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| Kaunāmano coastal lands extend south from Honu`apo Lookout and include ancient Hawaiian fishing sites and the Ala Kahakai Trail. Photo from Trust for Public Land |
MONEY TOWARD ACQUIRING 1,363 ACRES at Kaunāmano, adjacent to Honuʻapo Lookout, may become available through the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. The fund, created by Congress in 1964, provides money to federal, state and local governments to purchase land, water and wetlands. It receives much of its money through royalty payments from offshore oil and gas revenues to mitigate the environmental impacts of those activities. Kaunāmano is part of an ahupuaʻa known to be an important watershed in Kaʻū, and for its native Hawaiian historical and cultural significance.
The funding for Kaunāmano would go to the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, a unit of the National Park Service with its own superintendent, Aric Arakaki, and chief archaeologist Rick Gmirkin. They manage the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail that crosses through Kaunāmano.
The Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail Association, which advises the Ala Kahakai Trail staff and supports acquisition of Kaunāmano, held a retreat at Pahala Plantation House this summer and studied the land. They talked about the possible funding through the federal oil and gas income. With assistance from the non-profit Trust for Public Land, an application for Kaunāmano was sent to the federal government for funding as early as 2017.
If successful, the purchase in Kaʻū would become the second acquisition of land for the Ala Kahakai Trail. In August, Trust for Public Land conveyed 59 acres makai of and including Ala Kahakai Trail at Kauleoli in South Kona.
Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail was established in 2000, running 175 miles from the east side of the island from a point near Wahaʻula Heiau within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, around Ka Lae, South Point, and up the west side to Upolu Point, at the north end of the island. The corridor and trail network is “of historical significance. It traverses through hundreds of ancient Hawaiian settlement sites and over 200 ahupuaʻa,” says the Ala Kahakai Trail website at nps.gov/alka/index.htm.
Trust for Public Land also helped the community to purchase for preservation a thousand acres on the Kaʻū Coast at Honuʻapo, Kawa and toward Punaluʻu.
At TPL, Laura Kaʻakua is the Native Lands Project Manager working on Kaunāmano. Partners include the Ala Kahakai Trail staff, Ala Kahakai Trail Association, the Keanu ʻOhana, Ka ʻOhana O Honuʻapo and Michelle Galimba and Kuahiwi Ranch, who run cattle on the mauka lands and support the aquisition.
Keoni Fox, a member of the Ala Kahakai Trail Association, and representative of the Keanu ʻOhana, said the family is committed to the vision to preserve the Kaʻū coastline, including Kaunāmano. “This is a very realistic goal as there have been many successful efforts in preserving the coastal lands here in Kaʻū, and there are only a handful of privately held properties remaining, which are under threat of development. Kaʻū is one of the few places in Hawaiʻi that remains unspoiled by urban sprawl. We have the unique opportunity to protect our lands,” said Fox.
The TPL website says the purpose of the acquisition is to “protect Kaunāmano as a living legacy of the storied district of Kaʻū.” At www.tpl.org/our-work/kaunamano, TPL describes the land:
“Kaunāmano means ‘multitudes are placed here,’ reflecting the thriving Hawaiian fishing community that once lived and trained in lua (a traditional Hawaiian martial art) on the southeastern coast of Hawaiʻi Island. These 1,363-acres of Kaʻū shoreline and pasture include four miles of the ancient Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, and traditional trails leading to the hundreds of ancient Hawaiian cultural sites throughout the property. Kaunāmano boasts more than 400 ancient Hawaiian cultural sites with over 3,900 features, including Paʻula Fishing Village, Puhiʻula Cave, heiau (place of worship), burial sites, petroglyphs, and pictographs.
“Preserving the land will honor the stately, resilient people who once lived at Kaunāmano and whose descendants continue to make Ka‘ū their home,” writes TPL.
Several attempts have been made to raise money to preserve Kaunāmano. E.W. Moody, who owns the land, has taken it off the market in the past to give the community a chance to raise the funds to buy it. The county put the property on an acquisition list, but later gave higher priority to acquiring 3,000 acres along the coast at Ocean View.
