Karin Stanton/Hawaii247 Contributing Editor

Work on the Pelekane Bay Watershed Restoration Project is well underway, but the crews are missing one element crucial to the $2.69 million effort: They need a used 4-wheel drive heavy duty pick up truck.

Kohala Watershed Partnership coodinator Melora Purell said it has been difficult to find one as they are great work trucks and are not often resold.

Ideally, Purell said, the project would like a used Ford F250 with a standard transmission.

“We need the heavy duty kind,” she said. “But we can’t afford a new one. We want to use the federal money on the restoration.”

Since the project had its official kick off a month ago, Purell said crews are spraying weeds, collecting seeds from native plants and  starting to construct a fence line.

The project – funded through a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration coastal restoration grant, which in turn is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – has created 15 jobs.

Purell said she has an enthusiastic and eager crew of 14 who range in age from 18 to 56.

One crew member relocated from Maui, but the remainder are all from North Kohala, Waimea and Hamakua, she said.

“That’s one of the good things about this project. Half the money is going to salaries for people and families who live in this community and it really is going into this community,” she said. “We were able to hire really good people who have the skills we need.”

Pelekane Bay Watershed Restoration Project goals

* Restoration of 400 acres of native vegetation along 6 miles of stream corridors;

* Restoration of 100 critically-eroding sites (13 acres of erosion control fabric and grass plantings, 1,450 acres of watershed impacted) with at least 50 sediment check dams protecting four miles downstream of check dams;

* Installation of 100,000 native plants; and

* Construction of 20 miles of goat-proof fencing to create 11,750 acres free of feral goats.

“The watershed has been trashed over time, but this is still a proactive measure,” she said. “This is the only time this kind of money has been dedicated to an entire eco-system. It really is a groundbreaking project.”

The designated watershed area includes pastures, stream corridors, and remnant native dry forest owned by Queen Emma Land Company (6,600 acres) and state Department of Land and Natural Resources (390 acres), all leased to Parker Ranch. 

Other landowners include Ponoholo Ranch, Kohala Preserve Conservation Trust, state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Laupahoehoe Nui LLC, Kahua Ranch and Kamehemeha Schools. 

To learn more about the project or to sell them a truck, visit hawp.org/kohala.asp or contact Purell at 333-0976, by e-mail at coordinator@kohalawatershed.org.