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December 21, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Malihini Tree

“The little ones who are looking forward to the Malihini Tree do not know anything about the sugar tariff, but they do know that Santa Claus will not come this year if anything should happen to the Malihini Tree.”

“They do not know anything about free sugar in 1916, but they do know that their little arms ache for a really doll, with really hair. They have not worried their little heads over dividends. They never heard of a dividend.”

“But they have their hearts set on being in line when that glorious tree glistens forth again in the Christmas morning sun. And they must not be disappointed. And they will not be disappointed.” (Hawaiian Gazette, December 16, 1913)

“(T)he Malihini Christmas Tree was raised by some malihini who visited Honolulu two years ago, after discussion, they decided that it would be a fine thing to give presents to the children of this town, whereupon they collected money to purchase gifts and to do everything that would it enjoyable for them.” (Kuokoa, December 30, 1910)

“In the beginning when the children started to move in line to where the presents were, the very first were the orphans of Kapiolani Home, and to those baby girls of the home who were given the first time in the previous year, they were given first and following them, everyone else.” (Kuokoa, December 30, 1910)

“In the past two years, the Foreign Tree stood in Bishop Park, Ewa side of the Young Hotel, and it was there that the presents were distributed to the children who had tickets …”

“… but because of the decision to increase the amount of gifts with the knowledge that the number of children would be great, the tree was moved to grounds of the Executive Building and there the children would receive the presents.”

“Being that it was a great happening held on the morning of this past Monday, there were many folks who went to see the presents being given to the children, and the grounds were filled with people and children too, those children who had tickets and those as well who did not.”

“(T)here was an area cordoned off with children lined up reaching somewhere over two thousand. It was clear from the looks of the children who arrived that there were all the ethnicities who lived in this town; some were in their dress clothes, while others were in their everyday clothes which showed how poor they were.”

“There were other poor children, but because they did not obtain a ticket, none of them approached the place where the gifts were being handed out, and some people came with presents for them.”

“There was a long table filled with presents of all sorts that were separated so there would be no confusion, and from there the gifts were given as per the sort of child; …”

“… if it was a boy, they would give a gift appropriate to him, and if it was a girl, she would receive only a gift that would befit her; and every child was counted for; the table was heaped up with things from fruits to dolls and toys.”

“Overall, what is to be said about the Malihini Tree that was set up this year was that the public cannot hold back giving their admiration and appreciation to the people who gave their assistance in promoting this tree …”

“… for there is no other tree of this type in any other place of the world; it is only here in this Town and County of Honolulu, for the benefit of the poor children.” (Kuokoa, December 30, 1910)

“It draws no lines of creed, color, race nor location, the only limitation it places upon those it benefits being that they come from homes where Santa Claus can not find them. This year, if the plans of the committee can be fully carried unit, the tree will bear gifts for sixteen hundred boys and girls.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, December 7, 1910)

“However, we never forget, we can never forget, that the loving founders of this particular and to-be-famous Tree, were tourists in our midst, travelers, and they were inspired so to speak, to donate a special tree for poor children and manifest their love for Honolulu and their interest in that way. They were thinking of their loved ones far over the sea.”

“And they could not stand idle at that blessed season and so they hastened to give and to try to make happy, at least for that one day.”

“And it was a marvelous outpouring such as the city had not known. It was an original a unique affair, and the message of love struck home to every heart. And so, is now well-rooted the malihini tree for all the coming years as we do believe.”

“With all the rest it seems the very best and easiest method of reaching all and giving a happy outing to all, receiving each his own gift and sharing also to the full in the joy and gladness of the hundreds of little comrades a treat, too, of music and of laughter …”

“… for what can be more musical than the merry laughter of children at such a time! True melody and always welcome to the ear.” (Honolulu Times, January 1, 1911)

“The Malihini Christmas Tree returns big dividends. It returns more to the ones who contribute than it gives to the children, and, why should there be several hundred Christmas-less baby boys and baby girls in this city …”

“… even if the rich have to pay fifty cents a pound for turkey and cannot buy each other as expensive presents as usual? … The high cost of living has hit the family where poi is the staff of life, just as hard as it has hit the people who simply have to have plenty of eggs in their cake even if they do cost six cents each.” (Hawaiian Gazette, December 16, 1913)

