Tradewinds Moves Forward: The company that has been holding for years the right to harvest trees from the state’s Waiakea Forest Reserve, near Hilo, has taken a step forward. The company, Tradewinds LLC, has signed an agreement with the Big … Continued
“This is not a cheerful talk, but it’s based on the best science available,” coral reef expert John “Charlie” Veron told the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council at its June meeting in Honolulu. And while Veron’s talk stuck out like … Continued
Last year, economists with the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. released their analysis of what it would cost to abate green- house gas emissions in the United States. The December 2007 report – Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much … Continued
The current draft of Senate Bill 694 is another attempt this session to work into law the primary recommendation in the new Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report released earlier this year. The bill, as originally introduced last year … Continued
First, it was a lack of water that constrained the growth of farming on 1,200 of the 1,700 acres of former Galbraith Estate land that the state purchased in 2011 for $25 million. With limited well water and the inability … Continued
Red Hill Rebuke: On February 21, Judge Jeffrey Crabtree of the 1st Circuit delivered a knockout blow to the state Department of Health. In granting a motion for summary judgment filed by the Sierra Club of Hawai‘i, Crabtree found that … Continued
Nearly two months after hearing oral arguments in the contested case hearing over the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and Incidental Take License (ITL) proposed by the Na Pua Makani wind farm, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources had … Continued
In April 2017, the state Commission on Water Resource Management approved a settlement agreement signed by the Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC), the Kekaha Agriculture Association (KAA), the Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative, and the community group Po‘ai Wai Ola, to resolve … Continued
On January 26, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources voted to fine two tour companies that cater to Chinese tourists $2,500 each for conducting commercial activities within the Mauna Kea forest reserve without a permit. Dave Smith, administrator … Continued
On January 24, with aid from staff with the Department of Land and Natural Resources, several legislators introduced a pair of bills regarding shoreline encroachment easements — House Bill 2653 and Senate Bill 3093 — as an alternative to bills … Continued