The funding went to a mix of nonprofits and local government.
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Hawaii will receive a total of $7.6 million in new grant funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to support natural infrastructure projects across the Islands.
According to an announcement from U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz's office, projects receiving grant funding include:
- Kakoo Oiwi — $3.6 million to help restore 24 acres of wetland bird habitat, implement 20 acres of constructed wetlands/traditional agriculture integrated systems, protect and enhance 88 acres of traditional fishpond floodplain detainment basin and enhance six miles of coral reef shoreline.
- Molokai Land Trust — $255,300 to help build on multi-partner wetland prioritization planning that identified suitable wetlands for restoration in Molokai by advancing priority sites to 50% design, assessing resiliency potential and planning.
- Malama Haleakala Foundation — $354,000 to conduct site assessment and preliminary design for a detention basin along Kulanihakoi Stream to prevent flooding on the leeward slopes of Haleakala and protecting aquatic and marine habitats for many species of plants, birds, coral reefs and fish.
- Hanalei Watershed Hui — $874,300 to complete final designs, specifications, construction cost estimates and permitting for a floodplain restoration plan and waterbird habitat enhancement in Hanalei. The project will increase system resiliency by creating detention basins to attenuate floods and provide waterbird habitat.
- Hawaii County — $2 million to help create a community resilience and watershed management plan that utilizes nature-based solutions to enhance resilience along the Hilo Bay coastline and within the Hilo Bay watershed, protecting the watershed’s unique ecosystem and critical habitats for endemic, endangered marine flora and fauna.
- Hawaii Local2030 Hub — $498,600 to develop a mobile stormwater assessment app to prioritize green stormwater infrastructure, or GSI, installations within disadvantaged communities of the Ala Wai watershed and analyze barriers and opportunities for incorporating decentralized GSI retrofit solutions on private properties. The project will provide resilience benefits to reduced flood risk, maintain adequate drinking water supply and mitigate land-based pollution to critical nearshore marine habitats.
“These projects across Hawaii will help restore or protect wetlands, watersheds, and coral reef and will help keep communities safe from flooding and coastal erosion,” Schatz said in a statement.
