U.S. Military Works with Local Partners to Protect Hawai‘i’s Natural Environment

This year’s REPI Challenge projects will bring millions in environmental project funding to Hawai‘i.

REPI is the Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program. It’s designed to establish collaborative partnerships with state and local governments, as well as private conservation organizations, to protect and restore natural resources and the environment, and to establish compatible land uses near military installations and ranges.

The seven new REPI Challenge projects announced for Hawai‘i in fiscal year 2024 focus on habitat preservation, reforestation, watershed protection, flood and wildfire mitigation, and food and water security.

“The military has some of the most amazing open spaces, natural lands and habitats with species on them, but their training can have an impact on them,” says Mark Fox, the Pacific liaison for REPI. “So, one example of how to help mitigate this is to help manage the species outside the boundary of the installation.”

REPI benefits those serving in the military, too, as well as their families. “The military installation is a part of the community,” says Fox. “It needs basic municipal services, but also the environmental ‘services’ like clean air, fresh water and food – ideally, food grown locally.”

The military contributes funding though its personnel do not work directly on the projects. “But the military service and especially the installation’s staff work very closely with the outside partners to develop the projects,” says Fox. Together, he says, they collaborate on solutions that both promote military readiness and benefit the environment.

Origins of REPI

The nationwide REPI Program started in 2003 and has been supporting projects in Hawai‘i since 2005. When REPI began, the idea was to create buffers. Let’s say there was a piece of land adjacent to a military installation, and future development on that land could restrict the installation’s training or activities. REPI would keep that space open by helping a government or nonprofit purchase that land, either outright or as a conservation easement in which the landowner gives up the right to development.

“It’s important to note the DOD does not want to own the property,” says Fox. “They want the land owned by a state natural resource agency, or a local one, or a private nonprofit, or a land trust. This is not about the DOD owning more land.”

A “buffer” can also involve land that is not next to a military installation. “Let’s say there was an endangered bird species affected,” says Fox. “The program might contribute to buy a piece of land to secure a habitat and conservation area that is farther away from the base.”

The National Defense Authorization Act, the overarching legislation that originally created REPI, has gradually expanded the program over the years so it can support the management of open spaces, not just purchases. “It can fund open space, parks, agricultural land, range land,” says Fox. “Recently, the REPI Program was expanded again to include issues of climate resilience.”

About 10 years ago, REPI added the REPI Challenge, paving the way for the Pentagon’s nonmilitary partners to spearhead project developments, Fox says. But whether an initiative is suggested by the military or a partner, the projects and results are similar. For 2024, “regular” REPI has garnered $14.5 million for Hawai‘i projects; another $10.2 million has been made available through REPI Challenge funding.

With the military turning its attention to the Indo-Pacific region, and toward China especially, there is increased interest in investing in Hawai‘i’s military presence and readiness, says Fox.

Complex Projects

“The complexities of executing these partnerships, the behind-the-scenes work being done, is incredible,” says Leah Rothbaum, environmental protection and REPI specialist at Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i. The base has a partnership with the Hawai‘i Land Trust to protect the adjacent Waikalua fishponds complex via a perpetual conservation easement.

“There used to be about 40 different fishponds in Kāne‘ohe Bay,” says Rothbaum. “These stone structures were an ingenious use of natural systems such as tides and currents. They were often filled in and built over during development, and so much culture and understanding of climate resilience and coastal change were lost. Yet after 800 years, some remain and are being carefully stewarded, and are neighbors to the Marine base. The environment affects all of us. It doesn’t matter which side of a fence you are on. It’s the closest project to us, and an opportunity to really engage with our neighbors and have an opportunity to connect on a daily basis.”

On Hawai‘i Island, the Parker Ranch Maunakea Reforestation Project aims to restore 3,300 acres of remnant native forest and pasturelands.

“We look forward to partnering with Parker Ranch on their project that will benefit Pōhakuloa Training Area and the Hawai‘i Island community by increasing watershed functionality, improving fuels management and wildfire response, and expanding forest habitat,” says Tiana Lackey, natural resource biologist at the training area.

“The efforts of our environmental staff at Pōhakuloa Training Area, working closely with our partners from Parker Ranch through the REPI Challenge awards, is nothing short of superb,” says Lt. Col. Tim Alvarado, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Pōhakuloa Training Area. “The blending of training readiness and environmental management on and off base on Hawai‘i Island paves the way for soldiers and Army units to conduct realistic, challenging and tough training and ultimately brings added security and stability to the theater.”

At Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, the military and its partners have received over $28 million of regular REPI funding in 2024 to protect and restore over 100,000 acres of natural resources and lands throughout the state, reports Susie Fong, the joint base’s REPI program manager. In fiscal years 2022 and 2023, the funds helped to restore upland watersheds, aquifers and native forests; transplant native species from nurseries; eradicate non-native species; and construct two state base-yard facilities.

In one example from 2019, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam partnered with the nonprofit Ma‘o Organic Farms so the farm could acquire 236 acres in Lualualei in perpetuity.

2024’s Seven Repi Challenge Projects

Since the first REPI Challenge project launch in Hawai‘i in 2021, there have been 15 funded projects using $40.3 million in REPI Program funds and $55.5 million in partner contributions.

Multiple Efforts

Some projects involve multiple military branches and islands. For example, the Detection and Management of High-Impact Aquatic and Terrestrial Invasive Species affects Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands on Kaua‘i, Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i on O‘ahu, and Pōhakuloa Training Area on Hawai‘i Island. Community partners include UH, the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources, and the U.S. Forest Service.

Funding from REPI has helped expand biocontrol work in Kāne‘ohe Bay, explains Elizabeth Monaghan, an aquatic invasive species biologist with the Division of Aquatic Resources. “We are using native sea urchins, a natural predator of the algae, to control invasive algae. It’s a really good grazer.”

Raising the sea urchins in a hatchery on Sand Island required the creation of 10 new jobs, says Monaghan. Also, “resilient reefs have a major impact. The reefs support the economy through tourism, provide seafood from nearshore fisheries, and they help protect coastal homes. We do a lot of community outreach, and generally get a positive reaction to the urchin biocontrol project. People like the idea of a natural solution, and growing our endemic species is really important to them.”

She added that REPI funds pay for the creation of an O‘ahu-based rapid response coordinator position. This person can address coral disease outbreaks or bleaching throughout the state, or deal with the aftermath of big storms. She also says the partnership is working on environmental DNA technology that can screen for invasive species threats.

Planting Seeds for the Future

The U.S. Army Garrison Hawai‘i, in partnership with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, received $2.2 million in REPI funds. The partnership with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs will support and expand their revegetation and education programs for the area surrounding the Kūkaniloko birthstones in Wahiawā, according to Kapua Kawelo, natural resource manager with U.S. Army Garrison Hawai‘i.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs received $2.2 million from the Defense Department to support and expand its revegetation and education programs for the area around the Kūkaniloko birthstones in Wahiawā. | Photo: Odeelo Dayondon

“The establishment of a native seed orchard will scale up production of native seeds for use in habitat restoration and revegetation following wildfire,” Kawelo says. “In this changing climate and era of catastrophic wildfires, building a native seed supply is essential.”

Of the REPI Challenge awards, Col. Steve McGunegle, commander at U.S. Army Garrison Hawai‘i, says “the community will clearly see the benefits of the preservation and management work done by our environmental specialists working side by side with local experts.”

The REPI Challenge grants, he says, “demonstrate the balance we must attain between readiness in the theater and environmental protection.”