Ka‘ū News Briefs, Thursday, November 7, 2019

     The UH-Hilo Performing Arts Center hosted the meeting. Big Island Video Newsreported 99 people testified and that "Nearly everyone in attendance spoke in opposition to the Regent's Maunakea stewardship resolution." Many also spoke against construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope. See tomorrow's Kaʻū News Briefs for pro and con testimony. 

     Kahu, Guardian, Moses Kahoʻokele Crabbe presented hoʻokupu, gifts and offerings, to the regents, including a lava stone in the shape of a cone. Crabbe led the crowd in the song Kaulana Nā Pua, Famous are the Flowers, a Hawaiian patriotic song written by Eleanor Kekoaohiwaikalani Wright Prendergast in 1893, for members of the Royal Hawaiian Band who protested the overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani and the HawaiianKingdom. Many audience members held up their hands in a triangle-hand gesture, made familiar recently by the Kū Kiaʻi Mauna, Stand Guard over the Mountain, movement to protect Maunakea. See the presentation at bigislandvideonews.com/2019/11/06/video-kahu-crabbe-leads-powerful-showing-at-uh-regents-mauna-kea-meeting/.

     The Board of Regents' resolution acknowledges Maunakea as a "special and important place in the history, culture, and hearts of the peoples of Native Hawaiian ancestry and all of Hawaiʻi" and "a symbol of Native Hawaiian self-determination." It says, "any mismanagement of Maunakea is hurtful and disrespectful to the sanctity and inviolability of this place to Native Hawaiians and others."

     The resolution states the Board of Regents has "clarified its roles, duties, and responsibilities." Those responsibilities include implementing management plans from as far back as 2000, the Mauna Kea Science Reserve Master Plan, and recent as public access and observatory decommissioning plans from 2010. The Board of Regents "affirms its commitment" to follow through with recommendations from the Management Plans "in an accelerated and expeditious manner."
     Action items in the resolution include:

     The Maunakea Master Plan update will accommodate uses by Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners.

     Decommissioning of the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory and Hokukea site no later than Dec. 31, 2021. The resolution defines "decommissioning" as "the complete removal of all man-made structures at each respective site bringing each site to as close as feasible to its natural state prior to construction." The resolution requires a decommissioning schedule to be presented to the Board of Regents during or before its February 2020 meeting.
     Establishment of a new educational telescope facility for the UH-Hilo on already developed land at Hale Pohaku or elsewhere, as soon as can be permitted, with a target date no later than December 31, 2021.

     Determination of decommissioning of three additional observatory sites on or by Dec. 30, 2025, based on permits and governmental approvals. If decommissioning is required, the three sites will be reported to the Board of Regents by January 2026.
     Office of Maunakea Management and Maunakea Observatories Support Services will work with ‘ImiloaAstronomyCenterto develop educational programs regarding Maunakea by Aug. 31, 2020. Programs will include Native Hawaiian culture, history, environmental, and biological considerations designed for tour guides and drivers, employees, contractors, recreational users, scientists and observatory workers, and visitors. OMKM must report to the Board of Regents on program plans at the February 2020 meeting. Capital Improvement Project budget requests to fund the programs will be submitted during the 2020 legislative session.
    A reorganization and restructuring plan of "all advisory, operating, and funding bodies involved in the management of Maunakea" must be submitted to the Board of Regents by April 2020 to "improve operations and management and make it more efficient, effective, and transparent." The analysis will include consultation with the Maunakea Management Board, Kahu Ku Mauna, and appropriate members of the Hawaiʻi Island community. This includes analysis of whether management of the Maunakea Science Reserve should be "transferred to a governmental authority or other third party entity, or through alternate management mechanisms (e.g., conservation easement agreement...)."
    The resolution requires that UH-Hilo cooperate with Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to resolve "any outstanding issues relating to the roadway infrastructure on Maunakea and will seek opportunities to assist DHHL in its efforts to fulfill its trust duties and responsibilities on the use of its Maunakea lands."
     UH-Hilo "should pursue a partnership" with an agency or organization whose primary beneficiary is the Native Hawaiian community, to operate commercial shuttles and tours on Maunakea.
the resolution at hawaii.edu/news/2019/11/07/regents-approve-maunakea-stewardship-resolution/.
     See testimony from those who opposed and supported the resolution in tomorrow's Kaʻū News Briefs.

