Land Division says his agency has not conducted an investigation and has been waiting to see what the Water Commission would decide. No fines have been levied and the no after-the-fact permit applications have been submitted. What's more, Charley Ice of the Water Commission staff says the Halawa taro farmers have resisted further on-site inspection by the commission.

To help other taro farmers avoid running into trouble with regulatory agencies, Hui Kalo devised a set of alternative rules, called Pono Practical Procedures. These would provide guidelines that small taro farmers could follow instead of having to jump through high regulatory hoops. At the same time, the procedures were intended to provide protection for historic sites, stream life, and other resources whose protection customarily is addressed through the standard regulatory procedures. The initial hope was that state agencies would somehow incorporate the procedures into their own rules, thus allowing an opportunity for taro farmers to comply with the rules without being burdened with onerous permit requirements.

But efforts to get agencies to recognize the Pono Practical Procedures seem to have stalled out. The Water Commission staff is only vaguely aware of them and says that nothing formal has been proposed or is being considered.

In any case, perhaps the procedures are unnecessary, at least so far as the Water Commission is concerned. As Nishioka told Environment Hawai`i, "One of the issues we're looking at is whether this is the kind of activity we want to regulate. The SWAT program [Slash Waste and Red Tape] was looking at whether we are currently regulating things that don't need to beÉ Lo`i restoration was one of those issues. Most of the requests are coming from people who are going to exercise their customary rights, which stems from the PASH decision." (The SWAT program was established in the Office of the Lieutenant Governor to look at where government might cut down on wasteful or wasted efforts. The PASH decision - for Public Access Shoreline-Hawai`i - was a ruling by the state Supreme Court that affirmed the rights of Hawaiians to have access to undeveloped areas to exercise customary rights and gathering.)

As far as the restoration of auwai is concerned, Nishioka says that so long as the auwai existed "prior to the time the Water Code was passed," in 1987, restoration needs no permit from the commission. "If they are expanding the use of auwai or something like that, we would require them to have a permit," she says.

As far as any proposed rule changes are concerned, Nishioka says she's not sure what the timetable is. In the meantime, "If we get complaints, we go out and investigate," she says.

- Teresa Dawson

Volume 12, Number 4 October 2001

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Mixed Messages: Taro Farmers Find Regulations Strict, Regulators Lax -

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After spending hours hauling hau branches into a pile, I look up through a hole in the canopy that others have made with machetes and pruners. Sunlight streams through the opening and lands on the stone wall of an ancient agricultural terrace while the men take a breather on the flat bed of earth they’ve cleared. One day, this will

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This image is of the Wilhelmina Rise. The Wilhelmina rise has become one of the most popular locations in the past decades.

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This is an image of all of the Ahupuaʻa on Maui. This map also shows the different moku and ahupuaʻa of the island.

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This article provides the moku of the islands of Hawaii. On Mauiʻs map the moku Peʻahi is located in Hamakua Loa

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Peʻahi is one of the biggest surfing spots in the world and it is located in Maui. The beach peʻahi, mostly known as Jaws, can produce waves from 40 to 60 feet. Peʻahi beach is a very popular surfing beach in Hawaii

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The Power of Peahi, Maui’s Jaw-Dropping Waves - Hawaii Magazine

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Winter awakens a beast. For a period of about 15 days a year, the surf break, Peahi, also nicknamed Jaws, reveals its unrest: monster waves between 40 and

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This is an image of how big the waves can get at Jaws. Jaws is located in Peʻahi, Maui.

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This video shows surfer Kai Lenny as he surfs his famous double barrel at Jaws, Maui. He is recognized as one of the best Jaws surfers of all time.

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Surfing competitions are also held at Jaws. The Quiksilver Jaws Big Wave Challenge is a huge paddle-in surf competition. Surf competitions can make history and recognize such great talent.

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Quiksilver Jaws Big Wave Challenge Presented by TUDOR

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The Pacific Ocean dishes up huge waves and high adrenaline to the WSL Big Wave Tour’s surfers.

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This is an image of the Quiksilver Jaws Big Wave Challenge from 2023.

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This is an overview image of Peahi, Maui.

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Peʻahi farms is located on the North Shore of Maui. Peʻahi farms is a community and has guidelines to live there. This article goes more in depth on the history of Peʻahi Farms.

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Facts About Pe’ahi Farms: An Oceanfront Community On Maui

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Learn more about the oceanfront Maui community of Pe’ahi Farms from local real estate agent Tim Stice of Hawaii Life.

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This is an image of Peʻahi Farms.

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Pe`ahi Farms Lot 14 – Farmlands Living on Maui’s North Shore - Hawaii Real Estate Market & Trends | Hawaii Life

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Lot 14 at Pe‘ahi Farms is extremely private, overlooking the eastern gulch that’s adjacent to the property and spanning across to the gulch on the western

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The Merwin Conservancy gives the story of the Peʻahi Stream. W.S. Merwin spent the rest of his life along the Peʻahi Stream after he discovered it. He found out Peʻahi receives an abundance of rain every year.

