HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-09-16 GMAC Minutes Final Draft Game Management Advisory Commission
County of Hawai'i
Minutes
Meeting Date: September 16, 2025
Time: 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Place: Zoom and In-Person - 25 Aupuni Ctr., Ste. 1501, Hilo HI
1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL: Meeting was called to order at 9:05 am
District 1— Robert Duerr, Present, in person
District 2 -Taysen Wong-Chong Present, in person
District 3— Rhon Leomana Turalde, Present in person
District 4— Brian Ley— Present, in person
District 5—Vacant
District 6—Vacant
District 7—Abel Aquino, Present via Zoom
District 8—Cortney Okumura — Excused
District 9—Justin Ackerman, Present via Zoom
Quorum Established with 6 attending and 1 excused.
STAFF: Sinclair Salas-Ferguson, Deputy Attorney, Corp Counsel
Cody Frenz, Deputy Attorney, Corp Counsel
Micah Alameda, Executive Assistant to Mayor Alameda
Barbara Kossow, Administrative Specialist Mayor's Kona Office
Jeff Kahakua, ITTech, Kona
LT: Housekeep Rules: Please make sure your cell phone is turned off or in silent mode for all
of us attending in person. Please remember to speak into the microphone when you
speak so that your statements can be recorded and transcribed. Under HRS 92-3 the
Sunshine Law, GMAC can remove any person who willfully disrupts the meeting or
prevents and compromises the conduct of the meeting. All people appearing before
GMAC are reminded to conduct themselves in a courteous manner. For testimony those
in person for those who would like to testify please fill out the public registration form
right here. For those on Zoom, please put it on the Chat, let us know your name and the
agenda item you would like to testify on, and we can allot you that time. Just a reminder,
anyone who willfully disrupts our meeting may be kicked out of the meeting. Question
from the public, for those on zoom, if you have a question put in the Chat.
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Just going back to Question, it's something that we are mandatory to answer, if we have
extra time, per the Chair and Vice-Chair of the commission we answer questions if we
can, that's not something that we normally do.
LT: Protocol.
Just a reminder if you are a commissioner and you are speaking you have to have your
camera's on and if you are a commissioner you have to let us know who else is in the
room with you. And if you are by yourself or not? Commissioner Aquino we wanted to
know if you're by yourself or not in your office?
AA: I am outside my home completely alone.
LT: Right on...thank you very much for checking in. And last District 9-
Justin Akerman?
JA: Yep, unmuted now, I'm home alone and I can hear you.
LT: Thank you.
PAUSE - MEETING BEING HACKED - IT Tech JEFF KAHAKUA IS TAKING CARE OF IT
JK: All right I think I got them....I'll go ahead and unmute everybody...
BK: It's not going to happen again?
JK: Hilo side go ahead and unmute...
RD: The one person who we didn't know is this Jacob character...
JK: I got ummm...no worries...inaudible
LT: Mahalo for that...sorry for the hacking again. This is what goes on with the digital world.
We'll talk about this later. Jumping back to the agenda item #2.
2. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS:
Chair Turalde welcomes anyone that may want to say something regarding an agenda item
may do so anytime throughout the meeting.
LT: Do we have any interested members from the public that would like to testify on
any of our agenda items, we can talk about right now upfront or else before each
agenda item comes up you can remind me.
JK: I'm sorry Hilo, could you go ahead and re-enable your video please?
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LT: And if you are in zoom, please raise your hand if you would like to speak and also
put your name and agenda item in the comment section. Thank you very much.
For all of us in person. No, maika'i.
Moving on to agenda #3
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
• June 17, 2025, Regular Session
• July 1, 2025, Special Meeting regarding the General Plan
• July 15, 2025, Regular Session
Action: A motion was made by B. Ley to accept July 17,July 1, and July 151", 2025, minutes
as circulated. Second by R. Duerr. Motion carried unanimously.
LT: Thank you very much, discussion about the minutes. Right now, we have three (3)
packets in front of us, one from the regular session then we have one from the
special meeting regarding the General Plan and then we have our July 15th
meeting. Did everybody have a chance to look over that? I think my own opinion
about the minutes is maybe, I don't know if aunty has to type it all out or we
recorded and we get the captions on it, but reading the minutes, it was kind
of...what is it called? It was...not everything that was said is in our minutes. I
cannot bring up all of the words, it seems like a summary, and I want to ask you
guys if we wanted a little more detailed word for word or is this summary style...
BK: Aloha Chair this is Barbara, the only one was the special meeting, everything else
was verbatim, so on the special meeting on July 1st, all of you requested verbatim,
so I have the rough draft done and I'm clearing that up and I have a senior
volunteer because Megan retired, who did the transcribing. You'll get a
transcription verbatim for the July 1st special meeting. The June 17t" and July 15t"
meeting were from the recording as long as it's recorded it was all typed out; we
took out some of the words (cleaned up) that shouldn't be in there.
LT: Yea h...Thank you very much.
BK: and we cleaned it out and it's verbatim pretty much, okay?
LT: Yes, ma'am Thank you very much for clearing that up with me. I was reading the
minutes for the special meeting and looking at the other ones
And I was kind of... Oh the outline was different but thank you for that clear up.
All right, any other discussion. All in favor of all the minutes passing say Aye. The
Aye's has it. None opposes, motion carries. It passes. Thank you, guys. Moving
on to the next agenda item.
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4. COMMISSIONERS DISTRICT REPORT:
a. Each Commissioner will provide updates and share concerns about their respective
districts; Commissioners to decide on whether to add those topics at the next meeting
and to invite the public to provide testimonies and presentations at their meeting.
Permitted Interaction Groups may be created at this time. There will otherwise be no
discussion or voting, which will be reserved for when it is itemized on a future agenda.
RD: District 1- 1 don't have much, talking about Wailoa ramp, it's not my district, but I use it
a lot. Essentially some items needed to be addressed, most importantly the bathrooms.
Seems to be an ongoing push constantly what's happening next, when do we get the
inaudible...That's all I have.
LT: Thank you very much District 1. Moving on District 2...