“The founders of the Malihini Tree established the one form of Christmas giving that reaches into every part of the city and takes in every needy child that can be found.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, December 7, 1910)

“And in that spirit, the tree was again put up on that day for the children, and it was a joyous thing for those who gave the gifts …” (Kuokoa, December 30, 1910)

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1911 Malihini Christmas Tree Honolulu, HI

Malihini Tree – PCA-Dec_28,_1910

Malihini Xmas Tree Honolulu, HI

Malihini Xmas Tree Santa Claus Honolulu, HI

The Malihini Christmas Tree Honolulu, HI

Malihini Tree -PCA-Dec_28,_1910

Malihini Tree -Hawaiian Gazette-Dec_29,_1913

Malahini_Tree-HawaiianGazette_12-30-1910

Malihini Tree – Dec_29,_1913

Malihini Tree – Hawaiian Gazette-Dec_16,_1913

December 14, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mauka-Makai Watch

Before I became Chair and Director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources I was Deputy Managing Director for Hawaiʻi County. I had regular (daily) interaction with the Police Department on a wide variety of issues.

Police tell us that an engaged community is one of the best ways to reduce crime. They then help organize and support Neighborhood Watch programs across the Islands.

It’s a program that discourages preventable crime by organizing awareness meetings to help neighbors get to know one another and look out for each other, and recognize and report suspicious activity.

At DLNR, we initiated the Mauka-Makai Watch program. It’s modeled after the successful Neighborhood Watch program; the intent is to get communities working with resource managers and enforcement.

However, here community volunteers focus on natural and cultural resources, especially the coastline and nearshore waters, when partnering with Department of Land and Natural Resources DLNR enforcement officers.

The program incorporated experience DLNR had with the Miloliʻi community, with the assistance of The Nature Conservancy and the Community Conservation Network, as well as with the Wai ‘Opae community.

The Mauka-Makai Watch program is based on the idea that the people who use, live closest to or are involved with the resources are in the best position to help in ensuring compliance with resource protection and preservation. Think of it as a community “watch” program in the forests and/or coastal areas.

It’s not about vigilantism or exclusion, but simply a willingness to help prevent wrong-doing through presence and education, look out for suspicious activity, monitor and care for the resources, and report inappropriate activity to law enforcement and to each other.

The program is flexible and versatile; it can focus on marine and coastal related context under a “Makai Watch” reference, or it can center on forest, hunting or other inland issues under a “Mauka Watch” reference. Or, it can incorporate a broad, comprehensive network linking inland and coastal matters under a Mauka-Makai Watch.

Most attention has been to the “Makai” aspect of the program. Makai Watch focuses on caring for near-shore marine resources with the active participation of local communities.

Makai Watch volunteers in over ten communities across the state serve as the ‘eyes and ears’ for conservation and resource enforcement officials (DLNR-DOCARE), as well as help monitor and protect the resources.

The Makai Watch Program was initially created as a partnership effort by the DLNR and several non-governmental organizations including Community Conservation Network (CCN), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Hawaii Wildlife Fund (HWF) and several community-based organizations.

Community-supported natural and cultural resource protection and preservation programs represent a win-win opportunity. DLNR wants and needs citizens to take more personal and collective responsibility for protecting the resources.

Over the years, DLNR has developed various programs to involve communities in resource protection and management. Until now, these programs worked interdependently and, although very successful, lacked a coordinated effort by the department.

When the community is part of an ongoing stewardship-type presence and educational outreach, they can help monitor and care for the resources. This protection can also extend to being aware of suspicious activity, and reporting it to each other and law enforcement.

The Makai Watch Program has grown over the past 10-years and DLNR partners with communities and non-governmental organizations including The Nature Conservancy, Kua‘aina Ulu Auamo, Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund, Project SEA-Link and funding provided by Conservation International Hawaii and the Harold K Castle Foundation.

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Makai_Watch

December 12, 2015 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

John Kendrick

Sea Captain John Kendrick fought in the French and Indian Wars in 1762, threw tea overboard in the Boston Tea Party in 1773, and was in charge of the Fanny, one of the United States’ first ships, during the Revolutionary War.

