Department of Land and Natural Resources

JOSH GREEN, M.D. GOVERNOR

RYAN K.P. KANAKAʻOLE CHAIRPERSON

PROGRESS OF PUʻUHONUA O WAIʻANAE MOVE TO MAUKA FARM VILLAGE

Former site of an Puʻuhonua O Waiʻanae encampment at the Waiʻanae Small Boat Harbor.

HONOLULU – Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) Chairperson Ryan Kanakaʻole is announcing that as of Friday, July 17, 80 Puʻuhonua O Waiʻanae (POW) residents have moved from the Waiʻanae Small Boat Harbor into its new 20-acre mauka “Farm Village” in Waiʻanae Valley, mauka of Farrington Highway. By the end of July, 140 people are expected to have moved. Only 30 will remain at the harbor until their housing units arrive and are constructed, which is anticipated by the middle of October.

A partial extension for the planned relocation of the POW residents was announced by the BLNR Chair June 20, to accommodate the phased move-out that is being coordinated as new housing units are completed at the kauhale development.

POW, a self-governed village located adjacent to the Waiʻanae Small Boat Harbor, has long operated as a place of refuge and collective responsibility, rather than an encampment of houseless individuals. Following the late Twinkle Borge’s belief that “kuleana wakes up mana,” POW worked to acquire more than $10 million in donations to purchase its own land, install infrastructure and build homes for their people.

“When POW’s Council of Overseers met with residents of the neighborhood adjacent to the Farm Village in 2020, they promised not to create what they called a ‘shantytown’ on the newly acquired property. They promised that everyone would move into finished housing units,” said Chairperson Kanakaʻole. “Governor Josh Green’s administration and the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) have endeavored to help them keep that promise and ensure these new neighbors all get off to a good start. The phased closure of the POW site, authorized by the Board of Land and Natural Resources, is proving successful in advancing the safe, compassionate transition to POW’s new home and the start of restoration work at the Waiʻanae Small Boat Harbor.”

Returning the boat harbor land to the condition they found it was another promise Twinkle Borge made years ago to state leaders. The community is working to keep that pledge with the support and supervision of the DLNR.

“Members who have already settled into their new homes have been revisiting the Waiʻanae Small Boat Harbor to conduct clean-up operations,” said DLNR Homeless Coordinator Pua Aiu. “They are making admirable progress and have been good partners to the state. Beginning July 7, DLNR lent support by providing heavy machinery and bins to clear the dismantled housing materials and abandoned property. Collaboration with the POW is helping DLNR remediate the site for significantly less cost than could have been achieved if the state had handled the entire project alone.”

Since the middle of June, DLNR and its contractor, HTM Contractors Inc., has removed 27 large bins of material from the Waiʻanae Small Boat Harbor. DLNR will continue demolitions throughout the summer.

Moving forward, closed property signs will be posted and fencing will be installed, to help protect the site and discourage unauthorized access. After bat-pupping season, selected kiawe trees and other invasive, non-native vegetation will be removed in phases to improve site safety, reduce wildfire risk, enhance native habitat and support long-term restoration efforts. DLNR’s Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) is working to protect the site’s unique anchialine pools, which provide habitat for two anchialine shrimp species native to Hawaiʻi, opaeʻula (Halocaridina rubra) and Metabetaeus lohena. DAR is working with Waiʻanae High School and reaching out to community partners to develop long-term stewardship, restoration and educational opportunities that will help conserve these rare coastal ecosystems for future generations.

DLNR’s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) will conduct regular patrols to maintain the closed areas.

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RESOURCES
(All images/video courtesy: DLNR)

Photographs and video – POW makai village, cleanup and anchialine pools (June 30 – July 9, 2026):
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/5tuz40xqniddn0kk5ls34/ABvN-3QB5cq_DUHlgysNRJs?rlkey=48dekp3at89lgnhysbodfvibh&st=2m9io81n&dl=0

Photographs – POW makai village and cleanup (October 15, 2025):
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ytemof6h9b8f9r1l0bgvz/APL1PtLa4HihrU2MxMU6gGE?rlkey=alwp2ybwstwkg1jmxwip1s3f7&st=p0xsgblr&dl=0

HD video – Anchialine Pools b-roll and interview (October 15, 2025):
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/329cagfq4z0y00r6a1633/Wai-anae-Anchialine-Pools-broll-and-sots.mp4?rlkey=qy2hewmz96z6xvmdazfjqydfb&st=b05jqm7k&dl=0

Photographs – Anchialine pools and endemic shrimp (October 15, 2025):
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/d85e51u4mvpqvl4xx9ms9/AD22yGraAwqPaJzstVTVKzc?rlkey=k04xvjzl9fxjvdixcfu8d3wgl&st=82xsdvbp&dl=0

 

Media contact:
Andrew Laurence
Communications Director
State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources
Phone: 808-587-0396
E-mail: [email protected]