| Mangrove: the invasive marine weed tree These days we read a lot about invasive plants and animals, but rarely are we reminded that not all of these make their home on dry land. Mangrove is a coastal tree that thrives in salt and brackish water, and creates its very own ecosystem, a mangrove swamp. The mangrove is not native to Hawai 'i, but like many other alien species it finds our island an ideal place to settle down and thrive. The tide pools makai of Kapoho Vacationland are now a Marine Life Conservation District (MLCD) and protected by law. But don’t tell that to the mangrove seedlings which are floating down from, probably, private property along Kapoho Bay. They are establishing themselves throughout the tide pools and coral gardens, and if this continues we will no longer have tide pools and coral gardens (with the spectacular marine life that lives there now), but a mangrove swamp instead. Not a good thing. Some volunteers from Malama O Puna have now gone out numerous times to attack the mangroves. Some are pullable seedlings, while others are up to 15 feet tall and well rooted in. Thus far they have destroyed over 40,000 of the plants, and there are a lot more. This will have to be a long term ongoing project, because there is continual reseeding from up the coast. The best way to get a handle on the problem would be for the coastal property owners who have mangrove to destroy them themselves, or to contact us if they need help to do it. We will even suggest nice native coastal trees, such as milo, as replacement landscaping. Call us at 965-2000 to get involved. |
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| Mangrove seedling still connected to fruit. | |||||
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