He survived all that, and was later killed on December 12, 1794 in a 13-canon saluting round in Fair Haven (now known as Honolulu Harbor.) (Lytle)

Let’s look back …

Kendrick was born in 1740 on a small hilly farm in East Harwich, Cape Cod, the third of seven children of Solomon Kendrick and Elizabeth Atkins.

Kendrick’s grandfather, Edward Kendrick, had arrived in Harwich around 1700 and married Elizabeth Snow, the granddaughter of Nicholas Snow, a holder of extensive lands and one of the ‘old-comers’ from Plymouth who first settled the Cape.

Kendrick’s father, Solomon, born sometime during the winter of 1705, was master of a whaling vessel who was famous in local lore. He followed his father and went to sea by the time he was fourteen. By his late-teens, he was crewing on local sailing vessels.

“John Kendrick came of age in the defiant atmosphere of the coffeehouses and taverns of Boston. Here, he was in the midst of the firestorm of opposition to the Parliament’s Stamp Act of 1765 and the hated Townshend Acts, which usurped local authority and levied an array of onerous taxes.”

“As strife increased on the waterfront, he may have been involved in the widespread boycott of British goods and the burning of Boston’s customs house, or riots over seizure and impressment of American sailors for British ships.”

“(O)n the rainy night of December 16, 1773, John Kendrick was part of the legendary band that boarded two East India Company ships at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor. Thumbing his nose at the British shortly after, he is said to have been master of the brig Undutied Tea.”

He fought in the American Revolutionary War and at its outbreak, he smuggled powder and arms from the Caribbean with the sloop Fanny, whose owners were under contract with a secret committee of the Continental Congress and later captured a couple ships, which helped to precipitate the entry of France into the war.

“Shortly before the British surrendered at Yorktown in 1781, Kendrick came ashore. In his sporadic visits home he had managed to father six children, and now he buckled down to making his way in the new nation.”

“After the victorious Revolution and the euphoria of the Peace Treaty of 1783, an economic depression had settled over villages and farms. Port cities and their harbors were left reeling from the war. Inflation was rampant.”

“There was no common currency, state governments were weak, and representatives to the Congress of the Confederation bickered over fundamental issues, threatening to secede.”

“Heavy debts owed to Britain for damages in the war were due, and the prospects for international trade and revenue were bleak. In a punching move, the king had closed all British ports from Canada and the British Isles to the Caribbean to the remaining American ships.”

Without trade, without customs revenue, without taxes, it would be impossible to support a new central government and succeed in securing independence.

Shipping was the soul of early commerce; the Pacific voyages of James Cook revealed the high prices sea otter furs from the Northwest Coast would bring in China.

That took Kendrick and his crew to the Pacific, where they traded with the local population and explored the northwest of the American continent. They eventually (January 1790) went to China to trade the Northwest furs and eventually made it to Japan, arriving on May 6, 1791, probably becoming the first official Americans to meet the Japanese.

On December 3, 1794, Kendrick arrived in Fair Haven (Honolulu) Hawaiʻi aboard the Lady Washington; a war was waging between Kalanikupule and his half-brother Kaʻeokulani (Kaʻeo.)

Also in Honolulu were Captain William Brown (the first credited with entering Honolulu Harbor) in general command of the Jackall and the Prince Lee Boo, Captain Gordon.

At the death of Kahekili in 1793, Kaʻeo became ruling chief of Maui, Molokai and Lānaʻi. Kalanikupule was ruler of Oʻahu. Homesick for his friends, Kaʻeo set out to return to Kauai by way of Waialua and then to Waimea. He learned of a conspiracy to kill him. (Kamakau)

Captain Brown of the Jackall helped Kalanikupule. While Kaʻeo was successful after some initial skirmishes. A great battle was fought in the area between Kalauao and ‘Aiea in ‘Ewa. Kalanikupule’s forces surrounded Kaʻeo. (Cultural Surveys) The ship’s men successfully aided in the defense and Kaʻeo was defeated.

To celebrate the victory, on December 12, 1794, Kendrick’s brig fired a thirteen-gun salute in celebration the British ship of Captain Brown.

The tradition of rendering a salute by cannon originated in the 14th century as firearms and cannons came into use. Since these early devices contained only one projectile, discharging them rendered them harmless.

