HI11
Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge


IBA Justification

The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2009 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('key species') at the site:
Species Red List Season (year/s of estimate) Size IBA criteria
Hawaiian Duck Anas wyvilliana VU non-breeding (2004) 89 individuals A1, A4i
Hawaiian Coot Fulica alai NT breeding (2001) 614 individuals A1, A2, A4i
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus LC breeding (2003) 1,079 individuals A4i

IBA Conservation

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2009. The most recent assessment (2012) is shown below.

IBA conservation status
Year of assessment State Pressure Response
2012 not assessed not assessed high
Whole site assessed? State assessed by Accuracy of information
yes unset good

Response (conservation actions taken for the key species and/or their habitats)
Designation Planning Action Result
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation A compre­hensive and appropriate manage­ment plan exists that aims to maintain or improve the popul­ations of qualify­ing bird species Substantive conservation measures are being implemented, but these are not comprehensive and are limited by resources and capacity high

IBA Protection

Year Protected Area Designation (management category) % coverage of IBA
1960 Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge (V) 100

Habitats

Habitat % of IBA Habitat detail
Wetlands (inland) 93 Freshwater lakes & pools; Freshwater marshes & swamps
Forest 7 Tropical lowland evergreen

Land use

Land use % of IBA
nature conservation and research 100

Land ownership
The land occupied by Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge is owned by Alexander and Baldwin, Inc., but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a perpetual conservation easement over 691 acres at Kealia Pond and is currently working with the landowner on the conveyance of a perpetual easement over 9-34 acres as a contiguous extension of the refuge on the Ma'alaea mudflats.


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge (USA). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kealia-pond-national-wildlife-refuge-iba-usa on 08/01/2025.