HONOLULU – Sen. Lorraine Inouye announced Friday that Gov. David Ige released $600,000 in funds to develop and complete an access bridge and road to a community resource center in Kawaihae.
The Kailapa Community Association (KCA) serves Native Hawaiians who reside in the Kailapa Homestead community and another neighboring Hawaiian Homestead community at Puakailima in Kohala. Its mission is “to empower Native Hawaiians living in Kohala by supporting physical, mental, spiritual, and cultural health of people and place.”
KCA is committed to developing community programs and services that promote healthy living, environmental preservation, and Hawaiian cultural practices.
Also on Friday, Ige release $1.3 million in Capital Improvement Project (CIP) funds to benefit the Honuaula Forest Reserve, the office of Rep. Nicole Lowen (D-North Kona) said in a news release.
The funds will be used to repair and install fencing, and to create a new access road for the North Kona reserve.
“I want to thank the Governor for releasing these funds for this important project,” Lowen said in the release. “Honuaula Forest Reserve is the primary watershed for the North Kona area and these funds will help to protect our drinking water supply, and to preserve important habitat for native flora and fauna. As the current stewards of our environment, it is our responsibility to preserve and protect places like Honuaula.”
The Honuaula Forest Reserve was established in 1906 to preserve the forest and manage the watershed and today covers 8,489 acres.