KCDP Final - 2008 (As amended 2019)

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KONA TODA Y Native ecosystems. Native forest habitats in Kona still exist as a wet forest band at the mid -slope elevation corresponding to the area of higher rainfall, as well as in pockets of dryland forest. Although all ecosystems have been affected to some degree by human activity and the introduction of alien species, the greatest impact by far has been on the lowland areas. Modification of these ecosystems began with the Native Hawaiians, along with the introduction of non-native species such as feral ungulates, and was accelerated by cattle ranching, agriculture, and urbanization. Where remnants of native dryland forest still exist, they are a rare and precious legacy. The native wet forest remains today as a band of forest providing essential habitat and watershed functions. CHAPTER 2 Anchialine ponds. Anchialine ponds are landlocked brackish bodies of water near the shoreline which rise and fall with the tides, and are federally protected. In the U.S., this habitat exists only in the Hawaiian Islands. Of the 700 known ponds in the Hawaiian Islands, most are on the Island of Hawaii, where anchialine ponds on the west side of the island have a higher diversity of native species than those on the east side. These ponds are home to a unique assemblage of invertebrate and algal species, some of which are known to exist only in this habitat. These unique species migrate through the cracks and crevices in the groundwater table. The anchialine ponds are vulnerable to filling, introduction of exotic species (e.g., guppies, mollies and tilapia), siltation from ground grading activity, from imported soils used for landscaping, as well as groundwater pollution from cesspools, septic systems, fertilizers and pesticides. Some of these same activities also threaten the nearshore coastal waters. Nearshore coastal waters. The leeward coastal waters of Kona, ideal for coral growth and recreational activities, do not have as much flushing action as rougher coastal areas. While some pollutants mixed with the groundwater are filtered by the lava or soil, dissolved nutrients such a nitrates and phosphates from cesspools and septic systems as well as infectious microorganisms may be difficult to remove. Moreover, in Kona, due to the complex and poorly understood Kaloko Fishpond. Hawaiian Images Photography & Video geology of lava tubes and porous rock formations, there is concern that groundwater can flow unfiltered to the ocean. The coastal waters along the Kona coast are classified as "AW marine waters by State Department of Health (DOH) Administrative Rules, Title 11, Chapter 54 "Water Quality Standards." The DOH objective for Class "AA" marine waters is that "these waters remain in their natural pristine state as nearly as possible with an absolute minimum of pollution or alteration of water quality from human- KONA CDP 2-5