Initially, the tradition began as a custom among ships, whose captains had volleys fired upon entering a friendly port to release its arsenal, which demonstrated their peaceful intentions (by placing their weapons in a position that rendered them ineffective.)

Following Kendrick’s salute, Brown answered with a round of fire.

Unfortunately, through an oversight, one of the saluting guns on the Jackall was loaded with round and grape shot, and this shot passed through the side of the Lady Washington, killing Captain Kendrick and several of his crew. (Kuykendall) (Lots of information here is from Ridley; Daughters of the American Revolution)

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Captain John Kendrick

December 11, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Lot Kamehameha

“Use no deception.
Be always pleasant and cheerful.
Try to make your teachers
and all around you happy.
Have a place for everything
and everything in its place.”
(His New Year’s Resolution at age 12)

He died on his 42nd birthday (December 11, 1830 – December 11, 1872.) He was given the Christian name Lot and the Hawaiian name Kapuāiwa, which means ‘mysterious kapu’ (taboo) or ‘the sacred one protected by supernatural powers.’ His full name was Lot Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiolani Kalani Kapuapaikalaninui. (ksbe)

His mother was Kīnaʻu, a daughter of Kamehameha I (she became the Kuhina nui, in 1832.) His father was Mataio Kekūanāoʻa, a descendent of the Chiefs of the Island of Oʻahu (he was governor of Oʻahu, as well as a member of the House of Nobles and the Privy Council.)

Lot was most often called Lot Kamehameha and that is how he signed his letters and other writings. (ksbe) He had three brothers and a sister.

They were, David Kamehameha, who was three years older; Moses Kekūāiwa, who was two years older; Alexander Liholiho, the future Kamehameha IV, who was four years younger, and Victoria Kamāmalu, the youngest of the children. (David died in 1835 at the age of seven. Moses was nineteen years old when he died in 1848.) (ksbe)

Lot Kapuāiwa was hānai to Chief Hoapili of Lahaina and Princess Nahiʻenaʻena (daughter of Kamehameha I and Keōpūolani; she was sister to Liholiho and Kauikeaouli (they were later Kamehameha II and III.))

At age 9, he entered the Chiefs’ Children’s School. The aliʻi wanted their children trained in Western, as well as Hawaiian traditions and Kamehameha III asked missionaries Amos and Juliette Cooke to teach the young royals; in 1848, at age 18, he ended his schooling there to work for the government.

Lot went to work in Honolulu Hale, a government office building on Merchant Street. There he kept record books and wrote or copied documents. Because he knew both English and Hawaiian he also translated government papers. (ksbe)

From the time they were children Lot and Pauahi were expected to marry each other. This had been planned by their parents. It had traditionally been the custom for chiefs to choose suitable mates for their aliʻi children.

When Pauahi was about sixteen years old, however, she fell in love with Charles Reed Bishop. Her parents, Konia and Paki, were not happy at the thought of her marrying a foreigner. Pauahi was not happy at the thought of marrying Lot. (ksbe)

In 1849, Lot and Alexander Liholiho (his brother) began their year-long trip to the United States and Europe. They returned to Hawaiʻi in September 1850, three months after Pauahi’s marriage to Mr. Bishop. Lot never married.

The brothers’ training as leaders continued. Kamehameha III saw to it that they had suitable work in government positions. Nineteen-year-old Lot was appointed a member of the House of Nobles.

It was much like being a senator in Hawaiʻi’s legislature today. Lot was also made general of a division in the Hawaiian kingdom’s army. (ksbe)

Kamehameha III died in 1854. Alexander Liholiho, his hānai son and chosen heir to the throne, became Kamehameha IV; Lot served as the Minister of Interior.

Kamehameha IV ruled for nine years. Lot ascended to the throne as Kamehameha V on November 30, 1863, on the death of his brother.

