May 18, 2018 (Ke Ola Magazine)—Sometimes through ignorance, we smother our beaches, reefs, and wildlife with so much affection and attention that they are left gasping to recover.

At Kahalu‘u Bay in Kailua-Kona, the community saw this happening. Beautiful Kahalu‘u Bay was deteriorating due to unaware actions of thousands of park visitors each month. “Tourists were sitting on the turtles to take a picture. They were turning them over,” says Cindi Punihaole, director of the Kahalu‘u Bay Education Center. “The community, businesses, and the UH Sea Grant Kona agent went to The Kohala Center and said, ‘We need help educating people.’” Now a partnership of these entities, plus the County of Hawai‘i Parks Department, provide a model of welcoming, effective on-site education.

»Read more

April 27, 2018 (West Hawaii Today)—Hawaii County Department of Parks and Recreation will close Kahaluu Beach Park from 7 a.m. to noon on Tuesday and Wednesday due to anticipated coral spawning events.

According to the Division of Aquatic Resources and Eyes of the Reef Network, cauliflower coral (pocillopora meandrina) was once abundant on shallow coral reefs along West Hawaii, including Kahaluu Bay. However, a global thermal stress event resulting in very high ocean temperatures struck West Hawaii in the fall of 2015, and caused catastrophic bleaching and mortality for more than 90 percent of the regional population of cauliflower coral.

»Read more

April 20, 2018 (Honolulu Civil Beat)—A Big Island nonprofit isn’t waiting for the Hawaii Legislature, which may soon ban the sale of sunscreen products containing the coral reef-damaging chemical oxybenzone.

The organization is already working to remove the offending sunscreen — one container at a time. On Saturday, it was offering beachgoers free samples of reef-safe sunscreen in exchange for the bad stuff.

»Read more

April 15, 2018 (Hawaii Tribune-Herald)—More than two weeks after a deadline to submit bids for a surf school pilot program at Kahaluu Bay, local surf schools said they haven’t heard anything from either the county or the nonprofit picked to manage the program.

»Read more

March 7, 2018 (West Hawaii Today)—The Kohala Center is moving forward again with plans to limit surf school operations at Kahaluu Bay, but local business owners say they still aren’t satisfied with what the nonprofit has planned for the popular surf spot, taking issues with fundamental components of the proposed management program.
»Read more