On May 11, the Board of Land and Natural Resources fined five Maui residents $500 each and ordered them to pay up to an additional $200 each in administrative costs for riding motorized dirt bikes on state conservation lands at Hana`ula, not far from where the state is rearing and releasing endangered nene.<\/p>\n
According to Department of Land and Natural Resources enforcement officers on Maui, they have seen a proliferation in recent months of unauthorized motor vehicle activity on state land at Hana`ula and other environmentally sensitive areas. They also reported receiving an increasing number of complaints.<\/p>\n
\tOn Superbowl Sunday, February 4, officers with the DLNR\u2019s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement staked out a road to the West Maui Forest Reserve to catch dirt bikers as they came down from the uplands. While DOCARE reports indicate that at least six riders fled from the officers, Richard Halfhill, Antoinette Davis, Ernest Kalei Smith, Randy Waldrop, and Archie Kalepa all pulled over when officers motioned for them to stop. The officers informed them that they were trespassing on state lands and seized their bikes.<\/p>\n
On May 11, the five came to Honolulu to explain themselves to the Land Board and to plead for the return of their bikes. \u201cI just want my dirt bike back,\u201d Kalepa said at one point. That day, DLNR Land Division Maui agent Daniel Ornellas recommended that the Land Board order the return of the vehicles and fine each of the riders $500 for violating DLNR rules. Those rules prohibit people from driving a motor vehicle on unencumbered state lands except on roads, trails, or tracks designated or provided for vehicular use. Parking or leaving a motor vehicle unattended that blocks entry onto any road, trail, track, or beach access is also prohibited.<\/p>\n
Land Division administrator Russell Tsuji also asked that the board require the alleged violators to pay undetermined administrative costs as well, since six DLNR staff members had to fly over from Maui to attend the meeting.<\/p>\n
\tAt the meeting, all five dirt bikers stated that they did not see signs prohibiting motorized vehicles, even though the DLNR has posted signs that indicate that the area is government property and that littering, motorized vehicles, camping, fires, and alcohol are prohibited.<\/p>\n
Halfhill and Davis contended that they were riding their bikes on private roads only, but admitted that they had parked their truck on state land. In a February 4 email to former Land Board chair Peter Young, Davis complained that there were no signs to indicate that the main dirt road (technically a fire break) was not to be used.<\/p>\n
Maui Land Board member Jerry Edlao reprimanded them anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a very sensitive area up there, a lot of historical things [referring to archaeological sites]. I would like to see a legal place on Maui and would like to see the department looking for land in a more active way. I\u2019m not a dirt biker, but I have friends who are. This is [a problem] all over. I have friends with commercial property who complain. If you live in Hawai`i, you should know the sensitivity of lands\u2026 Maybe you should have pushed and checked first,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\tDavis argued that she looked for signs, but did not see any.<\/p>\n
\tTo this, Tsuji noted that because the state does not allow any unauthorized vehicles on its lands, \u201cYou should not have to see a sign, whether it\u2019s private or public property.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tKalepa, Smith and Waldrop, who were riding the area together, readily admitted that they were riding in the wrong area and apologized for trespassing.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe didn\u2019t intend to break laws\u2026 Instead of running, which is the nature in the past of bike riders, we stayed\u2026 We accept the fact what we did was wrong,\u201d Kalepa said, adding that they have warned other riders not to go to Hana`ula and not to cut the fences.<\/p>\n
\tLike Edlao, Kalepa said he, too, wants to see trails developed that would allow for a legal riding area on Maui. While there is a motocross track on the island, Kalepa said, \u201cYou can only do triple jumps for so long. Older people need other [options].\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe want to be law abiding citizens,\u201d he said, adding that riders have developed a perimeter trail at Pu`unene in association with the DLNR\u2019s State Parks Division and that he has been discussing with Na Ala Hele, the state\u2019s trail program, the possibility of leasing 600 acres for riding.<\/p>\n
\tTo drive home the need to control biking at Hana`ula, Sasha Smith, a wildlife technician with the department\u2019s Division of Forestry and Wildlife, gave a presentation to the Land Board on the type of damage that has been done. Smith propagates and releases nene, the endangered Hawaiian goose, at Hana`ula. Because nene are ground-nesting birds, they are extremely vulnerable to being run over, she said.<\/p>\n
Smith told the Land Board that dirt biking and ATV riding, which had been occurring at Hana`ula for several years, had damaged fences, gates and trails. She added that she has posted numerous warning signs that have been vandalized or stolen.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThis area is in the West Maui Forest Reserve and is designated for the release and propagation of nene, [a species] that is classified as endangered\u2026 This area is restricted from public access,\u201d Smith wrote in a letter to the DLNR. In December 2005, she continued, dirt bikers cut a section of the Forest Reserve fence protecting the state\u2019s nene release pens and ran over water lines, which broke and drained the only source of water to the release pens.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey continued to spin \u2018donuts\u2019 around the water unit and left trash around the pens. The nene were nesting in the pens at the time of the incident and there were great concerns that the nest would be abandon [sic] or goslings run over. These signs warn trespassers to stay out of the area, explain our project and list fines and penalties. The entire area is also a pristine native forest and native bird habitat. These dirt bikes are devastating to the forest reserve and not to mention the time and cost to repair fences, gates and water units over and over again,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