“He was a master in the beginning, & at the middle, & to the end. The Parliament was the “figure-head,” & it never was much else in his time. … He hated Parliaments, as being a rasping & useless incumbrance upon a king, but he allowed them to exist because as an obstruction they were more ornamental than rival.” (Twain)

“He surrounded himself with an obsequious royal Cabinet of American & other foreigners, & he dictated his measures to them &, through them, to his Parliament; & the latter institution opposed them respectfully, not to say apologetically, & passed them.” (Twain)

Kamehameha V modeled his leadership after that of his grandfather, Kamehameha I, believing that it was the right and duty of the chiefs to lead the common people. He refused to support the Constitution of 1852. By supporting the controversial Constitution of 1864, he expected to regain some of the powers lost by previous kings. (ksbe)

“He was not a fool. He was a wise sovereign; he had seen something of the world; he was educated & accomplished, & he tried hard to do well for his people, & succeeded. There was no rival nonsense about him; he dressed plainly, poked about Honolulu, night or day, on his old horse, unattended; he was popular, greatly respected, & even beloved.” (Twain)

In 1865, a bill to repeal the law making it a penal offense to sell or give intoxicating liquor to native Hawaiians was brought before the legislature. Strongly supported by some, Kamehameha surprised the supporters saying, “I will never sign the death warrant of my people.” The measure was defeated in the second reading. (Alexander)

Kamehameha V founded the Royal Order of Kamehameha on April 11, 1865 in commemoration of his grandfather, Kamehameha I. The stated purpose of the order was “to cultivate and develop, among our subjects, the feelings of honour and loyalty to our dynasty and its institutions ….” (Royal Order)

Hansen’s Disease was rapidly spreading on Oʻahu. The legislature passed “An Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy” in 1865, which King Kamehameha V approved – it called for the isolation and seclusion of leprous persons. The first shipment of lepers landed at Kalaupapa January 6, 1866, the beginning of segregation and banishment of lepers to the leper settlement.

The Kamehameha V Post Office (built in 1871, one of the oldest remaining public buildings in Hawaiʻi, and so named because it was built at the direction of Kamehameha V) was the first post office building in Hawaiʻi. (NPS) On February 19, 1872, Kamehameha V laid the cornerstone for Aliʻiolani Hale (now home to the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court.)

December 11, Lot Kapuāiwa celebrated the first Kamehameha Day in 1871 as a day to honor his grandfather; the first celebration fell on Lot’s birthday.

Because the weather was better in the summer, the decision was made to move the Kamehameha I celebration six months from the King Kamehameha V’s birthday (so it was moved to June 11 – the date has no direct significance to Kamehameha I.) The 1896 legislature declared it a national holiday. (Kamehameha Day continues to be celebrated on June 11.)

“On the 10th (of December, 1872,) (Liliʻuokalani and her husband) were summoned to the palace to attend the dying monarch; one by one other chiefs of the Hawaiian people, with a few of their trusted retainers, also arrived to be present at the final scene;…”

“… we spent that night watching in silence near the king’s bedside. The disease was pronounced by the medical men to be dropsy on the chest (hydrothorax, accumulation of fluid in the chest.”) (Liliʻuokalani)

“Although nearing the end, the mind of the king was still clear; and his thoughts, like our own, were evidently on the selection of a future ruler for the island kingdom …”

“… turning to Mrs. Bishop, he asked her to assume the reins of government and become queen at his death.” She declined. “… he relapsed into unconsciousness, and passed away without having named his successor to the throne.” (Liliʻuokalani) (Lunalilo was shortly after elected King of Hawaiʻi.)

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Prince_Lot_Kapuaiwa_(PP-97-9-007)

Princes Alexander Iolani Liholiho Keawenu (Kamehameha IV) and Lot Kapuaiwa (Kamehameha V) with Dr. Gerrit P Judd (center)-(nih-gov)

Gerrit_Judd_Alexander_Liholihoi-Lot Kapuaiwa-PP-97-8-009-1850

Kamehameha_V-PPWD-15-6-016-1865

Kamehameha_V-Lot Kapuaiwa

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Kapuaiwa_Grove,_Kaunakakai,_Molokai

Royal Hawaiian Hotel-screened_patio-HSA-1890

Richards_Street-Hawaiian_Hotel-1890

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Kamehameha_V_Post_Office-(WC)

Merchant street looking toward Waikiki. Kamehameha V Post Office in left foreground, right rear Bishop Bank-1885

2011_Blue_Girls_Halau-(MoanaluaGardensFoundation)

2011_Red_Halau-(MoanaluaGardensFoundation)

2011_ROOK-(MoanaluaGardensFoundation)

Kamehameha Hall in Hilo, meeting house of the Royal Order of King Kamehameha

December 10, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Watershed Partnerships

I have often said these are one of Hawai‘i’s best untold stories.