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FREE PUBLIC EVENTS will be held by Hawai‘i Electric Light in November and December, to commemorate 125 years of providing electric service to Hawai‘i Island. The utility will sponsor weekly prizes on KWXX radio, 94.7 FM, through Friday, Dec. 6.

     A free to the public drive-in movie night will be held on Friday, Nov. 15, in the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium parking lot in Hilo. Showtime is 6:30 p.m. Food will be available for purchase starting at 5 p.m. In addition to the movie, the family celebration includes games, prizes, and the Hawaiʻi Classic Cruizers car enthusiasts club. This is an alcohol and drug-free event. Chairs and mats are welcome but tents are not permitted. This event was postponed in August due to approaching storms.

     On Thursday morning, Dec. 5, the 125th Anniversary Celebration will be held in Downtown Hilo outside the original Hilo Electric Light Company headquarters located at Kalākaua Street. The community is invited to enjoy light refreshments, historic displays, and commemorative anniversary giveaways from 8to 9:45 a.m. Lower Kalākaua Street will be closed from 6:30 to 10 a.m. for this event.

     In Kona, a free to the public Outdoor Movie Night will be held on Saturday, Dec. 7, at Kona Commons starting at 5 p.m.Showtime is 6 p.m. In addition to the movie, there will be prize drawings, information booths featuring local non-profit organizations, visits with Santa, and free popcorn. Picnic chairs and blankets are welcome but coolers, alcohol, and outside food are not permitted. In the spirit of the holiday season, new, unwrapped toys will be collected for the Toys for Tots program to benefit Hawaiʻi Island keiki.

     A release from the utility stated: "Our history as a kama‘aina company dates back to 1894, when 100 percent of the energy generated came from a hydroelectric unit using water leased from the Hilo Boarding School's irrigation ditch. Today, we're here 24/7, providing electricity from a diverse mix of resources including hydro, solar, wind and biofuels, drawing us closer to a 100 percent clean energy future."

An ‘Ua‘u, Hawaiian petrel, chick. See video at  facebook.com/hawaiivolcanoesnps/videos/2756465287748904/

KEEPING SKIES DARK, STAYING ON TRAILS, AND WEEDING OUT INVASIVE PLANTS are items on Hawai‘i VolcanoesNational Park's wish list. Several recent social media posts tell stories, providing reasons for these efforts:

     ‘Ua‘u, Hawaiian petrels, have been monitored in the Park since the early 1990s. Approximately 60 active nests are monitored per season on the high slopes of Mauna Loa. A single egg is laid and then incubated by both parents. Both parents fly to sea to forage for food to feed their chick. In November, young ‘ua‘u prepare to fledge. Their parents have already left the colony, so the fledglings are on their own for this journey. Over the next few weeks, the young seabirds will exercise their wings and take their first flight from the slopes of Mauna Loa and head directly out to sea. The young will leave in the dark of night and will not be back on land to nest on Mauna Loa for five to six years. He huaka‘i maika‘i, safe travels.

See work on trails at facebook.com/ hawaiivolcanoesnps/videos/2415644348763344/

     Bright or unshielded artificial lights can disorient and ground these inexperienced flyers. Once on the ground, they are vulnerable to non-native predators, such as cats, dogs, mongooses, and rats. Keep outdoor lights shield in a downward position. Keep the night skies dark for the ‘ua‘u.

     Trails don't just take care of themselves– Park staff and volunteers work hard to keep trails safe for visitors. Last year's eruption caused thousands of earthquakes and lots of rockfalls, damaging many of the Park's most popular trails. Work continues to reopen more trails in the coming weeks. Watch a time lapse of the Park trail crew carefully dissecting a massive boulder for removal at facebook.com/hawaiivolcanoesnps/videos/2415644348763344/.

     The exquisite ‘ama‘u fern is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, and can range in height from two to 15 feet. There are three different species that thrive in the Park, the most common being Sadleria cyatheoides, often seen in mid-elevation, sunny areas, like Mauna Ulu. The young fronds of this ‘ama‘u are often red.