(BIVN) – Efforts to maintain and restore the Kawaihae watershed will get a funding boost from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) announced on Tuesday that NOAA will award $646,886 to the Kohala Center on Hawai‘i Island in order to help improve 8,500 acres within the West Hawai‘i Habitat Focus Area. Schatz is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“The funding announced today represents a chance to reverse the deterioration of the Kawaihae watershed by addressing the erosion and sedimentation caused by invasive plants, feral goats, and deforestation,” said Senator Schatz in a media release.

The Kohala Center will work with NOAA to improve 8,500 acres, erect 12 miles of fencing, remove over 1,000 feral goats, restore vegetation along a 10-acre riparian corridor using 2,000 native trees and shrubs, and install 20 sediment capture dams, Schatz says.

NOAA produced this video detailing efforts in West Hawai‘i Habitat Focus Area.