Let’s look back …

Hawaiʻi’s native forests evolved over millions of years to become one of the most remarkable natural assemblages on Earth. Yet since the onset of human arrival, about 1,000-years ago, their history has largely been one of loss and destruction.

The worst damage occurred during the 19th century, when cattle and other introduced livestock were allowed to multiply and range unchecked throughout the Islands, laying waste to hundreds of thousands of acres of native forest.

The situation became so dire that the captains of government and industry realized that if the destruction continued there would be no water for growing sugarcane, the Islands’ emerging economic mainstay. (TNC)

On May 13, 1903, the Territory of Hawaiʻi, with the backing of the Hawaiʻi Sugar Planters’ Association, established the Board of Commissioners of Agriculture and Forestry. (HDOA)

That year, the Territorial Legislature created Hawaiʻi’s forest reserve system, ushering in a new era of massive public-private investment in forest restoration.

With Hawai‘i’s increase in population, expanding ranching industry, and extensive agricultural production of sugarcane and later pineapple, early territorial foresters recognized the need to protect mauka (upland) forests to provide the necessary water requirements for the lowland agriculture demands and surrounding communities. (DOFAW)

After more than a century of massive forest loss and destruction, the Territory of Hawai‘i acknowledged that preservation of the forest was vital to the future economic prosperity of the Islands.

While forest reserves were important watersheds, their boundaries were drawn “so as not to interfere with revenue-producing lands,” and such lands were not generally thought to be useful for agriculture. (hawaii-edu)

Forest reserves were useful for two primary purposes: water production for the Territory’s agricultural industries, and timber production to meet the growing demand for wood products. The forest reserve system should not lead to “the locking up from economic use of a certain forest area.” (Hosmer)

Even in critical watersheds the harvesting of old trees “is a positive advantage, in that it gives the young trees a chance to grow, while at the same time producing a profit from the forests.” (LRB)

Forest Reserves are commonly known and were critical steps forward in protecting our mauka resources. But, while they are the foundation of the focus of this summary, it is what happened 100-years later, and that continue today, that folks should also be aware of … Watershed Partnerships.

Watershed Partnerships are voluntary alliances of private and public landowners and others working collaboratively with common goals of conservation, preservation and management of Hawai‘i’s precious natural and cultural resources to protect forested watersheds for water recharge, conservation and other ecosystem services.

The first Watershed Partnership was formed in 1991 on East Maui when several public and private landowners realized the benefits of working together to ensure the conservation of a shared watershed that provided billions of gallons of fresh water to the area.

In the following years six more watershed partnerships formed including, Koʻolau Mountains Watershed Partnership, East Molokai Watershed Partnership, West Maui Mountains Watershed Partnership, Lanaʻi Forest and Watershed Partnership, The Kauai Watershed Alliance, Kohala Watershed Partnership. The success of these partnerships highlighted the need to address watershed issues statewide.

One of the first forestry-related actions I worked on while I was Chair of DLNR related to Watershed Partnerships. We worked to get the independent Watershed Partnerships into a cooperative association.

On April 24, 2003, the 100th-anniversary of Hawaiʻi’s Forest Reserve System, Governor Linda Lingle and the seven existing watershed partnerships signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) formally recognizing the State’s dedication to watershed protection and established the Hawai`i Association of Watershed Partnerships.

Four additional watershed partnerships, Leeward Haleakalā Watershed Restoration Partnership, Three Mountain Alliance, Waiʻanae Mountains Watershed Partnership and Mauna Kea Watershed Alliance have since been established. (HAWP)

Most management actions “blur” boundary lines (they are habitat, rather than ownership, based) and revolve around combating the main threats to forests: feral animals (such as goats, deer, sheep, pigs, etc) and invasive species.

Actions include fencing and animal removal, invasive species control, rare plant outplanting and native habitat restoration, and outreach and education.

These management actions make a critical difference by benefitting native forests, watersheds, coastal and coral reef areas by reducing erosion and sedimentation run-off into streams.

Together, eleven separate partnerships involve approximately 75 private landowners and public agencies that cover nearly 2-million acres of land in the state (about half the land area of the state.) There is no model like it with respect to watershed management breadth, scope and success.

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