In a recent decision regarding the Kaua`i Planning Commission’s denial of a Koloa water bottler’s use and zoning permits, the Intermediate Court of Appeals has reaffirmed that county agencies are bound by the state Constitution to protect the public trust … Continued
Caren Diamond halts her trek along the shore and peers through dense thickets of naupaka and heliotrope to a man working in his backyard. She warns that if he sees us walk past, he might say some nasty things about … Continued
What kind of evidence is sufficient to prove that a shoreline certification was wrong? Are photographs and eyewitness testimony of where the waves wash and whether the shoreline had been manipulated good enough? Do photos need to be accompanied by … Continued
If sand is stuck to your feet or in your hair or in your toy shovel, fine. If a little bit spilled into your beach bag, fine. If you need to take some with you for traditional cultural purposes protected … Continued
Waiawi Control Agent Is On the Move, Very Slowly In the words of waiawi warrior Tracy Johnson, “strawberry guava was on the radar of land managers for many decades” before a tiny biocontrol agent was finally released last year in … Continued
Some questions and answers about albizia in Hawai`i. What is albizia’s native range? It is native to the Moluccas, New Guinea, New Britain, and the Solomon Islands. When did it arrive in Hawai`i? It was brought to the islands in 1917 by … Continued
Robert J. Cabin, Restoring Paradise: Rethinking and Rebuilding Nature in Hawai`i. University of Hawai`i Press, 2013. 236 pages. $24.99 (paper binding only). For someone who claims to be a scientist, Robert Cabin sure harbors a lot of scorn for his peers. … Continued
For whatever reason (it can’t be the money), Robert Cabin wants to be a journalist as well as a scientist. For now, given the many crimes he has committed against the profession of journalism, he should stick with his day … Continued
Undocumented Birds: There’s a new bird on Maui, and it arrived without any by-your-leave from the state. The golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) was probably brought into the state sometime in the early 1990s and is now breeding in Waikamoi Preserve, managed … Continued
None of the council members seemed particularly bothered by what pre-eminent marine scientist Jeffrey Polovina just told them — that there is clear evidence longline fishers in Hawaiian waters are “fishing down the food web.” The term refers to fishery-induced … Continued