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WHEREAS, on April 25, 2025, the State of Hawaii Board of Land and Natural
<br />Resources approved for a Legacy Land Conservation Grant Award in the amount of $700,000 to
<br />nonprofit Ho`ala Kealakekua Nui to purchase and protect the Kokua Kealakekua Property, a
<br />significant amount of matching funding for the acquisition; and
<br />WHEREAS, Ho`ala Kealakekua Nui's mission is to engage in collaborative stewardship
<br />of Kealakekua Bay's natural and cultural landscape to benefit the whole community, including
<br />guests and future generations, through active restoration, outreach, and education; and
<br />WHEREAS, Kealakekua Bay is threatened by unmanaged tourism, habitat degradation,
<br />overuse, and desecration of cultural sites; and
<br />WHEREAS, the Kokua Kealakekua Property sits mauka of the Ka`awaloa trailhead, also
<br />known as Captain Cook Monument Trail, and will become a managed gateway to accessing the
<br />537-acre Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park, a vast cultural and natural landscape that
<br />contains heiau complexes, anchialine ponds, the historic Kona agricultural field system, fishing
<br />villages, burial grounds, and Kealakekua Bay, which is a Marine Life Conservation District,
<br />home to a coral reef ecosystem and diverse marine habitat; and
<br />WHEREAS, the acquisition of title or conservation easement for the Kokua Kealakekua
<br />Property would be significantly beneficial to the County for the following reasons:
<br />(1) Protecting cultural and natural resources;
<br />(2) Preserving and restoring native species;
<br />(3) Facilitating responsible managed public access to Ka`awaloa trail;
<br />(4) Enabling descendant and community -based management, stewardship, and economic
<br />development; and
<br />(5) Perpetuating the lifestyle, culture, and history of South Kona; and
<br />WHEREAS, there has been great support from organizations for the conservation of the
<br />Kokua Kealakekua Property, including H6'ala Kealakekua Nui, the Trust for Public Land, along
<br />with State of Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources; now, therefore,
<br />BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I that,
<br />pursuant to Chapter 2, Article 42 of the Code, the Director of Finance is hereby authorized to
<br />enter into negotiations for the acquisition of lands or conservation easements, or both, for all or a
<br />portion of the properties identified as Tax Map Key Nos. (3) 8-1-009:007 and 008, also known as
<br />the Kokua Kealakekua Property, situated in the Ahupua`a of Ka`awaloa, District of South Kona,
<br />utilizing the Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Fund.
<br />BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Finance is hereby authorized to
<br />initiate any funding mechanisms required for the acquisition of lands or conservation easements
<br />for all or a portion of the properties, in accordance with the terms of this resolution.
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