MIN CHARTER 2019-04-25 (2018-2020)

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Hawai`i County Charter Commission -10 April 25, 2019 The 2% Land Fund contemplates permanent protection of exceptional land for the benefit of the people of Hawai`i Island. That permanence requires different thinking about how the protected land is to be managed. We have all heard the refrain, the County can't manage the land it already has, how can we protect more? It is a good question and proposed amendment CA -18 helps solve that problem. As someone who has been involved in land conservation for some time, I can tell you that stewardship can mean much more than picking up trash and removing invasives. At its best, stewardship means involving the community and caring for the land in a virtuous cycle that brings children outdoors, gives satisfying work to young adults, and which gives older people a chance to exercise and... excuse me, and share their experience. Stewardship can mean education, rehabilitation, and joy that really changes communities for the better. Some examples of creative stewardship I have been involved in including... include permaculture demonstration gardens, student's adopting trails, and organizing themselves to maintain them, outdoor classrooms, young people reintegrating from jail into society by working on restorative justice projects on preserves, nature walks to identify and learn about native plants and wildlife, and farm days where the public can come and harvest food from protected land. To have this level of community involvement, you have to have paid staff. Even on its most basic level, all volunteer stewardship of protected lands isn't appropriate because it is simply insufficient for the amount of work that needs to be done over long periods of time. Let alone the work that can be done if the land is to be honored as we hope it will be. And it isn't fair to the land itself. We can't afford to allow degradation of protected land and reliance on strictly volunteer work increases the risk of land not being cared for properly. We need to be realistic and the proposed change to CA -18 is a flexible answer. And just quickly, on CA -27, I oppose the change in the language and agree with the Trust for Public Land's letter which you have received. The language seems to require conservation easements and we certainly don't want to do that. We want to have flexibility in whether the County acquires fee or easement rights. It seems that the proposed amendment is unnecessary. Thank you. CHR. ADAMS: Thank you very much. Ms. Ward if you could come to the table. We will go to Kona. I am sorry, I don't have the names of the testifiers. Who is first? If you would please provide your name, the agenda item, and as I have mentioned before, three minutes for one agenda item, and a maximum of five for more than one. Thank you. TONI WITHINGTON: Proposal No. CA -18 in support and CA -27 in opposition. MS. WITHINGTON: Good Morning Commissioners. My name is Toni Withington. I am representing Kohala Lihikai and I am speaking in support of CA -18 and I am speaking in opposition to CA -27. Kohala Lihikai is a 501(c) (3) non-profit that was formed, the Board of Directors of Kohala Lihikai are Page 6