Piʻikea Wetlands are better known as the Wetlands at Azeka. They are the site of Kīhei’s largest wetland, and were altered in recent times to their present form to mitigate the loss of wetlands during development. Looking more like a man-made square swimming pool than a natural wetland, they are nevertheless, still fed by natural springs and provide important habitat to endangered water birds. These wetlands are part of a palustrine system of aquifer-fed wetlands that populate this part of the floodplain. Despite large developments all around, the extent of this watershed system is obvious, and these wetlands dominate the landscape.
This swath of wetlands cuts across the entire central Kīhei area, at a particular elevation. Many fragmented wetlands still belie the larger wetland that once dominated this entire area. All of the residents in this particular neighborhood live in a wetland whether they know it or not.
Here is a family of nesting Ae’o in the northern Pond at Pi’ikea Wetlands in Kihei
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