Department of Agriculture

HONOLULU – A new member has been appointed and two current members have been reappointed to the Moloka`i Irrigation System Water Users Advisory Board.  Governor Linda Lingle nominated and the State Senate recently confirmed the appointments of James A. Bosewell, Audwin A. Calairo and Richard K. Wheeler to the advisory board.  Bosewell and Wheeler were reappointed.

“The department strongly supported the confirmation of these advisory board members who have decades of experience in agriculture on the island,” said Sandra Lee Kunimoto, chairperson of the Hawaii Board of Agriculture. “Their knowledge, expertise and insights will be valuable as we work to continue to improve irrigation services to Moloka`i farmers.”

Boswell is a homestead farmer and a member of the Hoolehua Homesteaders Association since 1984.  Currently, he is vice president of the Moloka`i-Lanai Soil & Water Conservation District and has been a member of the district board for the past eight years.  Boswell is an assistant professor at Maui Community College and has been an instructor in various agriculture courses for the past 21 years.  He is a graduate of Moloka`i High School and received his Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University – Provo.  This will be Boswell’s second consecutive term on the advisory board.

Calario is a native Hawaiian and life-long resident of Moloka`i.  He is currently employed as a mechanic and maintenance technician with Monsanto-Moloka`i.  Calario is a member of the Moloka`i Farm Bureau and a parent participant in the Moloka`i 4-H program.  He will represent the non-homestead MIS water users.

Wheeler has worked in agribusiness for the past 40 years.  He arrived on Moloka`i in 1982 and was employed by the Moloka`i Honey Company, which he purchased in 1989.  After 15 years of operation, he sold the business and began propagating plumeria flowers and is one of the largest growers in the State and is an active water customer of the system.  He is a member of the Moloka`i Farm Bureau and the Hikiola Agricultural Cooperative. This is his second term on the advisory board. 

The Moloka`i Irrigation System is 25 miles long and includes the Kualapuu Reservoir.  It serves 240 farmers over 2,700 acres and transports nearly 1 billion gallons of irrigation water per year.

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