Photo By Cpl. Samantha Sanchez | U.S. Marine Corps Col. Speros Koumparakis, Commanding Officer of Marine Corps Base...... read more read more
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MCBH PRESS RELEASE
MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII – A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH) and Peapae o He’eia, a Hawaii Nonprofit Organization, was signed for the co-stewardship of the Nu’upia Ponds Wildlife Management Area (WMA), May 15, 2023.
The MOU establishes an understanding for the maintenance of cultural resources and collaborative support to the biodiversity of natural resources within the Nu’upia Ponds WMA, while encouraging opportunities to collaborate on stewardship pertaining to the historic Nu’upia Ponds aboard MCBH.
“What's exciting about this partnership is that we get to work together on this: enabling connections, learning and forming a lasting relationship with one another and another three lokoiʻa (fishponds).” said Hi’ilei Kawelo, Peapae o He’eia Founder and Executive Director. “From the community perspective, this has been a long time coming. We've wondered and dreamed about the stewardship of the Nuʻupia Complex for decades.”
The initiation and consideration for this MOU derived from cultural experts, lineal descendants, and community leaders of Ko’olaupoko engaging in community relations with MCBH and requesting co-stewardship opportunities relating to the natural and cultural resources at the Nu’upia Ponds WMA. Paepae o He’eia was identified as the appropriate community interlocutor and cultural expert for co-stewardship opportunities under the MOU.
“We [Marine Corps Base Hawaii] are committed to being good stewards of historic properties within the installation that are tied, culturally, to Native Hawaiians, such as the Nu’upia Ponds, and share the desire to engage with the community on ways to preserve these cultural resources.” said U.S. Marine Corps Col. Speros Koumparakis, MCBH Commanding Officer. “There is mutual benefit to identifying opportunities to collaborate on stewardship of the cultural and natural resources of this area.”
The Nu’upia Ponds WMA consist of shoreline/beaches, ponds, wetlands, and vegetated areas that provide habitat for federally protected terrestrial and marine endangered native species, as well as seabird and shorebird species federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
The MOU will be reviewed annually on or around the anniversary of its effective date and modification may be requested by either party.
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POINT OF CONTACT:
Gunnery Sgt. Orlando Perez
Communication Strategy and Operations Chief
Marine Corps Base Hawaii
(808) 257-8870
orlando.p.perez@usmc.mil
| Date Taken: | 05.16.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 05.16.2023 16:36 |
| Story ID: | 444873 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS TRAINING AREA BELLOWS, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 442 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Marine Corps Base Hawaii and PaePae O He'eia, Nu'upia Ponds Wildlife Management Area Co-stewardship Event Signing, by GySgt Orlando Perez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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