Some of the rarest plants in the world are found in the saddle of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea on the island of Hawai`i within the U.S. Army’s 108,000-acre Pohakuloa Training Area.
Under an Army plan intended to protect several areas of rare plant habitat, however, it is likely that their numbers will continue to drop. The plan involves fencing three of the botanically richest areas, totaling 2,452 acres. While these plants would be protected from browsing and trampling by feral ungulates (primarily sheep and goats), those plants lying outside the fenced areas would be unprotected. The remaining 20,000-plus acres at PTA of tropical dry forest communities, described by the late Lani Stemmermann as “the most endangered of all tropical forest types,” will almost certainly continue to decline.
As minimal as the Army plan is, it nonetheless has drawn fire from hunters on the Big Island, who regard fencing as an infringement of the gathering rights they claim to possess. In addition, the office of U.S. Senator Daniel S. Inouye has informed the Army that it must come to an agreement with the hunters over the fencing plan.
Members of the conservation community are also unhappy with the Army’s plan. They believe the Army should begin fencing most of the western third of PTA, which includes most of the remaining dry forest, other extremely rare and intact plant communities, habitat for dozens of rare, threatened, and endangered Hawaiian plants, caves, and Hawaiian archaeological sites. They are outraged at the prospect that most of these resources, which are site-specific, should be sacrificed so that hunters will have use of the land as a source of non-native goats and sheep, which are found in abundance elsewhere in Hawai`i and can be relocated without harm.
The Army is expected to make a final decision on a fencing plan early this year.
Back from ‘Extinction’
Recent interest in the rare plant communities of Pohakuloa can be traced back 20 years to 1977. At that time, biologists hired by the Army surveyed the western area of the Army’s training area and found a botanical Shangri-La. Two plants thought to be extinct were rediscovered, while several other rare and endangered plants were found to be thriving.
The richest area, known as Kipuka Kalawamauna, was proposed in 1979 to be added to the state’s Natural Area Reserve System. The proposal, prepared by the Conservation Council for Hawai`i, stated that the kipuka “includes the best of the native vegetation… The land is owned by the state of Hawai`i and is leased to the Army for training purposes for one dollar a year.”
At the time, the chief threats to the vegetation were identified as fire and “the large number of feral sheep and goats which periodically utilize the area.”
“In recent years,” the proposal noted, “goats have killed (by girdling) an alarming proportion of the Euphorbia trees” [`akoko, or Chamaesyce spp.] while sheep “eliminated much of the understory vegetation beneath the Euphorbia trees. Heavy browsing by both animals during the growth periods following the infrequent rains have seriously impaired regeneration of all native plants, including the endangered species.” The proposal went on to say that recent hunting had reduced the negative impact of the animals and to recommend that “continued access for public hunting … be increased and assured on a long-term basis.”
Military maneuvers “provide very real threats to the biotic resources of the kipuka,” the Conservation Council pointed out. A 90-mm artillery projectile had been found in the Euphorbia forest, while a parachute flare had been found in the Myoporum [naio] scrub, both having come from a nearby area frequently used in ordnance training. Live-fire training and field maneuvers “provide a threat of fire inconsistent with continued maintenance of the unique vegetation,” the proposal said. “Should military training activity be stepped up, its impacts can also be expected to become more severe. But should the use of Kipuka Kalawamauna be transferred from military training to nature conservation, the degradation trend can be reversed and this unique area be preserved.”
The proposal was shelved without action.
The MPRC
Little further attention was given to the dry forest communities of Pohakuloa for another decade. In the early 1980s, the Army proposed to build a multi-purpose range complex (MPRC) on approximately 1,500 acres just west of the central impact area. Without benefit of any detailed biological surveys of the proposed area, the Army proceeded to issue a finding of no significant impact (FONSI), declaring that no endangered plants or animals would be harmed by the project. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concurred with the finding.
In 1989, the Army began constructing the range. Late that year, Lani Stemmermann, one of the biologists who had participated in the 1977 survey, discovered what the Army was doing and sued the Army, seeking to halt further work (especially the imminent bulldozing of approximately 200 additional acres). Stemmermann lost the lawsuit in federal district court, but appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. While the appeal was pending, the Army settled with Stemmermann. Under terms of the settlement, the Army could complete work on the MPRC, whose cost has recently been estimated at between $20 million and $30 million, but agreed to do a complete environmental impact statement on the facility’s operation before using it for any purpose. (Seven years later, the EIS has not yet been completed, nor does it appear as though the Army intends to complete it.)
In the course of preparing the EIS, the area was scrutinized much more thoroughly than ever before. The most recent surveys indicate that more than a dozen endangered plants are found at PTA, while 17 more plants are rare and probably should be added to the federal endangered species list. Fifteen species of Hawaiian land snails were observed, all of which are rare and many of which have been proposed for listing.
