HANALEI, Hawaii — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, working in partnership with the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation Highways Division, announced on Friday that construction work on the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge Viewpoint is almost complete. The area has been closed since Jan. 2022.
The Hanalei NWR Viewpoint includes two viewpoints of the greater Hanalei Valley and Bay, Hanalei NWR and the Halelea Forest Reserve. Situated along Kuhio Highway in Princeville, the 5.4-acre parcel includes 25 parking stalls, short-term parking for a maximum of three buses, perimeter fencing and entry gate, signs, interpretive displays, vault toilets, seating and native plants.
The remaining work includes landscaping and highway striping. Plans are being finalized and obtaining a final permit from Kauai County is in the works to “release the site from the rest of the surrounding subdivision,” according to a news release. Once everything is completed, officials say the proposed tentative opening date is set for late Fall 2022, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Hanalei NWR.
Seen from afar, the 917-acre Hanalei NWR resembles a patchwork quilt of loi kalo and wetland management units. It’s the oldest of Kauai’s three national wildlife refuges and is an important wetland habitat for the recovery of the endangered koloa maoli (Hawaiian duck), alae keokeo (Hawaiian coot), alae ula (Hawaiian common gallinule), aeo (Hawaiian stilt) and threatened nene (Hawaiian goose).
Hanalei NWR was established in 1972 to recover threatened and endangered species, including endangered waterbirds that rely on Hanalei Valley for nesting and feeding habitat.
Sarah Yamanaka is a digital journalist for Spectrum News Hawaii.