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The Intention of Water: The Story of Pe‘ahi Stream - Merwin Conservancy

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Like many streams in East Maui, the story of this Pe‘ahi Stream is a layered one.

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This is an image of the Pe‘ahi and Halehaku Streams.

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Jaws can be a very dangerous and scary place to surf. The huge waves are not for beginner surfers. This article provides a video of how big the waves can get and how careful surfers must be.

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How Scary Is Surfing Jaws? Nathan Florence Shows Us

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Once again, Jaws lived up to its name. With a massive swell slamming into the Hawaiian islands last week, the world-famous big-wave spot went into full psycho

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The name “Jaws” came from three surfers in 1975. These surfers were John Lemus, John Roberson, and John Potternick. They said surfing the waves at Jaws was very unpredictable just like sharks. I wanted to include how the name “Jaws” came to be.

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'jaws': how a surfing break in hawaii was named after the movie blockbuster - cnn

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'Jaws': How a surfing break in Hawaii was named after movie blockbuster

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Everyone has seen the classic Hollywood blockbuster "Jaws," the 1975 Steven Spielberg classic movie about a terrifying, unpredictable, man-eating shark.

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This is a link to where Peʻahi is on Google maps. Now, it can be hard to truly get an idea of where places are on historical maps.

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Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

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The Tudor Big Wave Challenge is a World Surf League competition that is held in Nazare, Portugal and Maui, Hawaii. These two places are where the biggest waves can be. These beaches are also where legends are made.

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Discover the TUDOR Watch Official Partnerships | TUDOR Watch

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Learn all about TUDOR Watch Ambassadors and Friends like David Beckham, Jay Chou, the All Blacks and the events sponsored by TUDOR like the World Surf League

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This is a poster for the Tudor Big Wave Challenge hosted by World Surf League.

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This article is about an interview and explains the cancellation of the WSL Jaws Big Wave Event 2024. This is due to safety concerns and logistical challenges.

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The WSL's inconspicuous announcement that there would be no big wave event at Pe'ahi caught many off guard. But according to one big wave surfer, the Maui locals had known for months that the event was axed.

"Back in almost September they started to let people know that they weren't able to get the use permit from the landowners, which controls if the contest is going to happen or not," said Daniel Goldberg, a Maui resident, big wave surfer, and commercial fisherman whose company organizes local water safety. "They went public recently, but we all knew about it two to three months ago."

Goldberg, 43, who's been hired by the WSL in the past to captain his boat during the event, explained how Kamehameha Schools, the landowners at Pe'ahi, held a town hall-style meeting with adjacent neighbors and WSL representation in July to gauge community sentiment about granting the WSL rights to use the land.

The private land and road in question are on the east side of the gulch that flows into Peahi, where the judging tower and facilities would be staged. Previously owned by the real estate company Alexander and Baldwin, Kamehameha Schools the land in 2023 and initially honored the existing license agreement with the WSL to run the big wave event. But in 2024 it decided to revisit the agreement due to concerns by residents surrounding the impact and lack of infrastructure to handle the public that gather to watch the event.

"It was a meeting where the community discussed the pros and cons when the contest runs," said Goldberg. "(To discuss) if there are any benefits at all to the community - if the WSL was willing to provide a specific parking area or police/parking control. But the WSL was refusing to do anything like that. The community was like, 'Well, we don't want people parking in our driveways. We don't want people trespassing and jumping over fences. So if you guys don't want to work with (us) and not disturb the peace, then we don't want you guys here.'"

Only one person out of the 20 to 30 at the meeting voted in favor of granting the WSL permission to run the event.

When the WSL was reached to provide its version of the story, they refuted claims that they were being uncooperative. A WSL spokesperson explained that due to the private ownership of the land and liability insurance, they can't have the event open for public attendance. They pointed out that they had a transport plan previously signed off by local authorities that included private security and police on-site to enforce illegal parking.

The spokesperson added that negotiations never reached a point where they were given demands to meet to retain the land use permits; the landowners weren't comfortable engaging any further due to the concerns of the outspoken residents. Even so, the WSL says they are willing to re-open discussions next year.

Notably, none of Maui's premiere big wave riders have taken strong public stances on either side of the issue.

Goldberg thinks it's an issue that can be resolved if the WSL - or any entity that wants to hold an event at Jaws - approaches the landowners with the right attitude. He says there needs to be some sort of compromise on setting up spectator infrastructure such as gravel-laid parking areas, trash cans, portable restrooms, etc. that would mitigate traffic, parking, and trespassing issues.

Goldberg believes that the WSL isn't eager to meet those demands. But that's the purported price if the Pe'ahi event is to return to the tour. For now, Pe'ahi will be ridden strictly in freesurfs. Even so, crowds will still gather along the cliffs to watch.

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We Spoke With the WSL and a Maui Surfer About the Cancelation of the Jaws Big Wave Event

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The WSL's inconspicuous announcement that there would be no big wave event at Pe'ahi caught many off guard. But Maui locals had apparently known for months.