September 2017 PDF
September 2017
Relief for Longliners Must Wait, Pending Final Rule
On September 1, the National Marine Fisheries Service is closing the bigeye fishery for most vessels in the the Hawaii longline fleet, with the fleet having exceeded its 2017 limit of 3,138 metric tons for the Western and Central Pacific. On August … Continued
Comments on Papahanaumokuakea Expansion Due August 15
August 15 is the new deadline for submission of comments on the Trump administration’s decision to review all national marine sanctuaries and marine national monuments designated and/or expanded since April 28, 2007. Of the 11 protected areas that are subject … Continued
Appellate Court Ruling Gives Teeth To Hawai`i County Development Plans
Over the last decade, Hawai`i County has approved Community Development Plans (CDPs) for most of the districts making up the Big Island. The Kona CDP was one of the first, adopted by the County Council in 2008, and resulted from … Continued
Few Environmental Measures Approved At Close of 2017 Legislative Session
The first session of the 2017 Legislature broke little new ground in terms of environmental law-making. About a dozen bills that nibbled at the edges of meaningful action made it across the finish line with the signature of Governor David … Continued
NEW & NOTEWORTHY: Pepe`ekeo Access, Hu Honua, and a Rememberance
Pepe`ekeo Access Closed: On June 26, Steven Strauss, attorney for Scott Watson, informed the Hawai`i County Planning Department that his client intended to “permanently close” the temporary public shoreline access along his property in Pepe`ekeo, about 10 miles north of … Continued
August 2017 PDF
August 2017
Board Talk: Unpaid Lease, Lehua Island, Haleakala Trail and More
Landscaper May Finally Pay State Its Nearly Half A Million Dollar Debt An ill-timed auction. An effort to give a Waimanalo animal shelter time to relocate after its lease expired. Alleged verbal instructions from state land agents to the new tenant … Continued
At Annual Hilo Confab, Lots of Fast Talk On Recent Trends in Resource Science
For the better part of the last three decades, every summer on the Big Island, Stanford University professor Peter Vitousek has hosted a meeting of researchers, resource managers, students, and others who have an interest in understanding ecosystem elements and … Continued
Board Talk: Legacy Lands, Lava Tours, and Much More
Kuka`iau Ranch Acquisition Wins Much of 2017’s Legacy Land Funds Breaking with a decade of past practice, the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) in May supplanted funding recommendations from the Legacy Land Conservation Commission with its own. At the … Continued