April 2009 PDF
April 2009
UH Professor Takes Long-Running Feud with Feds into Court of Public Opinion
Headlines on recent stories about the Hawai`i akepa, an endangered forest bird, have been alarming. Last July, Science, the magazine of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, reported in online editions that researchers were exploring the “startling decline of a … Continued
Another Chapter in OTEC Research on the Verge of Opening at NELHA
The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai`i was Ground Zero for ocean-thermal energy conversion (OTEC) experiments for most of the first two decades of its life. In fact, OTEC development was one of the main reasons – if not the reason – for … Continued
In a First, LUC Designates A&B Property on Kaua`i as Important Agricultural Lands
More than 30 years after the state Constitution was amended to require the protection of agricultural land, the state Land Use Commission has designated the first official Important Agricultural Lands. Once a land is protected with this label, any decision … Continued
‘Aha Kiole Advisory Committee Nears End, Seeks to Continue Controversial Work
Ever since the state Legislature created the ‘aha kiole advisory committee in 2007 to lay the groundwork for an indigenous knowledge-based natural resource management system, the committee and its community coordinator have been hounded by controversy. Critics first alleged (and … Continued
The `Aha Kiole Report to the Legislature Assails 'Environmentalist Dogma'
While many might argue that the `aha kiole advisory committee over-stepped its bounds at times, the committee’s final report to the Legislature suggests that it did most of what Act 212 directed it to do: The committee developed best practices … Continued
BOARD TALK
Land Board Adopts Schedule of Fines for Fishing, Boating Infractions Last December, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources approved rules for a Civil Resource Violations System (CRVS) to expedite the resolution of minor infractions of state environmental laws. … Continued
NEW & NOTEWORTHY: Two Beach Restoration Projects on O`ahu
Bringing Back the Beach I: Owners of the Sheraton Waikiki, whose beach disappeared years ago, want to bring back a beach in front of the hotel by building three 160-foot-long T-head groins along about 500 feet of shoreline, now defined by … Continued