Mo‘omomi: Place of Mystery

Shifting sands blow across Moloka‘i’s wild western coast.

 

Shannon Wianecki

 

Photography by Dewitt Jones

Mo‘omomi Preserve on Moloka‘i’s west end is a place of magic. Even its name evokes mystery: pearl-eyed lizard. . . . How did this desolate, wind-battered coast—921 acres of sand—earn such a name? On a recent trip to the Friendly Isle, I ask Ed Misaki, director of the Nature Conservancy’s Moloka‘i program. He says he doesn’t know for sure. “It’s considered a sacred place,” he says. “People say there’s lots of mana there, lots of spiritual powers in the ground.”
   
The Conservancy purchased the site from Moloka‘i Ranch in 1988, recognizing it as one of the state’s last best places—a rare, intact coastal dune system. Now a preserve, Mo‘omomi is home to 22 native plant species, several of them critically endangered. One of the few undeveloped coastlines in the main Hawaiian Islands, it’s a nesting ground for green sea turtles, and potential habitat for monk seals and Laysan albatross. It’s culturally significant as well; since the 11th century, Hawaiians have gathered salt, limu (seaweed), and shellfish at Mo‘omomi—subsistence practices that continue today.
   
“The area is sensitive to exposure,” adds Misaki, with a look designed to discourage an onslaught of new traffic to the area. His reticence is echoed by others in the Conservancy’s office. No one wants to take me, the writer, out to the preserve; the Krispy Kreme doughnuts I brought as a bribe are only partially successful. The Conservancy offers monthly guided hikes to Mo‘omomi that are already booked months in advance. A story could result in a flood of new visitors, overtaxing the area’s minimal infrastructure. Assistant Natural Resource Manager Sam Aruch finally gets stuck with the job. With characteristic Moloka‘i frankness, he doesn’t bother hiding his disappointment. “I got picked because I’m moving to O‘ahu,” he complains. “If the article comes out and makes people mad, I won’t be here.”