#Kipahulu

Five months after release into the Kīpahulu Forest Reserve in East Maui, a cohort of five ʻalalā (Hawaiian crows) is healthy and continues to discover and practice the instinctual behaviors unique to the species.

On March 25, Kīpahulu celebrates the one-year anniversary of the Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area rules going into effect for the Kīpahulu moku. Over the last year, the community established a Kīpahulu Makai Watch program, and new signage displaying the CBSFA rules has recently been erected at prominent spots in the area.

The Hawai‘i Community Foundation announced more than $1.2 million in grants to 18 organizations and programs providing meaningful contributions to the goal of the Holomua Marine Initiative, which focuses on protecting and restoring nearshore marine areas in Hawai‘i through community engagement and co-management. The grantees have programs in Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i Island, Moloka‘i, Maui, O‘ahu and statewide.

A field crew with the Maui Invasive Species Committee detected a small population of little fire ants (Wasmannia auropunctata) along Hāna Highway near the entrance of the Kīpahulu District of Haleakalā National Park on Aug. 26, 2024. This finding follows the late May detection of little fire ants or LFA at a county storage area on Waikaloa Road in Hāna. Officials say the ants likely spread via contaminated road fill to Kīpahulu within the last year. The infestation appears to be confined to approximately two-thirds of an acre, less than half a soccer field. 

A portion of remote county roadway at Alelele Point near Mile Marker 39 will be closed to all traffic, with the exception of emergency vehicles, between 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday starting May 1, 2024, due to an emergency slope repair project on the makai side of the road, according to a County of Maui Department of Public Works announcement today. The road closure is expected to last five months, the department said. Alelele Point is located on the southeast side of Maui and connects Kaupō and Kīpahulu.

About a mile of remote county roadway at Alelele Point near Mile 39 in East Maui will be closed to all traffic from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, for geotechnical exploration work, the County of Maui Department of Public Works announced today.

Motorists are advised that the highway in the Kīpahulu area of east Maui is closed near Mile 39 from Alelele Bridge to Lelekea Bridge due to erosion damage to the road caused by recent heavy rains. The closure is expected to remain in effect for at least two months while repairs are made to the makai edge of the road.

The remote Kīpahulu area on the southeast side of Maui will become the third Community-Based Subsistence Fishing (CBSFA) area in Hawai‘i, following previous designations of Hā‘ena on Kaua‘i and Miloli‘i on Hawai‘i Island. 

The County of Maui’s roadway along rural Alelele Point in East Maui was reopened Tuesday, after the completion of infrastructure reinstallation that followed emergency slope scaling and rock debris removal.

Road restoration, catchment fencing and reinstalling Hawaiian Telcom infrastructure will continue on the $1.5 million emergency slope stabilization project. Anticipated completion is July 19, 2023.

The County of Maui anticipates the reopening of the Hāna Highway at ʻAlelele Point to limited access to local traffic by Wednesday, July 12, 2023.

The Visitor Industry and Maui Hotel & Lodging Association responded to requests from Maui County and the American Red Cross for emergency assistance items for the communities of Kīpahulu and Kaupō. The rockslide occurrence on May 11 left these areas inaccessible and in need of life-saving equipment during times when emergency services response is delayed.

Emergency slope scaling and rock debris removal started Sunday, June 11, at the rural Alelele Point area of East Maui. Nearly a one mile stretch of road has been closed following a rockfall on April 28, and a subsequent assessment in which officials deemed the area unsafe on May 10. About 150 cubic yards of […]

The contractor selected to complete emergency slope stabilization and repair work at remote Alelele Point area near Kīpahulu in East Maui began mobilizing this week by bringing in materials and equipment.

The County of Maui will hold three community meetings for residents and businesses impacted by the emergency road closure at the Alelele Point area in East Maui. This comes after recent rockfalls in the area.

County of Maui crews set up concrete barriers today to prevent traffic along a nearly 1-mile Hāna Highway road closure in Kīpahulu where unstable cliffs pose a safety hazard. The closure prevents motorists from traveling completely around the rural area that connects East Maui and South Maui.

Due to safety issues in the wake of recent rockfall, the County of Maui will close Hāna Highway from Alelele Bridge to Lelekea Bridge near Kīpahulu in East Maui beginning tonight, May 10.

East Maui’s hotspots include Nā‘ili‘ilihaele Stream (also known as Bamboo Forest), Waikamoi Falls, Kaihalulu (also known as Red Sand Beach), Wai‘oka (also known as Venus Pools), and Honolewa (also known as South Wailua Falls).

Haleakalā National Park is hosting its version of National Park Week, April 22-30. All of the events are free but park entrance fees still apply.  

Applications are being accepted for the park’s Youth Conservation Corps summer employment program until May 15, 2023. The summer jobs are available in the Kīpahulu District of Haleakalā National Park for youth between the ages of 15 and 18 years old.