Water Commission Nominees: After months of controversy, Hinano Rodrigues has withdrawn his nomination to fill the loea seat on the Commission on Water Resource Management from consideration by the state Senate.
The loea seat must have “substantial experience or expertise in traditional Hawaiian water resource management techniques and in traditional Hawaiian riparian usage,” according to a Department of Land and Natural Resources press release.
Last October, Gov. Josh Green nominated Rodrigues, a former employee of the state Historic Preservation Division and a close family friend of Maui developer Peter Martin.
Many, especially people concerned with water rights for traditional and customary Hawaiian practices, criticized the nomination for being illegal and political. Earthjustice filed a lawsuit against Green on behalf of some of them.
According to a press release from Earthjustice, after Rodrigues’s withdrawal, “the Green Administration announced that a third nomination process would be conducted to produce yet another illegal list of nominees. Kalo farmers and other kia‘i wai practitioners from across the Hawaiian Islands called foul once again. The governor’s office received hundreds of phone calls, emails, and direct messages over various social media platforms demanding that the governor name someone from the original nomination list.
“The law does not allow a governor to repeat the nominating process over and over, like a magic 8 ball, until he receives a candidate to his liking. … This two-step nomination process is meant to ensure that management decisions are not influenced by the wants of the politically well-connected,” Earthjustice attorney Harley Broyles said in the press release.
After Rodrigues’ withdrawal early last month, Green announced that he would be nominating Hannah Springer to fill the loea seat. Springer was one of those on the governor’s original list.
Turtle Take: On March 26, the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council issued a press release stating that it would advise the Trump administration of the council’s Endangered Species Act concerns. Those include proposed critical habitat designations for corals and the council’s longstanding push to have the ban on indigenous harvest of green sea turtles lifted.
“The Council will request a review of these issues within the Administration’s policy framework and [executive orders]. Council members supported efforts to rescind or revise unnecessary regulations, aligning with the Administration’s focus on reducing regulatory burdens,” Wespac said.
A day later, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources issued its own press release aimed at beefing up protection of Hawai‘i’s protected sea turtles, or at least making it easier for resource managers to pursue violation cases.
The news release included gory images of the remains of a green sea turtle stripped of its shell. Hawaiian green sea turtles are listed as threatened under the ESA.
The images came from a Facebook post, “which can’t be verified for its veracity,” the release states.
“The problem for federal and state law enforcement agencies is, the incident was not reported to them directly, which makes it difficult for officers to build a case and pursue prosecution. … The person who witnessed the dead, shell-less turtle is encouraged to follow-up by contacting either DLNR, FWS, or NOAA law enforcement to provide more information.
To report suspected violations: Download the DLNRTip App on your Apple or Android Smart Phone, or call the DLNR 24-Hour Hotline: 808-643-DLNR (3-5-6-7), the NOAA Marine Wildlife Hotline: 888-256-9840, or the FWS Hotline: 1-844-FWS-TIPS (3-9-7-8-4-7-7), or visit https://www.fws.gov/wildlife-crime-tips.
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