TC: Taysen Wong Chong, District 2 1 don't have much but, Liliokulani is having a lot of clean
up, bridges are back open, I'm pretty sure they will let us know...KC he was the that
snipped that ribbon...still hearing reports, I got some pictures back, I know it's out of my
area, but Mana road a ram was shot on the side of the road, kinda sad...but
ummm..that's about it for me...Nothing really change...
LT: Okay, thank you very much District 2. District 3- Leomana Turalde. Just for District 3
couple of the updates...Was bill 51 was about to pass, I dunno on what day it was. Just
an easy count this past weekend...I counted about ten (10) pigs at the dump that was
being fed, right by the old recycle spot, at the top of Ponohawai, I saw aunty hand
feeding the pigs again...That is always a constant thing. I see more pigs and fowl
popping up around in District 3, all the way from Keaau in the middle of the town of
Keaau all the way to Keaukaha. It's not the egg birds, it's more of the fighting chickens
getting loose, so it's not the egg layers. It was a year ago in Keaukaha that the Rhode
Island red being released everywhere. I still see public feeding of animals on top of our
government properties. That is one thing I've seen this past weekend. Another one was
the waste station over by the airport, I drove in the back, and it seems like they have
construction fully renovating the wastewater treatment facility in the back of our
airport. Something that is still on my mind is the pollution. Maybe you know about this
the pollution from our exhaust pipes that go right out in front of Onekahakaha.
Something I wanted to do was to talk to our Mayor and County Council and see how we
can get that exhaust pipe moved to the back in Puna behind Mauna Loa Mac Nut, where
the drop off is closer to shore verses in the middle of the bay of Keaukaha. And that's
the update for District 3...thank you very much. Moving on to District 4
BL: Brian Ley District 4— First I want to apologize to the IT guy, if he took it personally, that I
was upset with the derogatory hacking once again at our meeting and everything else....
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BK: Excuse me Chair, we lost Abel, so I'm going to call him...
LT: Okay thank you...
BL: All right for District 4 [inaudible] Pohohiki, we're on a roll we were too far ahead, now
there are delays on equipment that they had scheduled wasn't available sooner and last
time I was over there, they were putting the crane together and they look like they were
moving forward...so the. It's going, it's just slow now, we were on a good roll. The
inaudible...pigs are doing wonderful well, and as far as the broken water for the goats up
in the hunting area mile marker 18, is still broken after a year. Corporate Counsel can I
ask you a question? Is there any possible way the county can file suit against the DLNR
for not following the law we have passed. They were to provide adequate management
for our game animals. Broken water is a bare minimal, and we even can't get that, and
we got people complaining about the animals being on the road looking for water and
food and the State can't even keep the waters functioning after a year and I would be
interested if the County would step in and say this is a State Law you guys need to do
your job. As far as that, public access seems to be a big thing, back to that Cell Tower
for the Goat turning area has been closed, I think for the whole season which was one of
the prime areas lock and loading hunting. I know that the Golf course has been
complaining about the goats and everything, I don't know why that has been closed
hunting muzzle loading for the goats, when goats seems [inaudible] and we're not
having access areas where we can effectively hunt, especially for the handicap...it's easy
access, nice terrain...for the handicap hunter...prime location, and the county Kimball
your lady talking about [inaudible] to go to Waipio valley, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly,
for locals and everybody else. It was brought up in a meeting and what she would like
to implement. And I know we have had problems with access in the Ka'u area and
everything else and we've had meetings every week and I know we need to do
something, and if we could do something about public access to hunting areas and
everything, with the County and State, because I know the County isn't enforcing these
land owners, when they sell the property it isn't being recorded an easement, that they
are supposed to supply an easement for the public, either for the shores, or public
hunting areas, and everything else like that. You know, access...for everybody on the
island is being severely, we need to look into that. And I have three (3) months of notes
from these meetings...And we have fire seasons, we were having multiple fires, I
reached back out to our lady Jill, talked to our environmental guy and he just blew me
off...and I've just come to the conclusion that the County, State, the Federal do nothing
for fire management. We do nothing as far as what standard practice as far as the rest
of the nation, don't control fires, don't keep fire loads down, we don't do anything... so
all the government are hand in hand with all the fires we were having...and when we get
another disaster fire like Mauna kea, Waikoloa, and everything else, everyone throws up
their hands, and say, "how did this happen?", it's because nobody has done anything for
the past ten (10) years that we've been screaming about, we need to do something
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about fire management. Like I said in the Goat area, it's just so dry, it just ridicules the
fountain grass crackling. It's a spark in a good wind and that whole area would be
engulfed. We're sitting on a time bomb. And that's enough joy and happiness for me
today so thank you all very much.
NOTE:In Hawaii, if a property sells with an unrecorded easement, it can be challenging but not
impossible to discover the history.An unrecorded easement does not provide public notice, so a
new owner may not be legally bound by it unless they had "actual or constructive notice".A
comprehensive search will likely require looking beyond the official record and investigating
other historical information
?: Kimball...inaudible
LT: Okay thank you very much...that was District number 4, moving on to District 7 Mr. Abel
Aquino, he's back on here...
AA: I am here, I'm disabled by Host
LT: Yes sir, I got you
AA: Awesome, I just wanted to revisit the July 15t" issues for the Manta permit being
uncapped, the cruise ship waste dumping too close to shore and graffiti on the lava
rocks. Mostly north of Keahole Airport. If we could put these issues on the next
agenda.
LT: Just noted that down, is that it?
AA: Yes, Possible solution for fire hazards are bucket lines of drones actually, they're getting
cheaper to operate, and could be deploy pretty easily, where instead of a single
helicopter dumping one bucket at a time, you could have about 5 drones just none stop
cycle from the ocean, that's a possibility we could discuss later.
LT: Thank you very much. I just want to comment about the graffiti on the lava rocks. I
know Ironman is coming up and I was thinking of taking a trip up there during the
Ironman to do a little investigation if I can find people doing graffiti or try to find out
what the inspiration for people doing that is.
AA: I think that's a lot of it, you're right...even some signs would help, you know it might
even be like a temporary chalk that actually leaving permanent scars on the pahoehoe.