No fewer than eight natural communities have been identified at PTA. Nighttime surveys found the endangered Hawaiian hoary bat frequents the area, as do a variety of forest birds, including at least three that are on the endangered species list.
In 1991, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Army, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated 7,869 acres at Kipuka Kalawamauna as an endangered plant habitat. Despite the honor, no special management programs were undertaken to protect the rare plants, although the Army has prohibited off-road travel and use of pyrotechnics in the area. Also in 1991, a nearby cinder cone, Pu`u Kapele, was fenced by the Department of Land and Natural Resources to protect endangered plants from feral ungulates. (The fence has only been partly successful: Robert Shaw, leader of a scientific team from Colorado State University that has been studying PTA plants for several years, told the Army in 1994 that “a higher fence would be more effective in terms of keeping sheep and goats out.”)
Fire
For about a week in late July 1994, a raging wild fire tore through the western portion of PTA, leaving nearly 20,000 acres charred. Although scientists’ initial assessment was that many of the most endangered plants were spared, in the years since the fire, long-term impacts have been observed. Mike Castillo, a botanist who has worked on biological survey projects for the Army, discussed some of these impacts in a letter last August to PTA environmental officer Scott Henderson:
“The largest known population of Stenogyne angustifolia is in the Dodonaea mixed shrubland within the Kipuka Kalawamauna. Prior to the 1994 wild fire which consumed 65 percent of the kipuka, these thousands of plants were afforded protection from browsing by dense thickets of Dodonaea and other shrubs. The subsequent removal of the shrub canopy by the fire provided goats and sheep access to the recovering S. angustifolia. I estimate that heavy browsing these plants sustained (primarily from sheep) following the fire reduced the size of this population by over half what it would have been in the absence of browsing.”
Many hunters (and even a few land managers) argue that the presence of browsing ungulates reduces the “fuel load” that causes fires in the dry forest areas to get out of hand so easily. Castillo addresses this argument, too:
“Fountain grass continues to encroach from lower elevations and many weeds have recently been spread throughout the western portion of the installation through training and construction activities. I suspect sheep, goats and pigs (especially at PTA) are the largest vectors of weed seed. Assertions that sheep, goats and pigs eat weed species and thereby reduce fuel loads and reduce fire threats are unfounded and contrary to my observations. While pigs and sheep eat herbaceous vegetation, they do not eat enough to significantly reduce fuel loads nor do they eat the plant which constitutes the majority of fire fuels (fountain grass).”
Doing Right
In 1992, the Army began developing a five-year (1994-1999) integrated natural resources management plan for the Pohakuloa Training Area. A draft of that plan, prepared under terms of the federal Sikes Act, noted how “[r]ecent court activities regarding the completion of the MultiPurpose Range Complex indicate the seriousness of environmental issues to PTA’s military interests. An almost certain increase in the number of confirmed endangered plant species and the number of historic sites will compound the problem.”
The draft plan identified four “areas of special botanical significance.” The first consists of about 5,000 acres in the northeastern portion of PTA that has been designated as critical habitat for the endangered palila bird (Loxioides bailleui). Kipuka Kalawamauna was the second listed area of “special botanical significance.”
A third area is found southwest of Kipuka Kalawamauna, which was identified by botanists in the 1980s as an “area of very high botanical value.” The MPRC was listed as the fourth such area, “obviously deserving of special attention due to its botanical richness.”
The draft plan has yet to be made final and signed. Upon its signing, “implementation becomes a matter of compliance with federal law,” the document notes.
Managing Ecosystems
In 1995, with the integrated natural resources management plan still unsigned, the Army launched a new initiative, called the Ecosystem Management Program. An environmental assessment was prepared for several “urgent actions” to be undertaken in fiscal year 1995 under this program. The EA covered actions at the Kawailoa Training Area, Schofield Barracks and Makua Military Reservation (all on O`ahu) and at Pohakuloa Training Area.
Actions proposed for PTA included controlling ungulates through fencing of sensitive areas and increased hunting effort; propagating some of the extremely rare plants in a greenhouse; and controlling fountain grass through manual removal and use of pesticides.
Four relatively small areas were called out for fencing. Two alternatives were proposed for Kipuka Kalawamauna. The first called for building 6.06 miles of fence along existing roadways. This would protect habitat for five rare plant species. The second would build a slightly longer fence (6.63 miles) to encompass an additional rare species.
Two alternative fence alignments were also proposed for the MPRC. The first alternative would run 2.16 miles, while the second would run 3.84 miles and “would provide additional protection to more of this unique plant community” found at the MPRC site.
At Pu`u Kapele and Pu`u Ke`eke`e, fencing was proposed to protect significant populations of Silene lanceolata and Haplostachys haplostachya. The first alternative alignment would entail construction of 1.03 miles of fence, while the second alternative would use 4.06 miles of fence. “Fencing the larger area is the preferred alternative and the proposed action but is subject to the availability of funds,” the EA states.
