Kawainui Marsh

Kawainui Marsh
Kawainui Marsh
Kawainui Fishpond
	Kawainui Marsh
Location	Kailua, Hawaii
Coordinates	21°23′31″N 157°45′29″W / 21.391864°N 157.758028°W
Type	Wetland
Ramsar Wetland
Official name	Kawainui and Hamakua Marsh Complex
Designated	2 February 2005
Reference no.	1460

Kawainui Marsh or Kawainui Fishpond is a wetland and former fishpond in Kailua, Hawaiʻi. It is the largest remaining wetland and the largest ancient freshwater fishpond in Hawaiʻi, and a designated Ramsar Convention wetland.^[1]

Prehistory and Polynesian arrival

waves can be seen in certain areas at the edges of the marsh as it exists today, near Nā Pōhaku o Hauwahine.^[3]

By about 500 CE, sea level had lowered to roughly the current level,^{[clarification needed]} exposing much of the barrier reef. The reef blocked much of the flow of water between the bay and the ocean, causing the bay to become shallower and brackish. Kawainui had effectively become a lagoon, connected to nearby Kaʻelepulu Pond by natural channels.^[3] Polynesians arrived in the area around this time, likely settling around the edges of the lagoon near springs. The surrounding area, which had previously been forested, was cleared over a period of several centuries for agricultural purposes.^[4] Kawainui was one of the first areas in the Hawaiian Islands to be settled by the group of Polynesian mariners that would become the native Hawaiians.^[5]

History

Before European contact

By 1750, Kawainui had been developed by the

loʻi kalo around the edges of the fishpond, as well as nearby patches of dryland kalo, banana, sugarcane, and sweet potato, served as an additional food source. There were also at least three significant heiau built around the fishpond,^[6] including Ulupō.^[7] Some evidence suggests that the Hawaiians also improved the channel connecting Kawainui to Kaʻelepulu.^[8]

After European contact

In 1778,

immunity; the total population of Hawaiians dropped from roughly 300,000 to 50,000 within 50 years. This made large-scale work such as maintenance of fishponds impossible, causing Kawainui Fishpond and the surrounding agricultural area to become unused and overgrown.^[9]

In 1848, the

valley floor around the fishpond, which were gradually becoming a marsh, were used as a site for loʻi kalo.^[12]

After Kalama died in 1870, her land was sold to American lawyer

heir Nannie Roberta Harris owned the ahupuaʻa of Kailua until 1917.^[13]

In the 1900s

While under Harris family ownership, Kawainui was used for

ranching^[16] by Harold Castle, who introduced large numbers of invasive plants in order to feed his cattle.^[10]

During World War II, Kawainui was used as a training area by the United States Armed Forces, which leased it from Kaneohe Ranch.^[16]

In the 1950s, the

City and County of Honolulu subsequently leased that area and used it as a site to burn trash until 1962.^[17]

In 1956, Kaneohe Ranch pumped water out of Kawainui until the water table dropped by almost four feet, making the area more usable for grazing as part of a land reclamation process that was discontinued in 1965.^[18]

The Hawaii State Board of Geographic Names officially designated Kawainui a marsh in 1982. In the early 1900s, it had been inaccurately described as a swamp.^[6]

In the 2000s

In February 2005, Kawainui was designated a Ramsar Wetland with site number 1460.^[1]

As of 2019, a mass of

restore areas of the marsh.^[10]

Wildlife

Kawainui is a habitat for native Hawaiian

migratory birds.^[20] The State of Hawaii has designated most of Kawainui marsh as a state wildlife refuge.^[21]

In Hawaiian culture

Hawaiian legends describe lepo-ʻai-ʻia, or "edible mud", that was present in Kawainui. The traditional story states that Kauluakalana brought the mud from a foreign place and put it in Kawainui Fishpond, and that it was eaten by the servants and warriors of Kamehameha I during his invasion of Oʻahu in 1795.^[22]

Kawainui was additionally believed to have a guardian spirit in the form of a moʻo named Hauwahine, who ensured that there was enough food available for the people, but removed the fish from the pond if the people living in the area were oppressed by the aliʻi. Pollution and overgrowth were thought to be insults to Hauwahine, which was one motivation for the Hawaiians to keep the fishpond clean.^[23]