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The Hanalei Watershed Hui was born on July 30, 1998, when President Clinton designated the Hanalei River as an American Heritage River (AHR) based on a nomination developed by the University of Hawaii. The US Forest Service agreed to serve as the "sponsoring federal agency" for the Hanalei River and provide a "River Navigator," as defined in the AHR initiative and related expenses for five years. Interestingly, out of 14 designated rivers, only Hanalei chose to elect community members instead of accepting a federal employee to do the job, reflecting the community's drive to self-determine its future at all levels. |
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Strong supporters of the environment President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore at the signing of the American Heritage Rivers Initiative. |
Ahupua'a~ A traditional Hawaiian approach to sustainable watershed management,
also called "Ridges to Reefs", "White Water to Blue Water", " Summit to Sea".