Ka‘ū News Briefs, Monday, Aug. 15, 2022

    The attendance register drew 125 people signing in, though many more were observed skipping that formality as the Ocean View Community Center became packed by residents keen to visit the five information centers set up by Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park and its superintendent Rhonda Loh. The National Park Service is required to gather input from the public prior to writing a management plan for the 16,451- acre parcel called Kahuku-Pōhue Area. A second public meeting will be held this Wednesday, Aug. 17 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Zoom, https://zoom.us/j/97789413155; or call in to (346) 248-7799, webinar ID: 977 8941 3155.

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Brent Kakesako, who manned a part of the Access Management  Station, makes notes on oversized paper mounted on an easel.   Behind him, taped to the glass window of the lanai, are two sheets   listing public comments made earlier.  Photo by Peter Bosted

    During Saturday's live meeting, rather than community speakers giving time-limited talks, as National Science Foundation allowed for the Thirty Meter Telescope public scoping in Na'alehu last week, the Park Service invited the public to interact with its representatives in small groups to discuss the subject assigned to each station. The public's suggestions were written down on oversize paper by NPS personnel.
    The five stations were titled General Information, Current and Future Use, Cultural Resources Management, Natural Resources Management, and Access Management. Each station displayed a large copy of a map of the property.
    The Access Management Station, situated on the lanai, drew large crowds as access to Pōhue Bay has long been desired by residents and tourists. Up until a month ago when the Trust for Public Land bought the property from a private owner and immediately donated it to NPS, anyone wanting vehicular access to Pōhue Bay paid the former property owner for the loan of a key to gates controlling access on a four-wheel road. The free option was to hike trails, including a mauka-makai trail that was used by native Hawaiians prior to the arrival of Europeans.
    According to a pre-printed display board, on which the NPS listed Access Considerations, a bulleted list of community comments included: “Need for more clarity around vehicular access,” “Considerations tied to managing pedestrian traffic,” “Desire for community led access for management of the parcel,” and “Limiting access and exposure to sites in the near term until NPS has a plan.”

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On Ocean View Community Center lanai, manager of the 16,451 Kahuku-Pōhue Bay Area, Travis Heindrich, talks to residents about public access to the parcel. It was recently acquired by  the National Park Service. In the background, another NPS employee, Brent Kakesako answers  questions on the same topic. Photo by Peter Bosted

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David Benitez, an NPS employee manning the Current and Future  Use Station, discusses notes on public input with an Ocean View  resident Lilo Denkhaus. Photo by Peter Bosted

Liliokulani in 1892 when she declared that all trails and roads would be the property of the Kingdom. The State of Hawai’i has inherited and continued governmental ownership of those pre-1892 pathways. Hikers regularly use the mauka-makai trail and the Ala Kahakai Trail, both of which pre-date 1892, to cross the parcel.
    Another board at the Access Management Station listed Access Prompting Questions, such as “Given the resources in the area, what kind of access to the area is desired (i.e. pedestrian, vehicular, etc.)?” and “What has past access to Kahuku-Pōhue and the nearby area been? How has that worked or not worked?”.
    Copies of a one-page comment form were also distributed for the public to complete and either turn in at the meeting or mail in. The form list five questions with space for answers. It asked about Cultural, Natural and Geological resources that the NPS should be aware of, as well as asking what kind of access is desired. Another question asks about the types of facilities or infrastructure desired to be built on the parcel.

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Sierra McDaniel, Acting Deputy Natural Resource Manager for the park, discusses natural resources of the Pōhue Bay parcel, shown in pale buff, with Ranchos residents Kate and Henry Szadziowski. Copies of this map were on easels at each station. The grey areas denote privately owned land. The pink triangular shaped property is the open space owned by the County. The light blue-green  area on the western edge of the map is Manuka State Park. The buff-colored area includes part of the Kahuku Unit above Hwy 11, which the NPS acquired in 2004. Photo by Peter Bosted