Maui Nui Marine Resource Council Inc

THE MISSION OF THE MAUI NUI MARINE RESOURCE COUNCIL (MNMRC) IS TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT MAUI NUI'S CORAL REEFS AND ITS INHABITANTS. OUR VISION: THE COASTAL WATERS OF MAUI NUI ARE CLEAN, CORAL REEFS ARE HEALTHY, AND NATIVE FISH ARE ABUNDANT. OUR MISSION IS TO BRING HUMAN ACTIONS INTO BALANCE WITH ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES SO THAT THE HEALTH AND ABUNDANCE OF MAUI'S NEARSHORE WATERS CAN BE RESTORED AND SUSTAINED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

KIHEI EROSION AND FLOODING INTERVENTION:MNMRC CONDUCTED FIELD ASSESSMENTS TO MEASURE FACTORS THAT IMPACT ECOLOGICAL DESIGN AND RESTORATION FEASIBILITY TO MITIGATE SEASONAL FLOODING IN THE KIHEI COMMUNITY. THROUGH CONTRACTING WITH ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN ENGINEERS, WE EVALUATED THE AVAILABILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF VARIOUS OPTIONS FOR ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION OF FAILED FLOOD PLAIN INFRASTRUCTURE AND HELD COMMUNITY MEETINGS TO GATHER PUBLIC INPUT ON PROPOSALS. MNMRC WORKED WITH ONE OF THE THREE LARGEST RANCHES IN THE UPPER WATERSHED TO REMOVE 2,250 CUBIC YARDS OF DEPOSITED SEDIMENT FROM A GULCH TO PREVENT RAIN-MEDIATED TRANSPORT OF CORAL-SMOTHERING RUNOFF AND EXCESS NUTRIENTS TO THE OCEAN, INSTALLED 1,800 LINEAR FT OF 8-FT TALL UNGULATE FENCING RUNNING MAUKA TO MAKAI TO PREVENT SOIL EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION. THIS IS IN ADDITION TO EXTENSIVE FENCING EFFORTS THAT THE RANCH AND OTHER PARTNERS ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO INSTALL. THE FENCING HELPS CONTROL DEER HERD MOVEMENTS TO PREFERRED AREAS AND MAKES DEER HARVESTING EASIER. THIS COMBINED EFFORT WILL REDUCE EROSION AND ALLOW GRASSES TO REGROW AND STABILIZE THE SOIL. AN ADDED BONUS IS THAT THE FIRE BREAKS CAN BE MADE AT THE SAME TIME AS THE FENCING IS INSTALLED.

CORAL REEF MONITORING PROGRAMOYSTER BIOREMEDIATION PROGRAMCOMMUNITY MANAGEMENT SUPPORTOUTREACH AND EDUCATION PROGRAMSPLASTICS DEBRIS STUDYREEF POWER (MNMRC IS A FISCAL SPONSOR)

OCEAN WATER QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAM:MNMRC CO-MANAGES A UNIQUE COMMUNITY-BASED OCEAN WATER QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAM, HUI O KA WAI OLA. THIS PROGRAM MONITORED OCEAN WATER QUALITY AT MAUI BEACHES EVERY THREE WEEKS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, GROWING FROM 29 TO 35 SITES DURING 2023. THE HUI WAS ONE OF THE FIRST GROUPS TO TEST WATER CONDITIONS IN WEST MAUI AFTER THE LAHAINA WILDFIRE AND ADDED FOUR NEW TESTING SITES WITHIN THE BURN ZONE (IN ADDITION TO THE THREE SITES ESTABLISHED BEFORE THE FIRE). THE HUI ALSO EXPANDED TO LANA'I, LAUNCHING TWO SITES ON THE NEIGHBOR ISLAND IN 2023. THE PROGRAM PROVIDES QUALITY-ASSURED DATA TO THE STATE OF HAWAI'I DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH CLEAN WATER BRANCH. SINCE THE MONITORING PROGRAM LAUNCHED IN 2016, HUI O KA WAI OLA HAS COLLECTED OVER 4,141 WATER SAMPLES ALONG THE LEEWARD COAST OF MAUI.

REEF FRIENDLY LANDSCAPING PROGRAM:MNMRC DEVELOPED HAWAI'I'S FIRST REEF-FRIENDLY LANDSCAPING (RFL) CERTIFICATION COURSE TO HELP LANDSCAPING PROFESSIONALS, PROPERTY OWNERS AND AGRICULTURAL BUSINESSES TRANSITION FROM HERBICIDES AND PESTICIDES TO NATURAL LAND-CARE PRODUCTS AND PRACTICES. MNMRC WORKED WITH LOCAL INDUSTRY EXPERTS TO DEVELOP THE COURSE CURRICULUM, WHICH COVERS TOPICS LIKE SOIL HEALTH AND MICROBIOLOGY, NATIVE, EXOTIC AND INVASIVE PLANTS, ENERGY, POLLUTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE, FERTILIZERS, AND PLANTING. THE GOAL OF THE PROGRAM IS TO NOT ONLY YIELD HEALTHIER SOIL AND PLANT LIFE BUT ALSO DECREASE THE AMOUNT OF TOXIC CHEMICALS THAT ARE WASHED INTO THE OCEAN AND ONTO NEARBY CORAL REEFS. A COHORT OF 12 PROPERTIES ACROSS THE ISLAND SAW PROMISING RESULTS AFTER PARTICIPATING IN THE RFL PILOT PROGRAM, WHICH RAN FROM OCTOBER TO DECEMBER 2023. PARTICIPATING PROPERTIES INCLUDED HOTELS AND RESORTS, CONDOS, CONSTRUCTION SITES, AND FARMS. ALL PARTICIPANTS SAW A HOST OF POSITIVE RESULTS ON THEIR TEST PLOTS FROM IMPROVED PLANT GROWTH AND APPEARANCE, TO A DECREASE IN PESTS, PLANT DISEASE AND WEED PATCHES.