Not so much the a'a, but the pahoehoe. Was really cool back in the days, when
everybody would arrange the white coral rocks and do that, but this new school, by
using chalk or paint or whatever it is leaving permanent damage.
LT: Let's go check that. Thank you very much
AA: Thank you
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LT: Moving on to District 9 Mr. Justin Akerman, is he in here?
JA: Yeah, all right, I'm alive...Just had to get unmuted. Nothing much to report. Everything
is quiet up here in District 9,just my normal mantra about the range is in pretty good
shape. I know it's not my District, but I'm there every week or two. It's in pretty good
shape...Just remember propane bottles are not targets, it's my, that's my public service
announcement. If you're going to shoot a propane bottle, take it home!
LT: Thank you very much...
JA: Don't make me do it...and I agree with Abel...Stop painting the rocks, I drive that road, I
drive Queen K all the time, living up here, it's disgusting to see lava disgraced like that.
NOTE: Graffiti on Hawaii's lava rocks is widely considered disgraceful because it is illegal, culturally
disrespectful, and a form of vandalism against a sacred and historic landscape. While some
might mistake it for a form of local expression, this practice harms the natural environment and
defaces culturally significant sites. Graffiti on Hawaii Island lava rocks take several forms:
• Coral graffiti:For many years, people would use white pieces of coral to spell out words or create
designs on the black lava fields, particularly along the highway in Waikoloa. Years of community
effort and cleanups have reduced this practice.
• Painted graffiti:More blatant vandalism with spray paint has been found on rocks in protected
areas, including the Mauna Kea Ice Age Natural Area Reserve.
• Rock structures and cairns: The building of rock cairns(piles)and other structures from coral and
archaeological stone is considered disrespectful and prohibited in national parks
LT: Okay Thank you very much...that ends our District updates...Moving on to Agenda 5
Presentations Agenda 5 A Our first presentation is by Bret Nainoa Mossman, DLNR
Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFA) Natural Area Reserve System, Hawaii Island
Avian Biologist to speak on the "Palila and its Endangered Species Recovery Status and
Analysis including analysis of the "Technical Report HCSU-115 2022-2024 Status and
Trends of the Palia (Loxioides Bailleui)." Aloha sir, you got the con...
5. PRESENTATION:
a. Bret Nainoa Mossman, DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) Natural Area
Reserve System, Hawai'i Island Avian Biologist to speak on the "Palila and its
Endangered Species Recovery Status and Analysis including analysis of the "Technical
Report HCSU-115 2022—2024 Status and Trends of the Palila (Loxioides Bailleui)."
BM: Yep, Aloha everyone, thank you. I'll just go ahead and share my screen, let me know if
there's any issues coming through. Let's see, gotta get approval real fast. Here we go,
can you folks see my screen, okay?
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LT: Now we can...
BM: Perfect...and is it showing you the presentation and not the notes?
LT: Okay, yep, we got it.
BM: Okay, perfect...thank you for that introduction Leomana. My name is Brett Nainoa
Mossman, and I just moved from the Natural Area Reserve system to the Statewide
Forestry Recovery coordinator, but I'm still with the department of forestry and wildlife
and I'm coming to you guys from Oahu today, but I'm still based primarily on Hawaii
Island. Just a little background about myself, so I was born in Utah, and I grew up hunting
and fishing, my family is from couple different islands, but Maui, Oahu and Kauai, are the
three (3) where I have ancestry. I moved to Hilo, Panaewa in 2017 for grad school and I
currently live in Waimea with my uncle Mike and aunty Bina, and the first native bird I
worked on worked on was Palila in 2016. Just a couple of pictures of me as a little kid
with some He'e and the first deer that I shot was in High School, here's me more recently
I'iwi matching my shirt. So just a little bit of background on the Palila, the Palila is a large
Hawaiian honey creeper, their one of largest honey creeper 30 to 40 grams in the wild.
They are endemic to the Hawaiian Island. And as you know they have a bright yellow
head, and breasts with a gray back, wings, and sides, and they have a black bill and black
legs, or black grayish bill and legs. The last finch bill species in the main Hawaiian Islands.
We used to have a wide diversity of species of finches here, up to 55 species, and Palila is
the last one that has this finch-like bill for eating seeds and fruits. And they feed almost
exclusively on Mamane. Over ninety (90%) percent of their diet comes from Mamane,
mostly it's the green pod and they also feed on leaf, tips, flowers and all different parts of
the plant. They also feed on things like na'e na'e and na'io, but by enlarging mostly on
Mamane, which is the most important plant for their diet. The habitat for Palila is mostly
found, historically mostly found in three (3) areas, one is called the dry mixed Mamane
naia woodland, that's the dominate habitat on Mauna Kea. They are also found in arid
Sub-Alpine Mamane Forest and mix mesic dry forest.
NOTE:A mesic dry forest describes an ecological community with moderate moisture(mesic)and a
significant drought component, often found in tropical and subtropical regions, where trees are
adapted to shed leaves to conserve water during dry periods.Another interpretation could be a
"dry-mesic"forest, which refers to a forest type that thrives on drier-than-average sites with
moderate soil moisture, not fully dry or fully wet
As you look at this map, it's basically all the orange area is potential Palila habitat, like the
same rainfall pattern that they're typically found. And pretty much they are found around
Mauna Kea, and in this orange area and some of the brown area, and some of the light
green area, on the leeward side of the Island historically. And here is a betterview of that
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range map. So here on the left you can see the historical range of Mamane on Hawaii
island, and then this is the historic range of Palila, sorry it's a little covered up by the text,
but for the most part they are found around Mauna Kea down through the saddle region
between Mauna Kea and Hualalai around Hualalai and down the leeward side of Mauna
Loa. Pre-historically though however, they were found on Kauai and Oahu, and it's the
same species we have today. There was a second species, Palila, that went extinct and
that were only found on Kauai. Historically Palila have been only known since western
contact, but there is a story Palila recorded in Fornander that talks about the Palila the
warrior, it's kind of a mythological story, it goes through the life and history of this warrior
his path through the Islands correspond almost exactly to the historical range...to the
known fossil range of the Palila. So, we've known about range of these birds for quite
some time, even in pre-historic contacts through oral traditions. And so just to give a little
more background to,the historic populations transfer Palila has been,were stable up until
the early 2000, so from about 1980 all the way to the early 2000, the Palila fluctuated
between 3 to 6000 individuals, and this pattern of fluctuation tracked almost perfectly to
drought conditions throughout that time period. But then you can see in the early 2000,
they kind of take a steep dive down, and that's when we started this period of
unprecedent dryness that got most of the year 2007 to 2014 and here you can see the
direct impact of that drying. So, from early 2000, when you saw that stable population,
by 2005 you have this huge drop in Palila population, and they've been slowly trending
down since, where most of the years were around 2005 and 2009, as key points of
inflection for the Palila population.
