Land and People

In Season 5 of Land and People, hosted by Melissa Chimera and Clay Trauernicht, and produced by Kaheāwai Media, we turn our attention to Oʻahu and the water issues that have been top of mind for so many after 2026’s extreme weather, beginning with the Kona lows. Along the way, we’ll also hear from experts across Hawaiʻi whose knowledge spans everything from rapid response after climate events to long-term stewardship of wai, ʻāina, and communities.

In our Season 5 premiere, we’re joined by Barry Usagawa, Water Resources Program Administrator at the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.

Barry traces his connection to land and water back to his upbringing in Hilo, his father’s work as a forester, and more than four decades in public service. The conversation explores watershed stewardship, extreme rainfall and flood response, climate adaptation, and the value of community-led, mauka-to-makai management of water systems on Oʻahu.

Key takeaways:

• Healthy forests are essential infrastructure for reliable water.
• Extreme rainfall calls for long-term, integrated preparation — not just emergency response.
• Cultural knowledge and community leadership are central to sustainable resource management.
• Traditional practices based on Hawaiian ahupuaʻa management now guide the Board of Water Supply’s own approach

Chapters:

00:00 ~ Welcome to Season Five
04:12 ~ Meet Barry Usagawa
11:37 ~ A Career in Water Service
20:57 ~ Land Use, Water, and Watersheds
29:29 ~ From Water Supply to Watershed Stewardship
34:29 ~ Responding to Flooding and Emergencies
45:22 ~ Climate Adaptation Through One Water
57:14 ~ Community-Led Water Planning

Topics:

Watershed protection; public water systems; the Waiāhole Ditch case; flood preparedness; reservoirs and emergency response; climate adaptation; recycled water; seawater desalination; stream restoration; ahupuaʻa-based planning; community stewardship.

Credits:

Guest: Barry Usagawa
Hosts: Melissa Chimera & Clay Trauernicht
Producers: Kaheāwai Media (Tyler Sonnemaker & Landon Tom)

Sierra McDaniel is the resources management program manager at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, having worked at the park for 25 years. She first came to Hawaiʻi as a biology undergraduate and then entered the University of Hawaiʻi at Hiloʻs Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science masters program. She speaks to the challenges of working to conserve ecosystems, endangered species, and cultural values across the 354,461 acres, a place that hosts over 1.5 million visitors annually. We get into the challenges of changing ecosystems in response to fire on the landscape, the value of grounding the biological conservation work in Hawaiian lifeways and what it means to be in a place where volcanic eruptions are a constant presence.

In this episode, Melissa and Clay talk to Waikōloa Dry Forest Initiative executive director Jen Lawson and preserve manager Rob Yagi about their work to promote and restore one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world. Formed in 2011 to protect, promote, and restore a native Hawaiian dry forest after years of grassroots advocacy, the Waikōloa Dry Forest Preserve was established to protect many of the remaining native trees in the region. We get into Jen and Robʻs respective backgrounds in biology, how they came to Hawaiʻi through their stewardship of Pōhakuloa Training Area, and the unexpected rewards and challenges in helping to enhance the wiliwili forest that is so public facing, in the midst of fires, browsing goats and weeds.

Dr. Jim Jacobi has spent the past 50 years in Hawaiʻi as a biologist specializing in mapping Hawai’i’s unique ecosystems and studying the plants and animals contained within them. Like so many of his cohort, he is a skilled naturalist, having worked on introduced rats, native insects first for the Bishop Museum and then mapping vegetation and management research projects for the Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center of the US Geological Survey in Volcano. We talk to Jim about the evolution of tracking changes in vegetation by hand from aerial photos to the use of computer mapping and modelling. He shares with us the unique experiences heʻs had across the rugged U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service transects that traverse mountainous summits to sea, as well as the profound sorrow in witnessing the last Hawaiian honeycreeper in the wild, the Kauaʻi oʻo.

David Okita has flown helicopters on Hawaiʻi Island for many decades, first for emergency responders assisting with fire department search and rescues and then later for conservation organizations like The Nature Conservancy and the Department of Land and Natural Resources. David reflects on how flying for him has been a family affair, growing up on Hawaiʻi Island beginning with his dad in the 1970s, and now with his son as his assistant. He speaks to the unique relationship between helicopter pilots and the forestry and biology field crews he supports–one of mutual respect and admiration for the skills and hard work required to build fences, monitor ecosystems and conserve endangered species in the remote wilderness.

In this interview, Clay and Melissa talk to husband and wife biologists Colleen and Ian Cole about their respective careers as land stewards and conservation program managers. Both have been working in Hawaiʻi for 25+ years; Ian as a forester and now Wildlife Biologist for the Hawaiʻi Island’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife, and Colleen as a land manager for the Three Mountain Alliance and now as a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Colleen and Ian speak to the hard work of managing land and people which sometimes equates to small victories over time. They tell us about forging alliances between land owners, hunters, conservationists and biologists and how these experiences bring both unique challenges and lasting rewards.

In this re-release, Clay and Melissa interview Hannah Kihalani Springer of Hawai`i Island, a storyteller, environmental activist, and scholar of Hawaiian history for many decades. As a former trustee for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and advocate for land and sea conservation, she has headed up the nonprofit `Ahahui o Pu`u Wa`awa`a which advocates for the conservation and management of forest systems including endangered Hawaiian plants. Her perspective and that of her husband retired fire fighter Michael Tomich is one of hybridity--in their support for ranching and sheep herding in fire prone grasslands while at the same time restoring native species. She brings us the mo`olelo (place based stories) of Kaʻūpūlehu which demonstrate how we might bring a holistic and reverent relationship to `āina (land) based in aloha kekahi i kekahi (love for one another).

In this re-released interview, we talk with renowned chanter, dancer, songwriter and educator Kekuhi Keali’ikanaka’ole about the intimate connection between humans and the Hawaiian landscape as practiced in Hawaiian lifeways. Her perspective is that of a descendent from the legendary Kanaka’ole family, most notably her grandmother Edith Kekuhi Kanaka’ole, one of Hawaii's first educators who made language and dance accessible to all. She talks about connecting conservation science to Hawaiian thought and understanding through her work with Hālau `Ōhi`a and the ways in which we might connect more deeply with the creatures and plants which surround us. Visit https://www.kekuhi.com/ for more information on how you can enroll in programs and learn directly from Kekuhi.

Dr. Rhonda Loh has over thirty years of experience at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, starting out as a volunteer and now in the top position as Superintendent. Rhonda explains how her graduate experiences in science (she holds both a Master’s biochemistry and a PhD in botany) were in tandem with her discovery of Hawaiian ecology and conservation. We get into careers within the National Park Service, her community challenges in fencing and removing feral ungulates, and her perpetual wonder and amazement that Kilauea volcano continues to instill in both staff and visitors.

Husband-wife team Dr. .Susan Cordell and Dr. Pat Hart have made their conservation careers in Hawai`i since the early 1990s in their respective fields of native ecosystem restoration ecology and Hawaiian forest birds. In addition to Susan’s research with the U.S. Forest Service Institute of Pacific Island Forestry and Pat’s work on Hawaiian forest bird ecology at the University of Hawai`i at Hilo, the pair have undertaken the restoration of 20 acres of prime farm lands at their home in north Hilo since the early 2000s. Their son Colin Hart has led the transformation of former agricultural fields into the selection, cultivation, processing and selling of boutique chocolate for his company Honoli`i Orchards. The family describes their commitment to Hawai'i's land and people–from students learning about Hawaiian birds, to restoring endangered plants in native ecosystems, and finally cultivating the land to produce a homegrown agricultural product.