KPAA uses grant in aid to improve Kauai state parks

The Kauai Planning & Action Alliance is using a grant in aid from the Hawaii State Legislature to make improvements in two state parks on the island. To make a safer and more enjoyable hiking experience, work is underway on the first two miles of the Kalalau Trail with contractor Pono Pacific Land Management. 

During the summer, trail rehabilitation efforts were concentrated at the Hanakapiai end of the trail to take advantage of the calm seas for Zodiac transport. In some portions of the trail, the treadway was narrow and eroded, making it difficult for two backpackers to safely pass one another.

The Friends of Kalalau Trail volunteers have been working two Saturdays a month with trail builder Charlie Cobb-Adams and his crew to regrade the treadway, clear aerial roots, and install water bars to divert the water flow off the trail and thus minimize erosion.

Work on the two mile long section from Kee Beach to Hanakapiai Beach is nearly 90 percent complete, and on schedule to be finished by the end of 2010. Upcoming volunteer workdays are scheduled for Nov. 13, 20 and 27, 2010. More volunteers are welcome.  Detailed information on volunteering with the Friends of Kalalau Trail is available by email, kalalautrail@ponopacific.com.

A partner in this grant is Hui o Laka which manages the historic Civilian Conservation Corps Camp in Kokee.  Several of the buildings were in need of repair and through this grant they will be rehabilitated so that activities can once again be held inside. 

Hui O Laka recruited 67 community members including many Waimea High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps students for a Sept. 25 volunteer work day to reconstruct portions of the buildings. The renovation project is complying with established historical preservation guidelines and ADA requirements, and is now more than 50 percent complete.

Kikialoa Construction is the lead contractor, and work is expected to be wrapped by December.   Hui o Laka Executive Director Marsha Erickson has put out a call for any volunteers willing to assist in completing the interior painting. Details on how you can participate in upcoming volunteer workdays is available by calling the Kokee Natural History Museum at (808) 335-9975 or visiting their website, http://www.kokee.org.