NOTE:An inflection point is a point on a curve where its curvature changes,for example,from bending
upwards(concave up) to bending downwards(concave down), or vice versa.
Since then, they have continued to decline, and this is highlighting that most recent
paper that was published. So, in 2022 we had our lowest count of Palila ever recorded,
and that was an estimated 545 individuals. In 2003 we had a slight up-tick, with a
population of 596, and similarly in 2004, and basically in 2004 numbers we know 1.5
birds per acre within the Palila core habitat. Also, exciting or hopefully looking a little bit
better since 2022 we had a very slight increase in the number of detections and in the
estimated population. Hopefully the expanded management efforts that have been
implemented which we will get to later in this presentation, had hopefully started to
turn this around. Oh, yeah, but that's kind of jest of it. If we need to later, we can get
into more of the details of this paper, but this is the same methodology that's been used
since the 80's to estimate abundance for these species as well as for other species
across Hawaii. So, another one that we kind a took a looked at that data, the same data
that we collected, over that time period, was published more recently, and this one is
using a new methodology that we've been doing. So, all that data from 1980, clear
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through to 2022 was based on annual, oh sorry...from 1980 all the way to 2024 was
based only on the annual surveys that are done typically in January and February. But
since 2022, we have started to do quarterly surveys to get a better idea as of where the
birds are throughout the year. This paper is looking at the quarterly surveys that are
done every January and February and I believe May, August and November, are the
four-time period that we do our quarterly survey. So, this paper took that data up and
basically try to identify where a Palila hot spot is, so this is kind of the most
important...and then, one other thing I will also add is the quarterly data also supported
the annual population data and all the numbers were pretty much identical to what they
found from the annual survey data. So, this was kind of another way to estimate the
population with a smaller sample size. So, according to the quarterly data, what this can
show us is where the Palila hotspots are and how they've changed overtime. So, in
2020 you can see, I apologize this is kind of small, they have put a lot of images on one
thing, but, basically in 2020 there were two (2) hot spots. One up kind of to the
Northeast of Pu'u Mana'o and one (1) down right near the Palila discovery trail, right at
kind of by Pu'u La'au. So, since 2020 that hotspot has decreased in size and really
concentrated in the Northeast section by Pu'u Mana'o. And...but,just a note to that
hotspot didn't change over the last five (5) years, it's pretty much has been that area,
since that analysis was looked at. This paper was really good to highlight where the
Palila are, possibly important areas on the mountain are for them. This is just to show a
little bit more detail into the survey effort that went into estimating these Palila
populations for both of these papers, so, from 2022 to 2025, we've surveyed a total of
19 transects and in that time, we've done over 3,000 surveys stations. So that means we've had
a biologist at a station surveying these stations for at least six(6) minutes
NOTE: Palila (Loxioides bailleui) are critically endangered, finch-billed Hawaiian
honeycreepers (family Fringillidae), and the last of the seed specialists in this adaptive
radiation remaining within the main Hawaiian Islands. Approximately 2.84 million years
ago, palila diverged from the ancestors of the Laysan finch (Telespiza cantans) and Nihoa
finch (Telespiza ultima; Lerner et al. 2011), and colonized the dry forests of at least Kauai,
Oahu, and the Island of Hawaii (Olson and James 1982, Burney et al. 2001, Banko et al.
2020), based on subfossil and historical evidence.They evolved to feed almost exclusively
upon the seed pods of endemic mamane (Sophora chrysophylla;family Fabaceae), which
contain compounds toxic to most other species (Banko et al. 2002a). Their dependence
on mamane seeds has increased markedly compared to their reconstructed diet showing
greater exploitation of caterpillars more than a century ago (Van Houtan et al. 2024).
Today, they are found only in subalpine dry forest on the Southwest slope of Mauna Kea,
and in that whole time, we detected 663 Palila. And so here is just a little bit more of a
breakdown, so in 2022 is when we first started to do the Quarterly survey, so that year
we did just 386 stations, which is typical for the annual survey. In 2023 we started doing
more of the quarterly survey, we didn't have quite enough biologists to do as many as we
would like, so we ended up doing about 880 stations, and in 2024 we were kind of...we
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were able to finally hit the goal...the number of stations we were hoping to, as we got up
to 1,000 stations...a little over 1,000 stations. And in 2025 so far, we surveyed 788
stations. And our next survey is coming up in November. And just too kind to highlight
what our thoughts are to be the causes of this Palila decline we've seen over the years,
the number one (1) cause seems to be drought. So, they seem to be really tied to the
drought index and vegetation index we've been looking at, and one that has been more
of a problem historically, is habitat loss. So, a lot of their previous habitat has burned or
browsed or converted via ranching and then the other major issues that they are
experiencing are predation by nonnative predators, most impactful are feral cats, rats and
barn owls maybe playing some effect. One other possible place where they are struggling
via competition and this actually primarily with things like introduced yellow jackets (
Vespula pensylvanica), ants and other insect pests that are eating their moth prey, which
is really important for them during the breeding season, because they are trying to feed
the young Palila a lot of protein. So, this paper was really super helpful as well, this came
out, also this year, and this one is looking at across the board, what are the things that
seem to be really tying into the Palila population and abundance. This one we're really
interested in looking at how drought impacts vegetation health and how that correlated
to the Palila population. And so, basically, they did a couple of different things. They
looked at the change of the Palila distribution, and they were looking for key population
break points. And I kind of mentioned that earlier, but basically what they've seen is Palila
have really shifted from this Northern...the Northwestern part of the range into this
Northeastern part of the range over the last several years. This particularly occurred
between 2005 to 2009 when we had these key inflection points in the Palila populations.
