The state is moving to take ownership of city-owned land in Kawai Nui Marsh, possibly clearing the way for work to begin on a long-stalled $5 million bird habitat restoration project in the 830-acre wetland. But the city isn't ready to go along with the deal just yet.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources will propose this week that the state accept ownership of the land while the city continues to be responsible for flood-control measures in the marsh, Peter Young, chairman of the state Land Board, said yesterday.

If an agreement is reached, money could quickly begin flowing on a project to bring water, birds and native vegetation back to large portions of the marsh, which has been filling in slowly for hundreds of years as a result of human activity, supporters said.

However, city officials said they have not reached an agreement on the crucial question of flood control, which has kept the restoration project on hold for years.

"If we transfer the land to the state, then all the responsibilities go with it," said Laverne Higa, city director of facility maintenance. "There's still more discussion that needs to be done."

Even so, Young's announcement that the Land Board will take up the ownership issue was welcomed at yesterday's Ulupo Heiau Ho'ike, an annual celebration held at the Ulupo Heiau in Kailua to showcase the culture, history and environmental resources of the marsh.

"It's great news," said Hawaiian naturalist Chuck "Doc" Burrows, who for years has led efforts to restore portions of the marsh and several Hawaiian heiau in the area. "We'll be able to move forward with our efforts to protect the ecological and cultural resources of Kawai Nui."

The restoration project, first proposed eight years ago, focuses on about 40 acres behind Castle Medical Center and along Maunawili Stream.

The state and Army Corps of Engineers have partnered on a plan to restore 11 dried-out ponds with water diverted from the stream and the use of new photovoltaic-powered wells, but the work has foundered because the city owned several pieces of land in the project area and no one wanted responsibility for flood control, especially in the wake of a devastating New Year's flood in 1988 that damaged hundreds of homes in the nearby Kailua neighborhood of Coconut Grove.

Young said the city is responsible for all flood-control measures, even if the state owns it. "We are relying on a correspondence from the Army Corps of Engineers that specifically says the city would be looked upon for continued repair, maintenance and operation of flood control," Young said.

Higa disagreed: "That's exactly what they proposed in a bill at the Legislature this year, but the Legislature didn't pass it. If they want the land, they've got to accept the responsibility that goes with it."

The restoration of the ponds and bird habitat is just one of many ongoing efforts to preserve, restore and turn the marsh into a valuable community resource, Burrows said. Other projects include development of a Kawai Nui Gateway park on the Kalaheo side of the marsh and efforts to establish a cultural learning center inside the marsh.

"In the marsh, everything is connected. When I'm here, I feel a spiritual connection to the land and my ancestors," said Pua Hinano, a Native Hawaiian artist who yesterday was painting a watercolor sketch of the heiau while sitting in the shade of a large monkeypod tree. "We all need to do more to protect this treasure because we're all the beneficiaries of it."

Five thousand years ago, all of the area, including what's now Kailua town, was still a large ocean bay. When a sand bar formed along what is now Kailua Beach, access to the ocean was cut off and the bay gradually began to fill up.

"Even just a century ago, there was still a lot of open, flowing water in the marsh," said Bob Bourke, a specialist in coastal and watershed assessments and restoration for the Oceanit engineering firm.

Today, there's still a lot of water, but much of it lies under a layer of plants that is thick enough to stand on, he said.

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.