LAHAINA – The Honolulu District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), partnering with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources, will provide an update on the West Maui Watershed Management Study at the Ridge 2 Reef Initiative (R2R) public meeting on Thursday, Aug. 30, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Hall at 198 Fleming Road in Lahaina.

During the meeting, USACE will present the first array of alternatives that will be further investigated in the study and ask the community for feedback and expertise.

Public comments received during the meeting will be considered in the study.

The purpose of the study is to contribute to the restoration, enhancement and resiliency of West Maui coral reefs and near-shore waters by identifying solutions to reducing sediments carried in streams from the summit of Pu’u Kukui in the West Maui Mountains to the outer reef.

The Army Corps, DLNR and other federal, state and local agencies and organizations partnered to form the R2R.

The public meeting will include presentations and information booths from other R2R partners working in West Maui watersheds.

R2R initiatives support the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force’s designation of the West Maui Watershed as a Watershed Partnership Initiative priority study area.

Current R2R projects include a floating wetland in Kaanapali Resort to uptake nutrients, a nutrient curtain in Kaanapali Golf Courses to remove nitrogen from groundwater before it connects with the ocean, vetiver plantings to intercept and store fine sediments higher up in the watersheds and ungulate fencing at the conservation boundary.

For more information about the meeting and the West Maui R2R Initiative, contact Tova Callender, West Maui Watershed coordinator, at tova@westmauir2r.com.