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PROJECT PLAN A. PROJECT NAME (see Instructions): Ho'ohui No Wai'ele B. PROJECT LOCATION (Use TMKs. See Instructions): 3-1-4-003:003, 3-1-4-003:037 C. IDENTIFY PERSONS AND ORGANIZATIONS WHOM YOU EXPECT WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE PROPOSED PROJECT ACTIVITIES (see Instructions): Diga(Geoffrey)Kern will be co-coordinator and primary field technician.Ann Kobsa and Jaya Dupuis will be invasive plant control consultants. Matthew Roderick,Jasmine van den Heuvel, Kumsa Maphalala, Isaiah Kalaukoa,James Springer,and up to four others will be field technicians. Keone Kalawe will be lineal descendant cultural advisor,in lieu of still-forming Wai'ele Advisory Council. An estimated fifty individual community volunteers will participate in cleanup events. Close coordination will continue with Malama O Puna,501c(3);the Koa'e Community Association will provide its volunteer roster and promotion;and Hawaii Little Fire Ant Lab will continue to consult. D. PROPOSAL AND PROJECT DESCRIPTION (Briefly describe the long-range goals) for the property and the objectives o f your proposal for stewardship grant funding. See example in Instructions) What is the long-range goal or vision for the property? HER and MOP share the the vision of active participation of descendants with ancestral ties,community residents,students from the broader community,and the public working together to foster and maintain respectful public use,sustainable,traditional harvest of renewable resources,and, most importantly,an ethic of responsible stewardship of this precious place. Our vision includes preserving the area, largely unchanged,in perpetuity. Due to development along our island's coastline and recent lava flows in lower Puna,there are few remaining areas of such intact native/cultural forest and shoreline,and fewer still that are protected.Wai'ele is adjacent to Kahuwai,owned by Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate(KSBE),which itself contains 4000 linear ft.of shoreline protected from development.The 2000 ft.of shoreline in Wai'ele together with Kahuwai makes for over a mile of protected shoreline,with adjacent native/cultural coastal forest and preserved archaeological features. Together with the adjacent Halepua'a Section of the Nanawale State Forest Reserve,these properties represent over 1000 acres of protected lowland wet tropical forest. The one-lane Government Beach Road, lined with ancient mango trees protected by the County Exceptional Tree Ordinance,connects these forests with the communities of Wa'awa'a, Koa'e,and the wider world. During the 2023-24 cycle, Malama O Puna facilitated meetings led by three native Hawaiian stakeholders(Keone Kalawe Leila Kealoha, and lopa Maunakea)to develop a framework for selecting a steering committee to guide Wai'ele's long-term planning. The June 30, 2024, "Working Papers"that resulted from these meetings"represent ideas and approaches from a consortium of individuals and groups engaged in attempts to steward lands that are of importance to our native Hawaiian population,are critical habitat for indigenous plant and animal species,and which need to be preserved and managed in an inclusive way that draws in the expertise and energies of the communities where these lands are situated." The template allocates decision-making positions to Kupuna, Makua, `Opio,scientific community members,and neighbors/community members. It is our expectation that once completed,this template will be applied and a dedicated Wai'ele Advisory Council will form,inheriting long range goal formation and visioning from MOP and HER. FINAL 2025 Stewardship Grant Application,Page 3 of 13