Mauna Kea Oral History Appendix - Office of Mauna Kea Management

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Yes.
You know what Monty Richards suggested. He tells me “Hisa, why don’t you try and
bring water line here, pipe a water line through somehow, get water in here for the cattle.”
So, we did, we pulled our water line way up on the slope of Mauna Kea and from there
gravity flowed down to Pu‘u Ke‘eke‘e.
Towards Ahumoa side or Pu‘u Lä‘au even higher and draw the water down
Yes. Just before Ahumoa.
Just before Ahumoa.
And draw the water line down to Pu‘u Ke‘eke‘e and then the cattle began to move up
towards there because you have water. And you know as the cattle stamped over this pili
grass, pili grass cannot stand that kind of treatment.
Yes.
And now you see there’s no pili grass there. No more.
Nothing.
And you know it’s like these things, the köko‘olau, pili
Yes, pasture management has lots to do with changing of vegetation.
When Rally Greenwell, we went out. He said, even by Nohonaohae, Mahaelua like that.
Yes.
Before had plenty ‘a‘ali‘i and I don’t know if you know that ‘äkia that grows there.
Yes, lots of ‘äkia.
To improve the pasture and bring in new grasses.
They clear ‘um.
Doze ‘em or clear ‘um
That’s right.
You lose all of your native plants
That’s right.
And now look, weeds everywhere. And some, there’s this new fire weed or something
Fire weed.
Oh, that yellow flower.
Pretty right, but
[chuckles]
It’s very toxic, toxic to the animals.
The animals won’t eat it
Yes.
And soon it looks like, I don’t know when’s the last time you folks went holoholo over
there, but the fields are being covered with that fire weed.
Yes. Every pasture, almost on the ranch is covered.
Mauna Kea– “Ka Piko Kaulana o ka ‘Äina”
Kumu Pono Associates LLC
A Collection of Oral History Interviews (HiMK67-050606) A:229