And 2005 is really key because it is when we had the steepest rate of Palila decline, so for
that year the slope was about 2.25 and so we saw this really hard, hard decline in the
Palila numbers starting that year. So, what is this Normalize Difference Vegetation Index
(NDVI)?
NOTE: A vegetation index (VI) is a numerical value derived from satellite or aerial imagery that
quantifies the density, health, and vigor of vegetation by analyzing the light reflected and
absorbed by plants. By comparing light reflectance in different spectral bands, especially
the red and near-infrared (NIR) regions, Ws help monitor vegetation cover, assess
agricultural conditions, and understand ecological dynamics.
This is an interesting one, where you can actually use remote imaging, use satellite
imaging to basically assess the health of the plants in a given area. So, basically you look
at the percentage of NIR and the percentage of Red coloration that is reflected off of
plants.
NOTE: The "percentage of the NIR formula" refers to the Natural Increase Rate (NIR) formula,
which is calculated as the crude birth rate (CBR) minus the crude death rate (CDR), then
divided by 10 to express the result as a percentage of the population.
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NOTE: "Percentage of red coloration" refers to the amount of red in a specific color, typically
expressed as a percentage within a color model like IIG.D.(Red Green Blue)
or ,IMYM1.G,(Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black)
So, basically, as a plant is healthier it has a higher NIR and if a plant is less healthy it would
have a lower NIR and it would look redder, that kind of brown affect that you see. And
so, basically as you see, when you have a drought, plants are going to browner, and you're
not going to have as much vegetation. When you have good water year plants are going
to be greener, and that is going to be really strong correlate to the Mamane pod
availability and thus the Palila breeding success and population. So, over the last several
I guess 2 decades now, in this paper they looked at the NDVI* or that vegetation
index...and so,you look at the monthly vegetation health index over the last several years,
you can see in the early 2000, there was some fluctuation, but it was overall, there was a
little bit of a drought in the early 2000 after the 90's, after the late 1990's and it kind of
part...and you got a little bit more water, coming in at the end of 2004 and from 2004 to
2014 it was a continuous decline in plant health. Then in 2014 we got more precipitation
up there, and since then it's remained pretty stable. And what seems to be one of the
key numbers are, oh yeah sorry, I'm getting a little ahead of myself...so we've had pretty
good conditions on the mountain for the last several years. I did pull more recent data,
and as we all know it's been very dry this summer and we're getting pretty close to some
of the danger level that we saw between 2005 and 2009, 2014..sorry...It's starting to be a
little more concerning up there, I'm hoping we get some moisture here. But one thing
that's getting interesting is even so if we've had good conditions in early 2000 and 2004
and worst conditions in 2005 and 2009, but you can see this little patch of forest kind of
that Northeast section by Mana'o that is still maintain a pretty healthy condition. And
that seems to be mostly in response to fog drip. So, a lot of you know spend time on
Mauna Kea it would get really misty up certain areas, and this little section right... by Pu'u
Mana'o tends to get a lot more cloud cover then the rest of the mountain. So, that's the
current theory for why that is proven to be more healthy or proving to have more healthy
vegetation, even in really dry conditions and it tracks as well to see that's where the Palila
is spending a significate portion of their time, based off our survey data. This kind of
show...or tracks drought severity index so, you can see in the late 1990's we were coming
out of a drought and in the 2000 we were in a drought and the early 2000 to 2014 were
pretty severe drought conditions, and now we kind of hovering just out of drought since
2014 to 2025. 2025 we're dropping back into drought conditions. And then, one other
thing, ...I'll highlight later...sorry...Key take away from this paper as vegetation health
declined from late 2004 to 2013, the drought prevails in 74% of months from 2000 to
2005 to 2011, excuse me...really, really rough time for the mountain, particularly for
Palila. The two worst droughts in the last century here, occurred in 2007...occurred
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between 2007 and 2014, and they were most severed on leeward Hawaii Island. Because
of these massive drought affects the Palila population declined dramatically. Now they
are really being hit by these small population dynamics. So, basically if there is any level
of predation or anything else that's preventing us from bouncing back now that we've
had wetter conditions over these last several years. But with all of this possible drought
refugia was located, so, we know this one area seems to be pretty resistant to drought.
NOTE: A drought refugium is a localized area that retains higher levels of water or moisture
during a drought, providing a habitat for plants and animals when surrounding areas are dry and
inhospitable.
So, that's really important because, that lines up directly with that previous study where
the Palila hotspot was. So not only have we found the Palila hotspot, we also found the
area that seems to be the most resistant to drought. So that really highlights the area
that's really important one to be conserving in the future. So that brings us to, what is
DOFAW doing to reverse the decline of the Palila and what are our future actions and
what we would like to get implemented on the mountain. So, the big one that has been
in progress for many, many years is forest restoration. So, in 2022 up till September of
2025, these are the number of trees we've replanted. 2022 particularly the Mauna Kea
forestry reforestation project planted 31,000 trees, and about 29,000 trees, in 2023...a
little over 21,000 in 2024 and so far in 2025 we're up to 18,000 trees planted and the last
two years, the planting of trees have sifted a little bit...so most of the efforts were focus
on the Pu'u Mali and the Kahoe restoration areas, we're now shifting a lot of restoration
effort to that skyline road area, especially by Pu'u Mana'o to try to increase the size of
that drought refuge area and hopefully get higher Mamane recruit and survival rates. The
other thing that has really expanded over the last few years is predator's control, so, now
Mauna Kea Forest Restoration Project and the
East Hawaii Wildlife Program are operating over 1,000 cat traps on the mountain, these
are in operation in all times, except during dog training season and the bird season.
