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What is special about Honu'apo Estuary? An estuary is a water body where fresh and ocean water mix, resulting in brackish water that has high levels of nutrients that plants and animals need to grow. This makes estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world. Fresh water input at Honu'apo is from numerous springs that flow into the estuary. The water levels in the estuary are controlled by the ocean tides flowing in and out at all tide levels from a narrow channel that connects the estuary to the ocean. Estuarine wetlands, like the one at Honu'apo, is relatively rare and the last of their kind in Hawaii. The location of Honu'apo Estuary is of high value to native and migratory birds. The estuary also provides important spawning and nursery habitat for a large number of native fish and a rest area for honu (green sea turtle). What native species are found at Honu'apo Estuary? Endangered Waterbirds: Ae`o, (Hawaiian stilt, Himantopus mexicanus knudseni); `Alae ke`oke`o, (Hawaiian coot, Fulica alai); and Koloa moali, (Hawaiian duck, Anas wyvilliana). Migratory Birds: `akekeke (Ruddy turnstone, Arenaria interpres); hunakai (Sanderling, Calidris alba); Mill (Wandering tattler, Heteroscelus incanus); kioea (Bristle-thighed curlew, Numenius tahitiensis); kolea (Pacific golden plover, Pluvialis fulva); 'auku'u (Black-crowned night heron, Nycticorax nycticorax hoactli). Fish and Crustaceans: 'o'opu (Eleotris sandvicensis), 'Opae huna (Palaemon debilis), the threatened naniha goby (Stenogobius hawaiiensis), 'ama'ama (striped mullet, Mugil cephalus), aholehole (Hawaiian flagtail, Kuhlia sandvicensis), Hawaiian shrimp goby (Psilogobius mainlandi), yellowfin goatfish (Mulloidichthys vanicolensis); snapping shrimp (Alpheus sp.); and feeble shrimp (`opae huna, Palaemon debilis). Reptiles and Marine Mammals: The threatened honu (green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas) frequents Honu'apo Estuary. The endangered honu'ea (hawksbill sea turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata) has been observed and recorded in Honu'apo Bay. The endangered `ilio holo i ka uaua (Hawaiian monk seal, Monachus schauinslandi) continues to be seen there at least once a year. What are the next steps? 1. Finalize restoration plan based on agency and public comments. 2. Raise money to obtain the necessary permits/approvals and implement the plan. Call Lehua Lopez-Mau, Executive Director, Ka `Ohana 0 Honu'apo, at 929-9891 for more information. Prepared by:Sustainable Resources Group Intn'I,Inc.(www.srgii.com).A publication of the County of Hawaii in partnership with Ka'Ohana 0 Honu'apo(www.honuapopark.org), supported by the Hawaii Office of Planning, Coastal Zone Management Program, pursuant to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Award No. NAO9NOS4190120,funded in part by the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972,as amended,administered by the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management,National Ocean Service,NOAA,United States Department of Commerce.The views expressed herein are those of the author(s)and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOM or any of its sub-agencies.Project funding also provided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program and the Pacific Coast Joint Venture/Hawaii Wetland Joint Venture.