In 2015, Alexandra Kelepolo, of Hawaiʻi County Finance Department’s Property Management Division, said she sent a letter to Charlie Anderson, who represents the Kaunāmano owner, saying the county is no longer pursuing its purchase. She said, however, that the property remains on the county’s acquisition list and could be purchased in the future either in its entirety, or a portion of it.
The 1,363 acres went back on the market for $11.5 million. Anderson said he was hopeful that the community could still make the purchase. A real estate listing for Kaunāmano describes the land: “Located between Whittington Beach Park and Naʻalehu Village, the Kaunāmano Ranch offers approximately four miles of ocean frontage including a small rocky beach. Incredible ocean sunrise and coastal views all the way to Volcano National Park. Property currently provides excellent pasture for livestock. The ranch consists of nine separate Lots of Record, has subdivision potential and County Water commitments.”
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BOYS & GIRLS CLUB on the Big Island will
be gifted a Smart electric car from Hawaiian
Electric Industries Charitable Foundation. HEI is the parent company of Hawaiʻi Electric Light Co. Pahala Community Center is one of the Boys & Girls Club campuses on this island, serving many Kaʻū children. The car is expected to arrive this month.
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| Kuahiwi Ranch runs cattle in the mauka portions of Kaunāmano and supports protection of the coastline. Photo from Hawai`i Pacific Brokers |
The Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail Association, which advises the Ala Kahakai Trail staff and supports acquisition of Kaunāmano, held a retreat at Pahala Plantation House this summer and studied the land. They talked about the possible funding through the federal oil and gas income. With assistance from the non-profit Trust for Public Land, an application for Kaunāmano was sent to the federal government for funding as early as 2017.
If successful, the purchase in Kaʻū would become the second acquisition of land for the Ala Kahakai Trail. In August, Trust for Public Land conveyed 59 acres makai of and including Ala Kahakai Trail at Kauleoli in South Kona.
Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail was established in 2000, running 175 miles from the east side of the island from a point near Wahaʻula Heiau within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, around Ka Lae, South Point, and up the west side to Upolu Point, at the north end of the island. The corridor and trail network is “of historical significance. It traverses through hundreds of ancient Hawaiian settlement sites and over 200 ahupuaʻa,” says the Ala Kahakai Trail website at nps.gov/alka/index.htm.
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| Four miles of Ala Kahakai Trail skirt the Kaunāmano coast. Photo from Lands of America |
At TPL, Laura Kaʻakua is the Native Lands Project Manager working on Kaunāmano. Partners include the Ala Kahakai Trail staff, Ala Kahakai Trail Association, the Keanu ʻOhana, Ka ʻOhana O Honuʻapo and Michelle Galimba and Kuahiwi Ranch, who run cattle on the mauka lands and support the aquisition.
Keoni Fox, a member of the Ala Kahakai Trail Association, and representative of the Keanu ʻOhana, said the family is committed to the vision to preserve the Kaʻū coastline, including Kaunāmano. “This is a very realistic goal as there have been many successful efforts in preserving the coastal lands here in Kaʻū, and there are only a handful of privately held properties remaining, which are under threat of development. Kaʻū is one of the few places in Hawaiʻi that remains unspoiled by urban sprawl. We have the unique opportunity to protect our lands,” said Fox.
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Kaunāmano is in red stretches south from Honu`apo Bay |
“Kaunāmano means ‘multitudes are placed here,’ reflecting the thriving Hawaiian fishing community that once lived and trained in lua (a traditional Hawaiian martial art) on the southeastern coast of Hawaiʻi Island. These 1,363-acres of Kaʻū shoreline and pasture include four miles of the ancient Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, and traditional trails leading to the hundreds of ancient Hawaiian cultural sites throughout the property. Kaunāmano boasts more than 400 ancient Hawaiian cultural sites with over 3,900 features, including Paʻula Fishing Village, Puhiʻula Cave, heiau (place of worship), burial sites, petroglyphs, and pictographs.
“Preserving the land will honor the stately, resilient people who once lived at Kaunāmano and whose descendants continue to make Ka‘ū their home,” writes TPL.
