“The Farm Credit System: Reckless Lender to Rural America.” That is the title of a 1990 report prepared for the American Bankers Association by Bert Ely and Vicki Vanderhoff, of Ely & Company, Inc., based in Alexandria, Virginia. The Western … Continued
In early May of 1986, Jon Giffin, a wildlife biologist with the Hawai`i District office of the Division of Forestry and Wildlife, was looking for `alala on the slopes of Mauna Loa in an area known as Kukuiopa`e, on the … Continued
In early 1990, Grant and Sharon Gerrish bought a lot in Laupahoehoe Valley, on the Big Island north of Hilo. The land was about an acre and a third large — just right for the modest house and garden that … Continued
The house and private park that George Isaacs has built atop the bluffs at Puakea Bay were discussed in a January 1992 “Big Isle House, Private Park Mock Public’s Shoreline Access” article of Environment Hawai`i. At the time, the Department … Continued
In a March 1991 article of Environment Hawai`i raised questions concerning the state’s management of a tract of more than 100,000 acres in an area on the Big Island known as Pu`uwa`awa`a. In hearings before the Legislature, environmentalists posed still … Continued
“I arrived on the slopes of North Kona about 3500 feet elevation late on the afternoon of June 18… At twilight… I heard repeated calling in a location I had not particularly associated with crow activity before. Upon investigation, I … Continued
MVP does not mean most valuable player — at least not in the parlance of scientists concerned with saving endangered species. To them, the initials stand for minimum viable population, or the number of members of a given species absolutely … Continued
One of the most heated aspects of the debate over saving the `alala has centered on the perception of a conflict between property rights and federal and state laws protecting endangered species. Constitutional protections against illegal searches and seizures of … Continued
McCandless Ranch is vast, extending from the coast land south of Kailua-Kona to well up the slopes of Mauna Loa. Altogether, it covers more than 90,000 acres — nearly 150 square miles – and includes land owned in fee by … Continued
Despite a long record of non-cooperation on the `alala program, McCandless Ranch recently signed an agreement with the state that will provide the ranch with a federal subsidy of about $122,000. The agreement calls for the ranch to plant some … Continued