East Honolulu has one last undeveloped valley, called Kamilonui, that is being used partially for agriculture and partially remains, for the most part, in its natural state.

There is a threat to the natural watershed part of the valley situated mauka of the farmlands and at the base of the Koolau mountains. The concern is the building of a cemetery.

This last natural open land area of the valley would be destroyed by bringing in and moving around massive amounts of soil and fill to contour the land into the cemetery design. The risk of soil erosion, sediment and pollutants running into Kuapa fish pond and Maunalua Bay would be greatly increased with this work.

The ongoing pollution risk would be great also due to the high need for fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides required for large lawn areas — not to mention the loss of another critical watershed that replenishes our groundwater aquifer and the threat of polluting it. The levels of nitrates and phosphates are often high in streams that run through cemeteries. This type of increased nutrient runoff into the seasonal stream that runs down the valley and into Kuapa Fishpond and Maunalua Bay would be very detrimental to their health.

Also, what possible negative issues might farmers have to deal with from the cemetery stormwater run-off onto lands where our food is grown?

Why do some people feel that wherever there is a last bit of natural land remaining, they have to alter it, pave over it or build on it? Besides the obsession for economic return, maybe there is some lack of awareness of other possible alternatives that would be more beneficial for the environment and community. It seems there could be a better and higher use for this land by allowing it to remain in its natural state and improving it for the public good by restoring the area with its native dryland plant population.

Recreating a native dryland forest in an area that is not too large could be a very doable community-led project and match nicely with other community-driven environmental efforts already occurring in the Maunalua Bay region.

Native Hawaii dryland forests are very rare, with 90 percent of them lost due to human activities such as land clearing and the introduction of alien species. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has done surveying and research of the native dryland plants in the Maunalua area and has talked of having a plant bank with the inclusion of these plants at Pahua Heiau, at the base of Kamilonui Calley. A strong educational and cultural component to this natural open land area with designated hiking trails would provide much more of a valuable asset and benefit to the community than a cemetery.

Every day, development is taking over our natural environment. Hawaii Kai is already overdeveloped and leaving the last few remaining natural spaces open is critical to the well-being of this community and for the generations to come. There is a demand for natural open spaces by the public and they are critically important. Like the wiliwili trees that are starting to return in this area, maybe they are a signal, a calling out for our help.

Perhaps a conservation easement or some sort of conservation funding can be considered by the landowner and community as an alternative to a cemetery. Thus, the community keeps the last open natural land that remains in this designated preservation area.

We together could kuleana this land so that endemic dryland plants and native flora can thrive once again for all to learn about, benefit from and enjoy well into the future — and we can retain the remaining natural watershed in Kamilonui Valley.