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run-off from the development, which has happened quite frequently in the past, all
<br /> freshwater sources will be affected.
<br /> This in turn will have negative impacts on the marine life. This includes the many native
<br /> fish who love the brackish water of Punalu'u Bay, as well as the 'opihi, including the ko'ele
<br /> variety, the wana, the crabs and many rare varieties of limu, which grow along the
<br /> shorelines.
<br /> Allowing development at Punalu'u will also have significant negative impact on the
<br /> threatened Honu'ea Hawksbill turtles, as well as green sea turtles, who lay their eggs in the
<br /> sands of Punalu'u and love to bask on the warm black sand. Increased use of Punalu'u
<br /> beach by occupants of the development will harm these turtles, who according to experts,
<br /> should have as little human contact as possible. Other sea animals who also use Punalu'u
<br /> is the 'llioholoikauaua, or Hawaiian monk seal, who comes to rest on the sands at Punalu'u.
<br /> Allowing development to occur at Punalu'u will irreversibly impact the fragile and pristine
<br /> ecosystem of Punalu'u Bay, its black sand beach, as well as Ninole Cove and the alkaline
<br /> ponds in the area. Specifically development will disturb the habitats of endemic birds, like
<br /> the koloa duck, which is known to nest there, as well as the pueo, or Hawaiian owl, the 'io,
<br /> or Hawaiian hawk, as well as the 'ope'ape'a, or Hawaiian hoary bat, all observed regularly
<br /> at Punalu'u. In addition, it will also affect the rare orange-black Hawaiian damselfly, whose
<br /> breeding grounds are the coastal ponds of Punalu'u.
<br /> Rare native plant species that will also be negatively impacted by the development include
<br /> the critically endangered native loulu palm, the pua kala, or native poppy, as well as the
<br /> ma'o or native cotton, all part of Punalu'u's fauna ecosystem.
<br /> Punalu'u is also of historic significance, as an important wahi pana, with multiple heiau and
<br /> other archeological sites, caves, pre-contact burials sites etc., which all need protection
<br /> from over-use by outsiders, especially tourists who are unaware of their significance, and
<br /> as a result frequently end up damaging and/or destroying valuable cultural and historic
<br /> sites, polluting these areas with rubbish and desecrating sacred areas with their human
<br /> waste.
<br /> There is no doubt that the proposed development will increase the number of people using
<br /> Punalu'u, which will also increase the incidents of illegal taking of sand, as well as the
<br /> culturally important 'ili'ili hanau. With large tour buses and hundreds of other tourists
<br /> visiting this small black-sand beach on a daily basis, Punalu'u is already overcrowded. And
<br /> that is perhaps my most important point. Research shows that if tourist use exceeds the
<br /> carrying capacity of beaches like Punalu'u it will impact the coastal ecosystem. As a result,
<br /> voting for an increased use of Punalu'u by approving this SMA permit, is in direct violation
<br /> of the state policy cited above.
<br /> As a native Hawaiian family whose ancestral bones rest in Ka'o, as well as Ka'o
<br /> landowners, we urge that you DO NOT approve the SMA permit, which will allow
<br /> developers with no knowledge or relation to Punalu'u to profit from this special wahi pana,
<br /> while significantly increasing the risk of irreversible losses to Punalu'u's natural
<br /> environment, its marine life, fauna and flora, as well as the desecration of the many cultural
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