A reef in the Kawaihae Harbor will be destroyed by Hawaii DOT despite laws like Executive Order 13089 Coral Protection. Currently, federal and state agencies are not trying to protect and enhance this reef.
Once, there was a mile-long beach in Kawaihae. Off its shore was the most extensive reef of the Big Island. All of us born after 1959 never got to walk along that beach or gaze out over the reef because the harbor replaced it. What is also lost is more than two hundred acres of coral reef. The general public can only see a harbor and is unaware there was once a reef.
We may never know, but we can only imagine the loss and sadness of those who lived there and saw the destruction of the Kawaihae Reef with their own eyes. We also may never know what the reef’s natural state was like.
Fortunately, the public still has access to the void that is now the harbor basin and the surrounding reef. We can enjoy the artificial beach and peninsula. From there, we can get glimpses of how things were underwater.
All the public access to this artificial beach called LSD Beach will soon end due to a new pier Hawaii DOT Harbors wants to build over it. This means that the beach and the remaining reef beyond it will go extinct. This plan existed for decades. The coral reef is protected, so how is it still possible to plan to break the law? We cannot answer this question but will elaborate on why it should not be later.
What would you do if you realized a reef and a beach you and your family love would be destroyed? We hope you will learn what is at stake and do your best to stop it from happening. It may take a decade or more to educate and convince people who care and love that place to help save it.
The Reef cannot speak for the billions of lives living on it. We will do our best to tell its story.
