Government moves slowly under the best of circumstances, but when bureaucracies at multiple levels get involved, any turtle could outrun it.

We can all witness what has happened with the restoration of Kawai Nui Marsh — or, more accurately, what hasn't happened. Marsh ownership is split between the state and the city, and although the process to consolidate the whole area under state control began some 15 years ago, the transfer hasn't happened.

As a result, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can't proceed on waterbird pond restoration, an improvement needed to preserve the very aspect of the marsh that makes it a valued natural resource.

Considering that both sides say they want the transaction to happen, that seems a ludicrous delay.

The hot potato being tossed around is responsibility for the flood-control improvements. Although drainage concerns usually fall within the county purview, it makes more sense for the state to handle its upkeep within the marsh boundaries. There's no reason to have jurisdictional clashes such as this, and until it's truly unified, there's no single agency keeping tabs on the various park projects in the works.

Kawai Nui is the largest remaining wetland in the state, and the community has worked for four decades to save it from development. Come on! Let's find a way to bridge the bog that mires this effort.