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Leiahi'ena Ka'awa <br /> February 4, 2024 <br /> Re: Testimony in opposition of the Punalu`u Land Development(Black Sands Beach LLC) <br /> Aloha,my name is Leiahi`ena Ka`awa. I live in the ahupua`a of Palauhulu, in the moku of Ka`u. I <br /> am writing this testimony in strong opposition to the proposed Development plan at Punalu`u put forth by <br /> Black Sand Beach LLC. I am a lineal descendant of the lands of Punalu`u,Nmole and Wailau, Land <br /> Commission Award 48760 and Land Commission Award 47313. <br /> I am asking of you all today to please take into consideration the future of both Ka`u and the <br /> people of Ka`u. The importance of keeping Punalu`u untouched by mass development is because <br /> Punalu`u is home to native,endemic and endangered plants and animals, ancient and traditional places of <br /> worship and ceremony, ancestral burials,fresh water springs,brackish water pools, and because Punalu`u <br /> has provided the people of Ka`u an abundance of food and resources to feed the multitudes of generations <br /> it has. The untouched and undeveloped state of punalu`u would allow us to keep these practices alive. <br /> This is the way the kanaka `61wi in Ka`u have learned to live,to live with the intention of reciprocation as <br /> one with the land,with the awareness that the health of the land reflects the health of her people. <br /> Our Ka`u community's long standing goal is to protect our beloved and untouched 80 mile coast <br /> to perpetuate our rural lifestyle and Hawaiian culture. My `ohana and I are here to oppose the potential <br /> harm that this 343 acre resort would bring to Ka`u`s untouched coastlines and waterways. I speak today in <br /> hopes of finding a more sustainable and practical avenue of land management to the fragile environment <br /> that Punalu`u is. I speak today in hopes of raising my future children in the conditions of a healthy <br /> environment in the same kept and untouched areas of Ka`u,just as I have been raised. <br /> I`d like to end my testimony with the `61elo no`eau 41932; "Ku`u ewe,ku`u piko,ku`u iwi,ku`u <br /> koko."Meaning "My umbilical cord,my navel,my bones,my blood."This is who Punalu`u is to me. <br /> I strongly recommend an EIS. <br /> Mahalo nui, <br /> Leiahi`ena Ka`awa <br /> leiahienak(a gmail.com <br />