Kaʻū News Briefs, Sunday, January 6, 2019

THE FORMER SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, whose agency oversees 500 million acres of land, including Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, "told the Associated Press he's lived up to the conservation ideals of Theodore Roosevelt." The AP story released today said Ryan Zinke stated, "Teddy Roosevellt said conservation is as much development as it is preservation. Much of our work returned the American conservation ethic to bet science, best practices... rather than an elites view of non-management that lets nature take its course."

     AP writer Matthew Brown, quoting historian Patricia Limerick, pointed out that Zinke's idea "to reduce the size of national monuments in the West and elsewhere was in direct contrast to Roosevelt's embrace of the law that allowed their creation, the Antiquities Act of 1906."

     One of the monuments studied for reduction in size is the PapahānaumokuākeaMarineNational Monument, which covers ‎583,000 square miles acres of ocean, which includes the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, ten islands and atolls. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. Due to the government shutdown, the website about the monument, papahanaumokuakea.gov, is unavailable.

     In August of 2017, Zinke provided a report reviewing the status of 27 National Monuments to Pres. Donald Trump which, according to The Washington Post, calls for the possible overturning of fishing and hunting bans within National Monuments. It also calls for considering reduction in sizes of National Monuments. Papahānaumokuākea, which expanded during the presidency of Barack Obama to become the largest marine preserve in the world, is one National Monument suggested for downsizing.
     The Washington Post story by Juliet Eilperin and Darry Fears quotes ConservationInternationalCenter for Oceans. Its senior Vice President Aulani Wilhelm was Papahānaumokuākea's first superintendent. Eilperin and Fears report Wilhem saying Papahānaumokuākea is the world's largest gathering spot for seabirds and is home for a myriad of endangered species that have proven largely resilient despite climate change. "There's a need to have areas in the ocean not only to understand the changes underway but to protect functioning systems as a hedge against those changes," Wilhelm told The Washington Post.

     Also in the article, The Washington Post reports long-line fishery groups in Hawaiʻi have "argued that the expansion of Papahānaumokuākea's boundaries… impedes its catch."
     In regards to the requested report, Zinke wrote, "No President should use the authority under the Antiquities Act to restrict public access, prevent hunting and fishing, burden private land, or eliminate traditional land uses, unless such action is needed to protect the object." He said the recommendations he sent to Trump will provide "a much needed change for the local communities who border and rely on these lands for hunting and fishing, economic development, traditional uses, and recreation."
     According to The New York Times, Robert D. Rosenbaum, who serves as counsel to the National Parks Conservation Association, said no president has sought to shrink a monument's boundaries in the past four decades: "If the president attempts unilaterally to take adverse action on any of the monuments under review, he would be on very shaky legal ground, and we expect the action would be challenged in federal court."

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THE AFTER DARK IN THE PARK TALK BY CAROLYN PARCHETA from U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory for Tuesday, Jan. 8, is cancelled, USGS Scientist in Charge at HVO Tina Neal told The Kaʻū Calendar.

     "We will make decisions on remaining USGS talks depending on a return to operation," says the scientist. "Talks by non-USGS scientists at UH Hiloand LymanMuseumlater in the month are unaffected. Apologies for the inconvenience. We will try to reschedule missed talks when possible."

     This comes on day 16 of a partial government shutdown, affecting Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park to the point where even funds donated by Friends of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and Hawaiʻi County will only keep parts of the Park operational through Wednesday, Jan., 9. See yesterday's Kaʻū News Briefs for more.

     President Donald Trump is still refusing to sign any bill to reopen the government that does not include $5.7 billion to fund a southern mainland U.S. border wall, which he promised during his campaign. He said Mexico would pay for it.
     Trump has threatened to keep refusing bills "for months or even years," though the U.S. House approved a bill on Thursday to fund the government, without border wall money. The Senate passed a similar bill in late December. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the House's bill was "political theater," and has said he would not bring any bill before the Senate that Trump won't sign. Trump has also threatened to declare a national emergency in order to use the military to build the wall.

     Sen. Brian Schatz tweeted a number of effects of the shutdown. He said "some National Parks are entirely closed. Others that are allowing people in need their maintenance crews on the job, at least to clean the bathrooms."
     He predicted that tax refunds will be late. He said that government funds to help Hawaiʻi recover from recent disasters will be delayed. Thousands of people who are not receiving their government pay "are late with rents and mortgages," he said. "Americais being harmed by the American President."

     Schatz tweeted, "FBI agents not getting paid. E-verify not working. Courts shut down. National Parks sullied." He said, "Contractors not getting paid. This shutdown is stupid for Americaand it's about to get way worse, quickly.

     "The authority to declare a national emergency gives POTUS extraordinary powers for real emergencies. It is not for a POTUS who isn't getting his way. Imagine the freakout if a D declared an emergency for something other than an attack on homeland or a massive natural disaster.

     "The next President should have more sympathy for tenants than landlords. The next President should know regular people. The next President should know what the government does.

     "If Trump doesn't open the government soon hundreds of thousands of American public servants will have to go 30 full days without pay. We should just pass the bill we already passed and end this shameful episode."

     Schatz also retweeted, from @HannahMiyamoto, "Congress should pass a law protecting federal employees and contracted workers from civil proceedings during and as a result of any #shutdown, similar to the Service Members Civil Relief Act. Make corporations and banks share the pain of federal workers." He tweeted "This is a good idea and I have my legislative team working on it over the weekend."

     Upcoming effects from a continued shutdown include SNAP (food stamps) benefits being cut, and places like airports unable to process travelers as more and more TSA agents, forced to work more than two weeks without pay, say they will not show up for work, according to their unions, because they can no longer afford transportation. This will, in turn, affect tourism numbers, and food security for the 98,000 households in Hawaiʻi that receive SNAP benefits.

KAʻŪ TROJANS BOYS VARSITY BASKETBALL team played an away game against Hawaiʻi Preparatory Academy. Kaʻū scored 38, while their opponents scored 60.

     Trojans Boys Soccer hosted Kealakehe the same day, ending TKO with Kaʻū at 0, Kealakeha with 9.

     See the schedule of upcoming home games for all Trojans Winter sports, below, for a chance to root for the home team.