Ka\u2018u Community Nears Its Goal
\nTo Add Waiohonu To Forest Reserve<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never seen a proposal so rich with prom ise as this one,\u201d said Susan Marinelli, a Hawai\u2018i resident who has been doing conser vation work for 21 years.<\/p>\n
Last August, the Board of Land and Natural Resources voted to transfer a wild stretch of Ka\u2018u beach in Waiohonu from its department\u2019s Land Division to the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife to man age as part of the Ka\u2018u forest reserve, much to the elation of conservationists who wish to protect the area\u2019s rare native coastal strand plant community.<\/p>\n
Dozens of native species, anchialine ponds, petroglyph fields, and other cul tural features can be found on the 1,200-acre coastal strip of land, which is part of a larger parcel that has long been used for pasture. While the native ecosystem at Waiohonu is still largely intact, invasive species, marine debris, and other threats have prompted many to seek higher pro tection for the area.<\/p>\n
For years, community members, in par ticular Bill Gilmartin of the non-profit Hawai\u2018i Wildlife Fund, have looked after the area, which has been a nesting habitat for the endangered Hawaiian hawksbill turtle and is sometimes visited by the en dangered Hawaiian monk seal.<\/p>\n
On August 26, Department of Land and Natural Resources land agent Wesley Matsunaga recommended that in addition to approving the set-aside of the land as part of the Ka\u2018u Forest Reserve, the Land Board authorize DOFAW to convene an advisory council comprised of community representa tives, Hawaiian cultural and natural resource experts to develop and assist in implementing a management plan for the area.<\/p>\n
Leimana DaMate, a Ka\u2018u resident and head of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, testified before the board that there is \u201cvery active use of the coastline,\u201d including gathering of \u2018opihi and wana (sea urchin).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe local people practice ahupua\u2018a man agement. We don\u2019t overfish,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
DOFAW administrator Paul Conry added that his Big Island staff were \u2018very enthusiastic about this project.\u201d<\/p>\n
On August 26, the Land Board unani mously approved Matsunaga\u2019s recommen dation.<\/p>\n
The land will have to be subdivided and public hearings must be held before it can be added to the forest reserve. The Hawai\u2018i Wildlife Fund has promised to pay for the field survey and subdivision, which will re quire a Conservation District Use Permit from the Land Board.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/b><\/p>\n `Ahahui Malama I Ka Lokahi, a grassroots group of 1,250 members dedicated to the preservation of Hawaiian traditions through the protection of native ecosystems, is offi cially the curator of Na Pohaku O Hauwahine, a 12-acre rock outcrop overlook ing the marsh on O\u2018ahu\u2019s windward coast.<\/p>\n On August 26, the Land Board approved a recommendation by State Parks to enter into a 5-year curator agreement with \u2018Ahahui Malama I Ka Lokahi for Na Pohaku O Hauwahine within Kawai Nui State Park Reserve.<\/p>\n A State Parks staff report notes that for the past seven years, \u2018Ahahui Malama I Ka Lokahi has replaced alien plants with ap propriate natives, has cut a trail through Na Pokahu that highlights the view and the native plants, has installed a catchment system to water the plants until they can establish themselves, and has set up tours and regular volunteer workdays to help preserve the marsh.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have also partnered with Ducks Unlimited, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser vice, the Army Corps of Engineers, and DLNR on various projects in Kawai Nui Marsh,\u201d the report states.<\/p>\n \u2018Ahahui president Chuck Burrows told the Land Board in August that his organiza tion has received $170,000 in-kind donations and more then $200,000 in grants from the Kailua Bay Advisory Council, other agencies and individual members to help with the care of Na Pohaku.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/b><\/p>\n \u201cComprehensive is too loose a word,\u201d Maui Land Board member Ted Yamamura said of the Hawai\u2018i Wildlife Conservation Strategy, a new 500-page document by the Department of Land and Natural Resources that, with the Land Board\u2019s recent approval, ensures the state will continue to be eligible \u201cIn 2001, the U.S. Congress developed a Federal Aid program to address declining populations of non-game, non-endangered species and to prevent additional species from being listed as threatened or endangered. As a condition for participation in the program (now the State Wildlife Grants program), Congress required that each state and U.S. territory prepare a Comprehensive Wildlife Strategy by October 1, 2005,\u201d a recent Divi sion of Forestry and Wildlife report states.<\/p>\n On September 9, the Land Board unani mously approved the Hawai\u2018i\u2019s strategy, which had been prepared by DLNR\u2019s DOFAW and Division of Aquatic Resources staff, with the \u201ccore team\u201d coming from the University of Hawai\u2018i\u2019s Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit.<\/p>\n To create the strategy, the team reviewed countless management plans, held public hear ings throughout the state, and posted a web page to accept advice and comments on the document.<\/p>\n The strategy highlights the state\u2019s Species of Greatest Conservation Need, which in cludes one terrestrial mammal, 77 birds, more than 5,000 terrestrial invertebrates, five fresh water fishes, 12 freshwater invertebrates, 20 anchialine pond-associated animals, 26 mam mal, six marine reptiles, 154 marine fishes, 197 marine invertebrates, and more than 600 hundred plant species.<\/p>\n Although plants were not required to be included in the strategy, DOFAW\u2019s Paul Conry told the Land Board that the department was trying to be as comprehensive as possible.<\/p>\n The strategy includes information on where species are, their abundance, the condition of their habitats, priority research needs, a de scription of conservation actions for each spe cies, monitoring plans, and plan review and updating procedures.<\/p>\n The strategy is available at [url]www.state.hi.us\/dlnr\/dofaw\/cwcs\/process_strategy.htm[\/url].<\/p>\n — Teresa Dawson<\/p>\n Volume 16, Number 4 October 2005<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ka‘u Community Nears Its Goal To Add Waiohonu To Forest Reserve “I’ve never seen a proposal so rich with prom ise as this one,” said Susan Marinelli, a Hawai‘i resident who has been doing conser vation work for 21 years. … 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":[13,123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-board-talk","category-october-2005"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1540","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=1540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1540\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nHawaiian Group Secures
\nKawai Nui Curatorship<\/div>\n
\nLand Board Approves
\nWildlife Conservation Strategy<\/div>\n
\nfor State Wildlife grants through the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service.<\/p>\n