In her presentation to the Land Board, Smith showed photos of the broken water lines, a cut fence, and vegetation that has filled in the ruts made by bikes and ATVs since DOCARE\u2019s enforcement activities in February.<\/p>\n
Maui DOCARE officer Randy Awo explained that controlling dirt bikers is a challenge \u201cbecause of what they are \u2013 mobile, fast, and the riders are geared up so we can\u2019t identify them.\u201d He added that finding entry points into areas is labor intensive.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn most cases, they get away and damage continues to occur\u2026 This is a big and growing problem and it\u2019s far from over,\u201d Awo said. He noted that Kahikinui, on Maui\u2019s south shore, is another hotspot.<\/p>\n
\tAwo noted that the ability to seize property from violators is a crucial tool in any enforcement case. In this case, it compelled people to show up to the Land Board meeting and to comply with the law, he said. In Davis\u2019s email to Young, however, she asked whether the DLNR had the ability to seize the bikes. She stated that when she asked a DOCARE officer under what administrative rule were the bikes being confiscated, she was told Chapter 13, section 221.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI see nothing there about confiscation. Penalty: A fine of not more than $500,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
The Land Board\u2019s deputy attorney general seemed to agree and advised the board in executive session to return the bikes to their owners. Despite the advice, Land Board members Tim Johns, Rob Pacheco, and Sam Gon objected, stating that they wanted to maintain DOCARE\u2019s ability to seize and keep property of violators, not just in this case, but others where seizure is warranted.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cMy primary concern, even after the briefing by the AG, is that there is the clarity of seizure rights DOCARE has. I\u2019m not willing to take that enforcement tool out of their hands,\u201d Johns said.<\/p>\n
\tBoard member Edlao, however, moved to accept Land Division staff\u2019s recommendation to fine the five riders $500 each and to direct the department to return the bikes immediately upon receiving payment of the fines. He also moved to allow the Land Division to recover administrative costs of up to $200 from each person.<\/p>\n
\tThe motion passed, four to three, with Gon, Johns, and Pacheco voting against the motion.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/b><\/p>\n As of December 8, the state, the Department of Interior, and the Department of Commerce have been co-trustees of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, which includes state and federal waters out to 50 miles surrounding the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.<\/p>\n \tIn the months following the establishment of the monument last June, the state has approved permits for activities in its Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine Refuge, which is part of the monument, but activities in federal monument waters have been approved administratively by the monument program office, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or both agencies. At the same time, all of the co-trustees have been working toward a streamlined permitting process that would require all of them to sign off on all permits.<\/p>\n Last April, the DLNR\u2019s Division of Aquatic Resources presented this new permit to the Land Board for approval and requested that, for activities in federal waters, the board delegate its approval to the chair or to staff.<\/p>\n \t\u201cAlthough it is clear from [President Bush\u2019s] Proclamation and the Memorandum Of Agreement that the state\u2019s jurisdiction in the monument is neither diminished nor enlarged, the co-trustees wish to develop a system in which all three co-trustees weigh in equally on all of the permits. The co-trustees understand that a joint management effort and approach is preferred to piecemeal management of Monument resources,\u201d a report by DAR\u2019s administrator Dan Polhemus states.<\/p>\n \t\u201c[E]ven for matters of solely federal concern (e.g., in federal waters beyond three miles, or on Midway \u2013 which is not part of the state of Hawai`i) where state jurisdiction was not previously implicated, the co-trustees wish to have the state as signatory to the jointly-issued permit to ensure and enhance cooperative efforts of joint management. By the same token, it is intended that all prior permits previously issued for the NWHI by the Land Board\u2026will henceforth be approved by all co-trustees,\u201d the report continues.<\/p>\n \tBecause the Land Board\u2019s jurisdiction does not normally extend outside state waters, DLNR staff proposed that the chairperson or the chairperson\u2019s designee be given authority to administratively approve permits for activities outside state waters. Activities within state waters would still require Land Board approval.<\/p>\n \tAt the Land Board\u2019s April 27 meeting, members of the environmental groups KAHEA and Environmental Defense, as well as an advocate from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, urged the Land Board not to delegate its authority and require that all permits be approved by the board at a public meeting. KAHEA\u2019s Marti Townsend, Environmental Defense\u2019s Stephanie Fried, and OHA\u2019s Heidi Guth said this would be the only way the public could get a glimpse of what is going on in the monument outside state waters. Fried noted that she had not received a single permit from the DAR or the monument program, despite requests to both agencies to see all permits that have been issued since the monument was established.