“The pandemic was really the second disaster. The first one was the flood on Kauai,” says Alan Carpenter, assistant administrator of Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of State Parks. In April 2018, a record-breaking storm dumped more than four feet of rain in 24 hours on the north shore of Kauai, destroying hundreds of homes and the one road leading to the Na Pali Coast’s Haena State Park and its popular Kalalau Trail. Suddenly, one of Hawaii’s most visited attractions went from seeing over 2,000 tourists a day to none.
Incidentally, just prior to the flood, DLNR and community members had finished drafting a master plan for Haena State Park, an effort 20 years in the making. It aimed to control the crowds overwhelming the park and surrounding towns, while also restoring the area’s natural and cultural environment. The proposal included stream and