Ka‘ū News Briefs, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021

OPINION ON A PROPOSED MINOR SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA APPLICATION FOR PROJECTS AT PUNALU'U, including an open market across from Black Sand Beach and a Welcome Center at the tennis courts area, has gone to County of Hawai'i from Hawai'i Wildlife Fund. The letter to Planning Director Zendo Kern is signed by Hawai'i Wildlife Fund President and Program Director Megan Lamson, Executive Director and Co-founder Hannah Bernard, Conservation Specialist Jodie Rosam and Cultural Resource Specialist Nohealani Ka'awa.

    According to the President of the non-profit, Hawai'i Wildlife Fund has been informed by the Planning Director that the request for the SMAA has been withdrawn, and the Hawai'i Wildlife Fund letter retained for the record. According to Eva Liu, whose company applied for the permit, she plans to hold public meetings in early December to go over community ideas, concerns and plans for Punalu'u's resort, commercial, conservation and residential lands. She also said she is considering offering some of the coastal lands to the county through the Public Access, Open Space & Natural Resources Preservation Commission program, called PONC.

    The letter from Hawai'i Wildlife Fund says:"As an active non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of Hawaiʻi’s wildlife for the past 25 years, Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund would like to express our concerns regarding the SMAA submitted by Black Sand Beach, LLC for the development of the Open Market and Welcome Center at Punaluʻu.

    "We respect that the Applicant has invested the time to connect with those who have kuleana to the area. However, we emphasize that in order to proceed with this SMAA request, new current shoreline and vegetation surveys should be conducted before concluding that there are indeed no impacts to our native wildlife and habitats. 

    "First, Policy 28 in the Kaʻū Community Development Plan states that, 'On lots that are at least partially within the Special Management Area in the Kaʻū CDP Planning Area, establish shoreline setbacks at the earliest stages of the land use planning and development process at a minimum of 1,320 feet (1/4-mile) ...' The proposed location of the Open Market is 200 feet from the shoreline, and as such is not in alignment with this important Kaʻū CDP Policy. 

Punalu'u sunrise.  Photo by Iwalani Watai

    "Second, the SMAA references documents (including a 1988 FEIS and a 2006 Draft EIS) which are not only outdated, but were (in the case of the 2006 DEIS) also a major source of conflict in the community and lacking in sound scientific data collection methodology. (See tomorrow's Ka`u News Briefs for the comment letter drafted to the COH Planning department 15 years ago stating there were inadequacies of the DEIS for the proposed Sea Mountain development, proposed at that time.)

    "In summary, both then and now, the shoreline at Punaluʻu remains an ecologically sensitive area, home to basking threatened honu (green turtles), nesting endangered honuʻea (hawksbill turtles), resting endangered Hawaiian monk seals, in addition to coastal ponds, tidepools, and coral reefs with their countless native inhabitants, plus one of the few remaining populations of endangered loulu palms (Pritchardia maideniana). 

    "Third, the proposed location of the Welcome Center is on nine acres of lowland dry shrubland, which in itself is a threatened ecosystem type. The application states that, 'A few native species, such as ʻAlahee trees and shrubs such as ʻAʻalii and ʻIlima may inhabit the general area based on the 2006 Draft EIS.' 

A halau hula celebrates the sunrise at Punalu'u where a green sea turtle basks. Photo by Julia Neal

    "Although this area has been impacted by fires in the recent past, it cannot be concluded that native species are not present in the area, and HWF recommends a vegetation survey be conducted in the vicinity of the proposed Welcome Center, along with a revised (and current!) shoreline survey. 

    "Last but not least, the application requests that: 'While the overall project site abuts the shoreline, the Applicant is requesting that the need for a certified shoreline survey to support this application be waived since no new improvements or uses are contemplated anywhere near the shoreline,' though we would argue otherwise and encourage the County to require an updated shoreline survey. 

    "Punaluʻu has a history of proposed and successful (and unsuccessful) developments in the area, and while we do appreciate the Applicant sticking to the existing infrastructural footprints in the area (more or less), it does not discount the potential for impacts upon construction commencement and into the future with the proposed activities and uses. Done properly, rehabilitation of the abandoned buildings and recreation areas could indeed be a benefit to the community, though it will undoubtedly attract more visitors to an area already struggling with overuse from excessive tourism. However, the potential impacts to native wildlife and coastal ecosystems should not be disregarded. We humbly ask that the County and State require adequate and current surveys to be conducted prior to granting an SMA permit, and to only move forward in good consciousness that local native wildlife will not be negatively impacted."

     See more on withdrawal of the proposal at http://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2021_11_24_archive.html. See more on the SMA Minor permit that has been withdrawn at http://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2021_11_02_archive.html. See the complete proposal that has been withdrawn at http://kaucalendar.com/news/SMAABlack_Sands_10_2021.pdf.

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TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF CONSERVATION IN HAWAI'I NEI is explained in

    HWF lists highlights from the past quarter century that include:
    Protected hundreds of threatened green turtles and educated thousands of visitors on Pono (respectful) wildlife viewing practices;
    Removed over 360 tons of marine debris from the shores of Hawai'i, Maui, Midway and Lalo with more than 50,000 documented volunteer hours;
    Won a landmark Clean Water Act case at the U.S. Supreme Court;
    Recovered miles of sensitive coastal habitat by protecting native plants, removing predators, installing fences, and restoring native wildlife;
    Reached more than 4,060 K-12 students on Hawai'i, Maui and O'ahu;
    Trained hundreds of marine naturalists and interns, and educated more than a million visitors and residents about marine ecosystems through HWF fieldwork and outreach activities.

       Assisted in setting marine policy at local, state and national levels; and

   

    Hosted bimonthly seed collection workdays, saving seeds from over 20 different coastal plants in partnership with the Hawai'i Island Seed Bank;
    Removed thousands of invasive plants from within 130 acres of biodiverse native coastal strand vegetation within the Ka'ū Forest Reserve and along the banks of two coastal wetlands on Hawai'i;
    Hosted 44 youth on Hawai'i Island during five environmental education service-learning workdays related to HWF's Marine Debris Keiki Education & Outreach (MDKEO) and Hawaiian Coastal Ecosystems (HCE) programs;
    HWF also continued to convert environmental education activities to virtual platforms and "visited" multiple classrooms across 3 islands for zoom, and drafted a new Hawaiian Wetland Waterbirds unit (GK-3) that will be ready to share soon. Most all of the programs are available for students / educators on HWF'S website and YouTube channel.
    Updated HWF's social media platforms on a new website, including 28 blogs about turtles, debris, plants, partners, and other wildlife and HWF activities since last year. See them here to learn more.