Posted 05/02/2012 The state Board of Land and Natural Resources yesterday amended the University of Hawai`i Institute for Astronomy’s Conservation District Use Permit to construct the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope on Haleakala. In its Minute Order No. 19, the Land … Continued
Posted 04/09/2012 Kitty Simonds, executive director of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, has made little secret of her wish to see the protected status of the green sea turtle removed. This legislative session, she found an ally in Rep. … Continued
Posted 04/02/2012 To “avoid even the appearance of impropriety,” the state Board of Land and Natural Resources last week dismissed Steven Jacobson as the hearing officer in the contested case over a Conservation District Use Permit for the proposed Advanced … Continued
Posted 02/27/2012 More than a year after the Land Board heard the application for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope proposed to be built atop Haleakala, the hearing officer it appointed in the case has released his recommendation. And a surprising … Continued
Posted 02/01/2012 Court Denies Motion for Injunction in Ka`anapali Catamaran Case On January 31, U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi denied a motion by Ka`anapali Tours, LLC (KTL) for a preliminary injunction that would have forced the state Department of Land and … Continued
Posted 12/30/2011 When the National Marine Fisheries Service proposed expanding critical habitat for the Hawaiian monk seal, teetering on the brink of extinction, it may have unwittingly set off a war against the creature. In the last two months, … Continued
Posted 12/08/2011 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ ordnance survey of the `Ahihi-Kina`u Natural Area Reserve quietly ended November 18. The south Maui NAR, used as a Navy bombing target in the 1940s, is one of several formerly used defense … Continued
Posted 11/18/2011 November 18 brought a double whammy to the longline vessels operating out of Honolulu. The National Marine Fisheries Service announced that, beginning November 27, Hawai`i longline vessels will no longer be allowed to fish for bigeye tuna in … Continued
Posted 11/07/2011 The director of the state Department of Agriculture, Russell Kokubun, has issued a finding of no significant impact for the release of a scale insect that many in the conservation community hope will deal a blow to the … Continued
Posted 10/28/2011 The iconic Haleakala silversword, or hinahina, is in ‘drastic decline,’ report two scientists who have been regularly monitoring the plant. This year, 565 plants were in bloom, a “medium-flowering” year, write Forest Starr and Kim Starr. But in the … Continued