Because a lot of these traps are capable of killing dogs...and we don't want to hinder, or
we don't want to have anybody lose their prized hunting dogs...companion in the cat
control efforts. We also put in about 1,000 rat and mongoose level traps and this basically
covers the whole area of Mamane and Na'io forest below the Palila area. ...below the
Palila hotspot in an effort to control rats. And this is mostly to address some of these
small population dynamics concerns. You know if we can save just a handful of Palila from
getting killed by these nonnative predators it can go a long way in helping the population
rebound. So, from 2022 to 2025 Mauna Kea Restoration Project has removed 312 cats
from Mauna Kea, 396 mongooses, at least 106 rats, and 251 mice. I say at least for those
two species, because the traps we are using for those are self-re-setting traps that just
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drop the caucus below, we've had a lot of pigs come in and scavenge any of the animals
that get caught by those traps, as well as mongoose and other things. Oh yeah, they also
catch the mongoose so it kind of works both ways. That's the impact that predator
control has had over the last couple of years. Like I said, we're really trying to increase
that effort and really maximize targeting the area where Palila are currently found, to try
to relieve them, and you can see Palila do spend time on the ground, so even the adult
birds can be at risk from cats and other predators. And one of the other things that has
been pretty exciting is that has been put on the ground too, is the automatic recording
units, or ARU's so, basically what we have done working with Fish and Wildlife and a
NOTE: In Hawaii, an Autonomous Recording Unit(ARU) is a self-contained device used for
bioacoustics monitoring to record sounds in marine and terrestrial environments. Researchers
use them to study and protect wildlife by recording animal vocalizations, tracking populations,
and documenting environmental sounds over extended periods.
couple of other partners, is place this grid of song meters, which is basically these little
devices records bird song and just sound in general across the entire Palila range. So,
across these yellow detections, are where the Palila have been heard, since that grid
was deployed. So, we're coming up.... Once we hit November, the grid has been
deployed for an entire year, and so, it will give us a really good...these recorders record
on ten (10) minute intervals, from sunrise to eleven am - (11:00) am. It gives us a much
better in dept view of where...of what habitat Palila are using, where they are and that
is much, much better than of what we can get from just our annual surveys. So, this
will hopefully give us a much better idea of where Pallia's are concentrating and the
total area that the Palila are using. Right now, there are a hundred and thirty-four(134)
recording units deployed and we service these and replace SD cards every quarter when
we do those quarterly Palila surveys. And the nice thing is that we are able to use
quarter data like this to do population estimates, so this might be able to give us a real
population estimate like every month or every quarter at the very least. Once we really
get this process automated and work efficiently. There is still a lot of work that needs to
be done to figure those out exactly, fortunately what we are going able to do is
correlate those quarterly surveys to the times, when these quarters are out...so we can
get a really good comparison between the two (2) methods and hopefully figure out a
lot more information about how Palila are using the landscape and when. So, this is
getting into our future direction, but we're really hoping to get up there, hopefully in
the next few years the cat-proof fence. Now we are targeting a four hundred (400) acre
fence and that would be for the folks who are familiar with the area off of R-12 just to
try and create one, at least one area where there's going to be zero (0) cats predation
on Palila and it's really targeting the area that we found, the most nest in the last few
years as well as also going around that drought refugia and Palila hotspot. So, it's nice
that we can find using this different methodology, we able to find like this most
14
important area for Palila and can then target that area for more intense predator
removal and hopefully predator, like complete predator protection. And the other
method that we're looking at expending in the next year or so is rear and release. So,
from this methodology we're going to do is collect eggs from wild Palila, because what
typically Palila when their egg....they'll readily re-nest, so the idea is we're trying to
double their output for one (1) year. So, we can go and collect the egg from the wild
nest, bring those into captivity, rear them up until they are like fledging birds and
release those back into the wild flock in the same fall period. So, they can integrate with
the wild birds and learn strategies, basically the hope is to effectively double the output
of all those Palila pairs that we are able to find in the wild nesting. And so, what this is
going to entail is the construction of a flight aviary, so it would be about 100 feet by 100
feet aviary, near the Palila discovery trail. Then we'll actually have birds out on the
landscape in the aviary, once they have been there for a few weeks following their
transition from captivity they actually be release into the wild flock. So, hopefully this
will increase the number of Palila, but also bring them back to that area where there are
a lot of good resources and restoration and predator control occurring. And just to
provide a little bit of an end goal scenario I want to highlight the Palihoa, this is a native
finch species that is found on Nihoa, and this one is amazing. They currently live on an
Island Nihoa that is about one hundred seventy (170) acres. And on that Island, they
have density of birds they have about forty-three (43) birds per acre. So, you can think
back Palila was about around two (2) birds per acre in an area where there were no
predators, and habitat has been regenerating and it's in pretty...in it's in safe...and they
are completely safe from predators...their population could really increase in a relatively
small area. So, this gives me a lot of hope for work going on in that Palila refugia area.
We can really buckle down on predators and really get that habitat into better
conditions, we have a lot of potential for these birds to rebound. Yeah, there is a lot of
different things impacting them here on the main Islands that these birds out in the
Northwestern aren't dealing with. Also, the big caveat is these Palihoa on Nihoa, they
are very generalist, so they'll eat everything from dead seabirds to seabird eggs, to grass
seeds to insects.
NOTE: Caveat a warning or proviso of specific.s..t lcat�, , „'>, conditions, or limitations.
NOTE:Generalist:In environmental science, a generalist is a species with a broad ecological
niche, characterized by its ability to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions, consume
diverse food sources, and thrive in various habitats.
Where as Palila are really specific to Mamane, so they are never going to quite get to
these densities, but historical densities of Palila as many as 4-5 birds per acre. So,
hopefully in an area where we are doing intensive management, we can get that...those
numbers again. So yeah, that's pretty much everything I have today and I'm sorry that
there was a lot of information and I'm happy to take any questions. Yeah, I just
15
appreciate you folks for giving me the opportunity to present on this and appreciate
your interest on Palila.
