Hawai‘i to Receive $770K for Watershed Protection

PC: file image credit East Maui Watershed Partnership

The State of Hawaiʻi will receive $770,000 from the US Department of Agriculture to protect and improve Hawaiʻi’s watersheds, according to an announcement issued today by US Senator Mazie Hirono.

The Hawaiʻi Watershed Initiative supports projects that move forward the state’s goal of protecting 30%, or 253,000 acres, of Hawaiʻi’s highest priority watershed forests by 2030.

“Today’s investment recognizes Hawaiʻi’s ongoing commitment to the protection and restoration of our forested watersheds, and will help enhance the health of our state’s unique ecosystems,” said Senator Hirono.

Senator Hirono continues to advocate for federal resources to safeguard and enhance Hawaiʻi’s watersheds.

In 2016, Senator Hirono convened a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee field hearing on Oʻahu to examine how federal partnerships protect and sustain Hawaiʻi’s freshwater resources.

Senator Hirono also successfully advocated for the inclusion of Hawaiʻi’s collaborative landscape proposal, “Island Forests at Risk,” in President Obama’s budget for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017. As a result, a total of nearly $27 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund has been provided to purchase and protect endangered species’ habitats, culturally significant areas, and ecologically important lands in the Hakalau National Wildlife Refuge and Volcanoes National Park.