MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hi -- A small group of Sailors relax at a picnic table behind their new barracks. The table has a view of a small pond surrounded by native Hawaiian plants. Centered in the pond is a small gravel island with two birds standing atop it.
The birds these Sailors are observing are Hawaiian Stilts (or Ae'o, their Hawaiian name, meaning "one standing tall,") an endangered species found only in Hawaii. One of the top three habitats for the birds in all of the islands is aboard MCB Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay.
Habitat for the Hawaiian stilt throughout the state has been diminishing over the years. Many of the mudflats, marshes, and other wetlands these birds feed and nest in have been filled in for development. The number of Hawaiian stilt on base here has more than doubled over the past twenty years (from 60 to about 120 birds), a positive testimony to the Marine Corps' efforts to improve the odds of this bird's survival.
The construction of this approx. 35,000 sq. ft. pond was primarily to trap potentially muddy storm water runoff from the new barracks site and the surrounding drainage area of about 700 acres in the middle of Mokapu Peninsula.
The state of Hawaii gave permits for the pond's construction as a "water quality basin" for this primary purpose. However, Navy and MCB Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay planners and environmental staff worked together to deliberately design this stormwater retention basin to also be attractive to native waterbirds such as the Hawaiian stilt, who live on this peninsula.
These and other native birds already regularly forage for food along the Mokapu Central Drainage Channel next to the barracks site. Design of the basin with their needs in mind would provide for the birds as well as providing for the Barracks occupants to get an "up close and friendly" opportunity to enjoy this valued part of Hawaii's unique heritage.
Another way this basin helps improve water quality and quality of life for both people and wildlife is the installation of a litter catchment system into the storm drain system just before it connects to the basin.
This system collects litter flowing through storm drains so that it doesn't pollute the Mokapu drainage channel, the Nu'upia Ponds, and Kaneohe Bay, downstream from the catchment.
The system consists of a submerged concrete trap with a filter to screen out trash, said Dr. Diane Drigot, the senior natural resources management specialist with the MCBH Environmental Department.
The system also improves water quality in the ponds by allowing the water time to filter through the ground and slowly make its way to the ponds, as opposed to flowing quickly through the drainage channel and dumping muddy and possibly polluted waters into Nu'upia Ponds and Kaneohe Bay.
The water is cleaned using the natural filtering capacities of nature (the microorganisms in the plants and soil) before it empties into these sensitive environmental areas downstream, said Drigot.
This is the kind of "design with nature" planning that state and federal regulators call using "best management practices" to manage stormwater runoff from developed areas, said Drigot.
As the tide rises, the basin fills, creating a small pond in which fish and small larvae, a preferred food source for birds, can be found. As the tide lowers, the basin empties, creating a mud flat that provides the ideal stomping grounds for the birds such as the Hawaiian stilt.
The design of this basin has already "passed inspection" by these birds. A pair of Hawaiian stilt successfully nested and hatched their young on a gravel island in this pond, even before construction on the site was fully completed!
"We have to thank the civilian contractors on the site, Kelvin Osborne and his crew, from Dick-Pacific, for their careful attention to the birds needs during construction, and their subcontractors, Ducks Unlimited, who designed the basin to meet our objective to improve both the quality of life of Sailors and Stilt who will use the area," said Dr. Drigot.
The water quality/man-made mud flat is just a step in a plan to restore the area along the Mokapu drainage channel to the healthy, comfortable habitat for people, birds, and fish.
Through the efforts and hard work of the Navy planners, MCBH Hawaii Environmental Department, in cooperation with civilian contractors, K-bay will once again be a place where man and nature can co-exist peacefully and comfortably, and without putting undue strain on either one's quality of life.