Finally, at Pu`u Ahi, “troop construction of a fence to protect Silene hawaiiensis from human disturbance … is being considered.”
Incendiary Language
According to a chronology of events prepared by the Army, following preparation of the EA, public hearings were held, but “were sparsely attended.” In November 1995, certain Army staff concluded it would be useful to approach hunters about the planned fencing. A month later, hunters obtained a copy of an internal Army memo that referred to eradicating ungulates from PTA and establishing “exclosures” — that is, fenced areas intended to exclude animals from protected plant habitat. The use of the two “E” words — eradication and exclosure — inflamed the hunting community and was one of the chief incidents that hunters used in pressing the Hawai`i County Council to pass a resolution favoring “preservation of hunting rights in Hawai`i.”
In an effort to address the hunters’ concerns, the Army convened its first meeting with representatives of several hunting groups in January 1996. According to the hunters’ description of the meeting, it “ended in controversy with two different minutes of the same meeting’s proceedings being produced.”
The hunters were again outraged on learning that the Army planned to build fences around four specimens of a newly discovered plant species at PTA. As the hunters later described this, hunters were concerned “that such actions would take place despite not having the hunter community’s acceptance.” In April 1996, at the urging of the hunters, Senator Inouye became involved in a “dialogue” with the Army’s environmental officer at PTA, Scott Henderson, concerning the emergency fencing. As a result, the emergency fencing was put off for months.
Meanwhile, the Army contracted with McNeil Wilson Communications to mediate a series of meetings with representatives of hunting groups, selected environmental organizations, and governmental organizations. The first of these meetings was held in June. The fifth and final meeting was held in October.
Options
The records of the meetings indicate they concluded with little agreement on matters of substance. At the last meeting, attended by more than a dozen hunters, four environmentalists, and one representative of Hawaiian cultural interests, the hunters said they could agree to the Army’s proposal to fence about 2,500 acres, but, “to build trust,” the record of the meeting notes, “they would like to see fencing initially encompass areas of no more than 100 acres until effective management of those fenced areas is demonstrated.”
Environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club and the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, supported expanded hunting opportunities, but in areas other than those where rare plants are found.
The National Biological Service proposed a fencing plan more radical than anything outlined by the Army. Instead of placing 14 miles of fence around three relatively small areas, as the Army had proposed, the NBS, in a memo to members of the PTA working group dated October 7, suggested using that same 14 miles of fencing to construct a “barrier fence to separate rare plant habitat at PTA from the adjoining state Pu`uanahulu Game Management Area. Animals remaining on the PTA side of the fence would be driven (primarily by helicopter) into, along, and through a closable gap in the barrier fence into the state GMA, where they would be available for public hunting (rather than at PTA). Subsequent entry of ungulates into the semi-exclosure from the Impact Area [in the center of PTA] or Kipuka `Alala would be followed by other drives. Re-entry of animals from Pu`uanahulu would be prevented or retarded by the barrier fence, so that very low densities of ungulates could be maintained until the exclosure is completed. As soon as possible, the semi-exclosure fencing would be continued to complete the large exclosure (the north unit). Fencing of the south unit might be accomplished also as soon as possible.”
The memo, written by Rick Warshauer, went on to note that “the separation provided by large fences is the only way to allow the contrasting resource management directions of the state public mammal hunting and the Army habitat/endangered species protection. That the two resources compete incompatibly for the same western PTA land is unfortunate, but the facts are that the ungulates are able to survive elsewhere and the native plants cannot…. This proposal will move most of these animals from habitat essential to the survival and recovery of rare native organisms into the state’s public hunting area at Pu`uanahulu where they can be managed by the state.”
In a letter two days later to Lieutenant Colonel Lloyd E. Mues, commanding officer at PTA, Brooks Harper of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service endorsed Warshauer’s proposal and offered a further suggestion: “Left on its own,” Harper wrote, “this semi-exclosure would offer some protection and impede the movement of ungulates from the [Pu`uanahulu Game Management Area]. However, the Service would encourage the Army to use temporary, less expensive, means to retard ungulate movement into the north unit from the Impact Area until fencing of the north unit can be completed. These means could include the use of concertina wire, 4-foot plastic construction fencing, or a combination of both.”
Henderson, the environmental officer for PTA, told Environment Hawai`i that creating such a large fenced area poses problems of its own. While removing ungulates from rare plant habitat is a first step, other steps need to be taken to manage the habitat, and, Henderson said, the Army simply does not have the money to do this on such a large scale.
A decision on fencing was to have been made in early December, Henderson said, but probably won’t be made now until January.
— Patricia Tummons
Volume 7, Number 7 January 1997
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