Maui resort agrees to reduce bright lights to protect Hawaii seabird

The Grand Wailea resort on Maui has reached an agreement with several conservation groups to reduce its bright lights to protect endangered Hawaiian petrels, resolving a lawsuit filed earlier this year.

As part of the agreement, the resort will remove, shield and dim lights across its property to protect Hawaiian petrels from becoming disoriented as they fly out to sea. The Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort, will have trained personnel monitor seabird activity to verify the effectiveness of measures being taken.

“Grand Wailea’s deep commitment to protecting endangered Hawaiian seabirds is reflected in the numerous new protective measures that we implemented ahead of the fledgling season, including removing, replacing, shielding and dimming lights across the property,” said J.P. Oliver, managing director of the Grand Wailea, in a statement. “We will continue to monitor seabird activity on the property and are contributing to off-site projects to protect uau.”

Earthjustice attorney Leina‘ala Ley, who filed the suit in February, said all parties worked cooperatively to identify common-sense measures that could be taken to reduce the risk of seabirds becoming disoriented by artificial lights.

The settlement sets a precedent, offering best practices that other resorts and properties could adopt. “We’ve very pleased we were able to resolve it in this way and come to an agreement on best practices,” said Ley. “They’re very practical solutions that are not difficult to implement. All resort properties should make the same commitments.”

Hawaiian petrels, also known as uau for their distinctive calls, are an endangered native seabird that travels thousands of miles across the Pacific to forage for food. Fledglings typically return years later to the same nest sites in Hawaii to breed.

From September to December, fledglings making inaugural flights from their nests out to sea are instinctively guided by moonlight. However, artificial lights can leave them disoriented, causing the birds to circle until they fall from exhaustion or collide with structures. Once grounded, they have a difficult time taking flight again and are vulnerable to predators, starvation or getting run over by cars.

Earthjustice filed suit against the Grand Wailea on behalf of the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity and Conservation Council for Hawaii, saying failure to take protective measures for the petrels was a violation of the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

The suit, which was preceded in September by a notice of intent to sue, said the Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project had been documenting injured and dead Hawaiian petrels resulting from bright lights at the Grand Wailea for more than a decade.

Although the resort modified some lights in response to the notice, conservationists recovered a grounded fledgling during the 2021 fallout season and maintained that the resort’s actions were not enough, prompting Earthjustice to move forward with the suit.

The Grand Wailea occupies a critical spot, according to Ley, since the largest surviving nesting colony of Hawaiian petrels is on the slopes of Haleakala, where the birds dig burrows in the rocky soil. The resort sits at the main base along the “fly-way,” or migratory route, for the petrels, she said.

Earthjustice has filed similar suits over the years against the state Department of Transportation over airport and harbor lights, as well as Maui County over LED streetlights, and the former St. Regis Princeville Resort on Kauai over bright lights, with some success.

The St. Regis Princeville, now 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay on Kauai, in 2010 agreed to a settlement to reduce lighting on its property by shuttering windows at night and shielding floodlights — and funding programs that restore endangered and threatened seabird species.

The conservation groups are hailing the settlement with the Grand Wailea, in tandem with Maui County’s recently approved ordinance regulating blue light in outdoor lighting fixtures, as victories for seabirds and turtles.

The ordinance requires most outdoor lighting fixtures to significantly reduce blue light, or short-wave light, known to result in injury and death to seabirds and turtles, and to be directed downward, and shielded so as not to shine over the ocean.