Several attempts have been made to raise money to preserve Kaunāmano. E.W. Moody, who owns the land, has taken it off the market in the past to give the community a chance to raise the funds to buy it. The county put the property on an acquisition list, but later gave higher priority to acquiring 3,000 acres along the coast at Ocean View.
In 2015, Alexandra Kelepolo, of Hawaiʻi County Finance Department’s Property Management Division, said she sent a letter to Charlie Anderson, who represents the Kaunāmano owner, saying the county is no longer pursuing its purchase. She said, however, that the property remains on the county’s acquisition list and could be purchased in the future either in its entirety, or a portion of it.
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Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund volunteers helped clean the shoreline at Kaunāmano in 2015. Photo from Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund |
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB on the Big Island will
be gifted a Smart electric car from Hawaiian
Electric Industries Charitable Foundation. HEI is the parent company of Hawaiʻi Electric Light Co. Pahala Community Center is one of the Boys & Girls Club campuses on this island, serving many Kaʻū children. The car is expected to arrive this month.
 |
| The late Yisrael Gorali and his wife Alma |
YISRAEL GORALI, 80, a longtime community volunteer in Kaʻū and former President of the Hawaiian Ranchos Community Association, died on Oct. 30 at Hilo Medical Center. Gorali was a leading member of the Kaʻū community dating from his retirement from computer company Triad Systems and moving to Ocean View in 1993. In 1996 he served as Vice President of the HRCA, and then became President in about 1999 – a position he held until a year ago, when he resigned due to ill health.
As President of the HRCA, he wrote regular newsletters, each missive having the feel of a personal letter from Gorali to his neighbors.
As President of the HRCA, he wrote regular newsletters, each missive having the feel of a personal letter from Gorali to his neighbors.
“Yisrael gave unselfishly of his time, energy and talent,” said HRCA Secretary Sandy Shelton. “He was on the board for over 20 years, a time of growth and change in Ocean View, especially Ranchos. He will be missed by us all.”
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Yisrael Gorali was active in community associations throughout his life in Kaʻū, including (at right) volunteering for Ka`u Hospital. Photo by Julia Neal |
As a long-serving member of the Board of the Hawaiʻi Ranchos Road maintenance Corp., Gorali helped oversea the maintenance of 55 miles of private road in the subdivision. He was also a member of the Kaʻū Hospital Charitable Foundation, and worked as a volunteer at Kaʻū Hospital.
Gorali was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1935. He studied at the University of California, San Francisco, and also UC Berkeley, graduating with a degree in Business Administration. As a member of the U.S. armed forces, he served in Vietnam. He lived in Israel for ten years, learning Hebrew and fighting with the armed forces there. His interests included woodworking and research.
Gorali is survived by his wife, Alma Gorali, his two sons, Riegel Gorali of California, and John Gilbert Gorali of Oʻahu, and a granddaughter. A memorial service and burial will be held at 11 a.m. this Friday, Nov. 4, at West Hawaiʻi Veterans Cemetery.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
VOICES: RISING FROM THE PAGE, will take place this Thursday, Nov 3, 7 p.m., Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Big Island poets gather for an evening of poetry. $5 donations appreciated. 967-8222
OCEAN VIEW NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH MEETING, this Thursday, Nov. 3 at Ocean View Community Center, 7 p.m. Call 939-2442 or 928-2015.
Ka‘ū and Volcano residents can also register and vote the same day at Aupuni Center Conference Room in Hilo, Monday - Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Nov. 5; West Hawai‘i Civic Center Community Room, Monday - Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Nov. 5 and Waimea Community Center, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon, through Nov. 5.
Election Day Nov. 8 General Election, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., are: Cooper Center in Volcano at 19-4030 Wright Rd; Ka‘ū High School Cafeteria at 96-3150 Pikake St. - turn into the school grounds; Nā‘ālehu Elementary School Cafeteria at 95-5545 Hwy 11; Ocean View Community Center at 92-5545 Mamalahoa Hwy; and Miloli‘i Halāu.
See the sample ballot here:
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN
