KAHOOLAWE

From the south of Maui you can see the deserted island Kahoolawe. Only 12 miles long, it is the smallest of the main Hawaiian Islands. Kahoolawe is an uninhabited island, 45 square miles in size, and was used as a prison in the past and later became a target training range for the U.S. military.

The federal government returned Kahoolawe to the state of Hawaii in 1994, but it took until 2003 that the U.S. Navy limited access to the island as they were cleaning up their unexploded ammunition. Some of it might still be there and some say that the Navy only removed about 25 percent of the potentially dangerous explosives. Today, the island and the surrounding waters are managed by the Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission.

Many years ago, this rock in the blue sea was covered with rich vegetation, but long before the military tested their weapons here, imported goats did huge damage by eating the plants that kept the soil together. The wind and the ocean did their share and left the island eroded, dry and rocky. The ecosystem on Kahoolawe had been totally destroyed.

A few years ago, restoration processes have begun, starting with removing grazing animals from the island and replanting native brushes and other vegetation. Visits to the island are highly restricted and require a special permit - at least until life is restored, which will take many years as scientists believe.