Ma'alaea Saved!

Starting as early as 1968, the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) proposed the idea of building a breakwater for a “navigation improvement project” for Ma'alaea Small Boat Harbor. Since 1990, even before there was a Maui Chapter, the Surfrider Foundation has campaigned against the construction of a breakwater that would have destroyed the world-class wave “Freight Trains” and damaged the near-shore reefs and waters. Since its inception, the Maui Chapter has continued to oppose any damaging engineering projects at Ma'alaea, working with other environmental and community groups like the Sierra Club, John Kelly's Save Our Surf, the Hawaii Wildlife Fund, EarthJustice, the Save Ma'alaea Coalition and many others. Along with helping to produce an impressive documentary about the issue, the Surfrider Foundation contributed funds toward an independent study and alternative plan for the area. After two decades of fighting, Surfrider's leaders of this campaign are stoked that the Army Corps of Engineers and the Dept. Of Land and Natural Resources's Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation listened to our concerns and have at last agreed to cancel this project.