The Hāmākua Marsh located in Kailua HI consists of 90 acres, 68 of which are upland,
and 22 acres are wetland. The marsh was declared a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1997 and is divided
into 4 basins (A, B, C, & D) each of which contains varying sizes of wetlands, water depths, and vegetation cover.
The area has a long history of serving early Hawaiian settlers through farming and fishing.
The marsh was eventually degraded due to heavy use, and after a few failed attempts from developers
to acquire permits to redevelop the land for retail or housing, it is now a haven for local Hawaiian
wildlife thanks to the help of nonprofit organizations such as Ducks Unlimited who redeveloped the land
into a sanctuary. Notably the area is a refuge to waterbirds such as the Hawaiian coot ('alae keʻo keʻo),
Hawaiian moorhen ('alae ʻula), Hawaiian stilt (ae'o kukuluao) and the Hawaiian duck (koloa maoli). However,
the sanctuary faces threats from invasive plants such as pickleweed, which takes up space in the wetland
and cover mudflats as well as shallow water and open water areas. This encroachment poses a threat to all the local
Hawaiian waterbirds as they depend on these habitats to breed, nest, and feed themselves.
