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JBPHH/NAFVAC teams up to take out unwanted visitors, restore Aina

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Christopher Stoltz
  • Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Public Affairs
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM --  With the eventual goal of restoring and strengthening the Ahua Reef ecosystem near Hickam beach, Airmen, Sailors and civilian personnel on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam teamed up during a reef cleanup event, held July 29.

The event, which was hosted by Naval Facilities Engineering Command Hawaii, educated volunteers about the diverse ecosystem and the endangered species which reside on Hickam’s beach area.

“The goal of this cleanup is to not only help preserve the wildlife, but to raise environmental awareness,” said CS1 Jenny Bueso, JBPHH Fleet and Family Readiness. “There are plenty of people here who are not aware of what is happening on our Aina. Many people think this is just the beach, but there’s a whole ecosystem here, and it’s under attack for not just invasive species – but from people who are negligent toward it.”

Rebecca Smith, NAFVAC Joint Base natural resource manager, said she hopes her team can make an impact on the areas here on JBPHH -- but said they need help, and more bodies, to make it possible.

“The goal we have in mind is to make a cleanup event like this quarterly or even monthly,” said Smith. “The long-term goal of the project itself is to restore the wetland area to normalcy, which will support Hawaiian plant and animal wildlife.”

According to Corrina Carnes, an intern with the Student Conservation Association and lead of the beach cleanup project, there are more things hurting the Ahua Reef than just the humans who like to visit its waters.

“The most invasive species is the pickleweed, which has been taking over some of the beach area,” said Carnes. “Not only is it fast to grow, but incredibly resilient to saltwater, making it incredibly difficult to eradicate. The reason why it poses such a threat is because although it grows fast and has incredible resolve, animals cannot use it as a food source, and it is slowly destroying the rest of the ecosystem.”

The invasive species like the pickleweed combined with the mistreatment of the land is harming endangered native Hawaiian species including: the Hawaiian duck (koloa maoli), Hawaiian coot (‘alae ke‘oke‘o), Hawaiian common moorhen (‘alae ‘ula), and Hawaiian stilt (ae‘o). Protection of these species is mandated by Endangered Species Act. Loss of wetland habitat was cited as one of the primary causes for their decline at Fort Kamehameha Beach and Ahua Reef in a study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Smith said beyond being a federal requirement to protect endangered species, volunteering for events like this is simply the right thing to do.

“It’s important to me, and many of us out here, that we take care of the community around us,” said Smith. “If we are going to be inhabiting this land, then we should do the right thing and take care of it – we should reduce the impact we have on it.”

For more information about the ongoing restoration project, or to volunteer, call Rebecca Smith at 474-0125.