LT: Oh, that was a fine presentation...Thank you very much sir for that presentation. That
was a lot of information. First Leomana District 3, First, I just wanna say thank you
we've been waiting to have you on for the past couple months, sorry for all the road
blocks and the stuff that have popped a up...but thank you very much for the
presentation. I'm just going to jump into what I've been thinking about and maybe you
can talk about this, is the drought factors and in two thousand twenty (2021) we had
that really big fire...across the island and I was looking at the Stats and report, I didn't
see too much of a disturbance in population count and I wanted to get your opinion or
your thoughts on the...how fires that big cannot affect the Palila count so much.
BM: Yeah, that one is mostly just based on area. That huge fire, the smoke and everything
probably had a negative impact on the birds, unless it destroys the habitat that they are
in, it's probably not going to have a big impact on the populations. And so far,
surprisingly we have been very lucky the area where Palila is found has been pretty
resistant to fire. Even we've had some recent fires nearby that was started by PTA
activities that got very close to Palila habitat and burned into some of the critical habitat
area, but over the last several years, 2021 it came right up to the boarder of that big
Parker Ranch fire came right up to the boarder of the forest reserve, but or by some
miracle it didn't go into the forest reserve itself. So that's kind of the main reason why
they haven't been impacted because their habitat hasn't been impacted by the most
recent fires, however it's always a continuous concern. Historically a lot of their habitat
has burnt in the past and Palila probably can never go back to those areas because the
canopy is completely gone. So that's why it's super important to protect a lot of these
canopy areas and to really control and keep down the fountain grass, and other invasive
species that perpetuate fire.
LT: Thank you and for my second question, I saw that you put the map up there with the
voice recorders and that bottom boundary, is that bottom boundary line on top of the
proposed release Pohakuloa land that DLNR has been discussing with the Army or do
you have any of the Audio recording Palila recording equipment on the base actually or
in the area?
BM: Yeah... so that bottom back boundary...I'm trying to think.... I think that just where,
unfortunately we don't have enough recorders to cover the entirety of the Palila core
habitat right? So, the bottom area, is sort of kind a like...we extended down below
where we had the lowest detection of birds, in the last five (5) years. Currently we do
not have any recorders in the PTA areas, or the lease lands, that's mostly because we
haven't had any detections of the birds for many years. That's definitely something we
can look at and put a handful of recorders down to the extent of their range. If we do
16
pick up any birds in PTA, but as far as I know, they haven't been recorded down there
since the 1950's and 60's.
LT: Thank you very much, sorry just the interruption, but can we let the person in the
waiting room, I saw his name up there for a couple of minutes... and I wanted to see if
we could get him in, before we continue......
JK: (IT tech) So I messaged him privately and asked him to call the mayor's office just to
confirm his identity and I have not heard from him in the past ten (10) minutes
TWC: I personally know him; he comes to me from DOFAW office and meetings
LT: So, you're going to let this person in?
JK Oh they just left the meeting
TWC: I was just texting him, but I never like to interrupt the presentation
LT: Sorry about that.
JK He can try join again [inaudible]
LT: Okay, thank you, thank you very much...that situation we got to clear up. Moving
forward...Commissioners any discussion?
JA Justin District 9 - Brett, I didn't hear you mention anything about the ariel eradication of
the ungulates upon Mauna Kea, and Kaohe?
BM: That's still on going, that's a court order mandate that DLNR is required to do and
basically right now there's quarterly flights that are done to remove sheep from Palila
habitat and typically around forty (40) to hundred and twenty (120) animals have been
removed per quarter, and that's still all open for public salvage. So, people are welcome
to contact I believe in the West Hawaii office to set up anytime they would like to go in
and salvage those animals. But still, that's mostly just an effort to reduce the impact of
sheep on the Mamane. As you folks know Mamane is a palatable species and sheep
tend to have a pretty big impact. And unfortunately, we have been seeing more sheep
in that refugia area, I got to know folks up there more recently, but there's a lot of Silver
Swords planted, and we've been seeing a lot more herbivore on those Silver Swords.
But, in recent years, I think most recently they ended the most recent report they
removed a hundred and twenty (120) animals. It was a more grass event than usual and
the perimeter fence for Mauna Kea, the last section the negotiation is still happening
and that's going through Kukaiau Ranch area so once that's closed there probably less
sheep and grass. For right now it's pretty continuous, we're dealing with about forty
(40) to a hundred and twenty (120) animals being removed every quarter.
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BL: Then the next one, you know I hunt Kaohe. Mauna Kea, I'm up hunter's road a lot
frequently and I see those cat traps in states of disrepair all the time. Is there a calling
number or I don't see any numbers on the cat traps where you can say, hey cat trap
number 12 is completely pau, is there a better system for monitoring those? Or
reporting that they are done?
BM: So...the traps are checked once per month by Medford staff, and we do have issues with
vandalism. So potentially you're just encountering traps that are vandalized, and a lot
of the traps look pretty gnarly, but they are still effective, so a lot of the
[inaudible].... are rusty and beat up...they definitely could use some maintenance every
now and then. And usually like right now is the maintenance period and because they're
gone in and removed those traps for game dog training, they bring those traps back and
do the dips and stuff, to make them more resistant to weather. Oh, yeah, if you do ever
see one, know that they are checked once a month, but you're welcome to send me an
email if you see something out of the ordinary. I can put my email out in CHAT and you
folks can reach out. I'll put my email when the chat opens back up.
NOTE: While no specific "DOFAW" staff reporting cat trap vandalism Hawaii pdf" document
was found, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and its
Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) have clear channels for
staff and the public to report illegal activities, including animal cruelty or vandalism.