<\/p>\n \tWhat\u2019s more, Townsend said that the conditions of the joint permit were weaker than conditions that the Land Board had imposed on previous permits for activities in the state\u2019s Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine Refuge. Fried asked that all of the conditions that the Land Board had attached to its previous permits for activities in the NWHI be included as special conditions in the new joint permit.<\/p>\n \tIn response, Polhemus argued that the Land Board\u2019s conditions for refuge permits had not been vetted by the attorney general\u2019s office, but that the general conditions had.<\/p>\n \tRegarding the board\u2019s jurisdiction, members Sam Gon, Jerry Edlao and Tim Johns questioned deputy attorney general Colin Lau about what it meant to be a co-trustee if the MOA precluded the state from expanding its authority.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy sign off [on a permit for federal waters]?\u201d Edlao asked. Gon asked what would happen if the Land Board opposed a particular permit that did not involve state waters. \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t have any grounding or authority,\u201d Gon said.<\/p>\n \tContrary to Lau\u2019s advice and Polhemus\u2019 report to the Land Board, NMFS regional deputy director Mike Tosatto suggested that the state\u2019s authority could be enlarged if the Land Board were allowed to decide on permits for activities in federal waters.<\/p>\n \t\u201cDelegation was a palatable way to get the state\u2019s approval\u2026 We don\u2019t have to settle the legal issues… If the board does not approve a permit, it would be an issue we would have to parse out,\u201d he said, adding that delegation is also more efficient.<\/p>\n \tIn the end, the Land Board voted unanimously to approve the joint permit form and delegate approval of activities in federal waters to the chair or the chair\u2019s designee. The board also ordered the DLNR to provide monthly reports on activities within the monument.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/b><\/p>\n Earlier this year, the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to prohibit bottomfishing in federal waters from May to September in response to an order by the National Marine Fisheries Services to take action to end overfishing of bottomfish stocks in the Hawaiian archipelago. Although the DLNR has managed bottomfishing in state waters using area, rather than time, closures, on April 26, the state hastily approved a seasonal closure identical to the federal one so that fishing effort would not shift to state waters when the federal closure went into effect at the beginning of May.<\/p>\n \tNormally, such a closure could not be approved by the Land Board without a lengthy public hearing process. The Division of Aquatic Resources would propose rules authorizing it, the Land Board would vote on whether to take them out to public hearings, public hearings would be held statewide, and then the rules would be brought back to the Land Board for approval. But because of the need for haste, and with reluctant support from its deputy attorney general, staff decided to bring a request for a temporary five-month closure of all bottomfishing in the state directly to the Land Board.<\/p>\n \tAlthough it recognized the need to adopt a seasonal closure, DLNR staff, as well as then-Land Board chair Peter Young, was concerned about the state\u2019s role in enforcing it. While saying he wanted to do whatever was needed to make bottomfishing in Hawai`i sustainable, Young added, \u201cWe don\u2019t want to be the lead on enforcement for a designation coming from the feds.\u201d<\/p>\n \tTosatto, regional deputy NMFS director, promised Young that NMFS would not \u201cleave DOCARE hanging. I can give you my assurances today: It\u2019s a definite priority of the fisheries service.\u201d He added that NMFS has the ability to do dockside and marketplace enforcement, among other things, that tracks where the bottomfish sold in Hawai`i have come from.<\/p>\n \tDespite Tosatto\u2019s assurances, Gary Moniz, administrator for DOCARE, complained that enforcing a seasonal closure will put a new burden on his division. He said he had been told by NMFS enforcement staff that they would call his office if they discovered a violation. Moniz said that criminal prosecution of a seasonal closure would be difficult.<\/p>\n \t\u201cWe want to know where the fish came from. Possession and sale are not covered in the measure [proposed by DAR staff],\u201d he said, adding that there needed to be an aggressive public education campaign \u2013 done in Tagalog, Samoan, Vietnamese, and other languages \u2013 to notify people about the closure. Moniz added that the fact that bottomfishing often takes place at night complicates enforcement.<\/p>\n \t\u201cDOCARE wanted you to know, this is not a slam dunk. We still need to sit with the AG\u2019s [attorney general] office,\u201d Moniz told the board.<\/p>\n \tBefore its vote on the matter, deputy attorney general Lau advised the board to expedite the adoption of rules to back up the closure. According to Polhemus, discussions had already begun on a full rule package.<\/p>\n — Teresa Dawson<\/p>\n Volume 17, Number 12 June 2007<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On May 11, the Board of Land and Natural Resources fined five Maui residents $500 each and ordered them to pay up to an additional $200 each in administrative costs for riding motorized dirt bikes on state conservation lands at … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[151],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-june-2007"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1363\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nBoard Approves Joint Permit
\nFor Papahanaumokuakea<\/div>\n
\nBottomfish Seasons<\/div>\n