TC: Taysen Wong Chong District 2-just got a few things...I appreciate your time, first of all, I
might drill you a little bit,just give you a heads up, it's just a failed department of what
I'm saying about that, I've been hunting there since the 80's, I grew up here as well, I
continuous see in R-1 a lots of traps to this day, that have been there like two (2) years,
that haven't been managed and they still have the poles as well, I have some traps that
the grass are like three feet (3') grown through the trap, so I don't understand how the
concept of every month being managed and taken care of, because of there the grass
takes forever to grow? The biggest problem that I have up Mauna Kea is, how the sheep
is always blamed on the grazing, but if we have the effort of watering stations and
continuous filled water stations, which force these sheep to graze on top of these
Mamane right, that's one of the biggest concerns and effort should be implemented
....Like quarterly you said get about forty (40) to hundred and twenty (120) sheep, we
spend about over twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) every quarter on this efforts, when
to be honest a lot of hunters, including myself actually got our motivation taken away
because of these efforts, because of the fact like, why are we going to go up there and
waste our time, not wasting time, but what I mean by this, in the past twenty years (20)
you know the decrease of animals, majority is on Hawaiian Homes, ....so...[includible],
what I'm trying to say is that, maybe some of those effort, even though it is court
ordered, I always hear court order, court order, court order, I understand that, but with
the newest data, there can be amendments...I did take a look in different States and to
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where different situations have been brought up in court orders, into where
amendments can be made, especially when I hear certain areas only focus on birds
populated right now. Where there can be certain amendment mandates to this ariel
shooting. Why not focus on the money effort of the eradications into more into the
Palila efforts. How do you guys have that egg situation going on, how you guys going be
using more stations, maybe more efforts into the trapping. It seems to me the bigger,
what I heard, the bigger problem so far is the drought number one (1) and the
predators, that's the second. So, when I hear all that, in the public eye, the sheep are
being blamed for all this. So what I'm trying to say is that, maybe in the department, in
your folks department if there's a way, because I know there is a way...you guys can
bring this effort up with, back into the court, say like hey let me jump off for a little bit...I
actually studied environmental science forestry myself. I did work with DLNR in the past
on contract situation and visually from what I see on the mountain right... if there is ...if
those waters could be taken care of, I can guarantee you that grazing will be at a
minimum. I another problem that I have is the so call department that takes care of
land, you know last year, when they did the road maintenance, they asked us to be
there and they took out some Mamane trees, while widening the roads, and to me
when people seen that and heard, was reported back to the office, nothing was done,
why?, was it because it was the department? No! to me it's like, we're going to blame
the sheep, kill them off, right, but nothing is done to the dry ....??? [inaudible] that is
wiped out twenty feet (20") of the road, the Mamane tree that's protected... There
tends to be a lot of changes in that situation, I'm all for restoration as well, so to me it's
like, again if we are going to restore the forest, if the excavators took out a hundred
trees (100) we need to plant two hundred (200) trees, you know what I'm saying? Even
with the watershed guys, I talked to the watershed guys, you know about the fencing
going on, if they going to cut x-x-number of trees, I actually asked one guy, "Did you
guys keep one of the trees you guys cut, the answer was No,"...why is that? So, there are
a lot of different efforts that need to be changed as well, including the eradication. I
just wanted to point out the situation.
BM: Yeah, definitely appreciate all those points, and you know I think, there is definitely
room for change you know, it's just trying to navigate the legal process to implement it.
One of the other things is that I really want to highlight that you know those are the
animals' quarterly eradications have removed, but hunters by far have removed more
animals than the quarterly eradication, so we really value your folk's input and
contribution to Mauna Kea as well. So, I guess that road widening you are speaking of is
actually some of the fire prevention measures that we've been putting in and that what
is the fire break expansion so all of that expansion off of the road, is not necessarily to
expand the road, but expand the fire break. While it really is unfortunate loose some of
those trees, we kind of.... the rationale behind that effort, if we could expand those fire
breaks, if there is ever a big fire in the area, hopefully the fire break can stop it, and we
19
end up saving more trees. As you see we're planting tens of thousands more trees per
year on Mauna Kea to restore the mountain. We could definitely improve and keep
track of any trees that are moved during road maintenance or fire break maintenance
that is definitely something we can work on in the department. I can follow up with the
branch staff to make sure that that's done. I think there is some wiggle room, and I'm
definitely committed to working with you folks to find that, because I think, a lot of
things got push a little too far, but it's going to take a lot of work too, bring it back
around. I hope that answered most of your questions, and concerns.
TC: Yeah, Taysen District 2 again, I just want to...is there like a time frame to, the reason
why I ask that question, is because I've been going to meetings like that since I was a
kid, when is this going to amend this situation ...
[Background talking going on by others in the meeting]
BM: I didn't get your whole questions, your kind of breaking up a bit...Just to clarify you're
asking, what would be the timeline for working on an amendment like this...
TC: The reason why I'm asking is that I'm going to be forty years (40) old, I've been going to
meeting like this since I was kid, I would like to see the change in my lifetime, my kids,
BM: That's a good question, that has to come from within...it would have to come from
basically from you folks, the issue that we are working with is like, if this was completely
within State jurisdiction, we can kind of file an amendment at any time, but because this
is a Federal court case...it really kind of ties our hands...honestly in an ideal world I
would love to see a world where we have hunting units on Mauna Kea, because there
are areas that aren't really suitable habitat for Palila, however they all are important
areas for watershed right, so that's the other thing we have to consider. It's not just
Palila, it's also watershed resources and things of that nature. But I always been of that
opinion, we should be trying to get as much as we can out of our public resources, we
want people to be able to bird watch, we want people to be able to hunt, we want all of
the above right? So, I think that's what I'm committed to working towards. I don't have
as much information on the legal side of things. I can reach out to our folks more
information from our attorney general, yeah, I'm definitely interested in trying to work
with you folks to open up possible units. You know... Jus Pang-Ching has been working
to open up some areas for dogs for pig hunting and try to encourage different
opportunity, maybe not sheep, yeah..l'm definitely committed as a forestry person and
a hunter to try and like make both of these world work together a little bit more,
unfortunately I can't get back to you on a timeline until I talk to the legal
representatives.
CF: Sorry to interrupt real fast kind...This is Cody from crop council, I think some of our
commissioners on zoom are unable to do anything, raise hands, unmute, commissioner
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Aquino was wanting to possible to collaborate, but there's locks,just FYI in here and on
zoom, we are aware of the issue.
AA: I'm able to speak. Abel commissioner District 7...my video is locked for some reason.
Thank you, Brett, your presentation was awesome and comprehensive.
LT: We're trying to figure out the legality of having the camera on, but I think we can hear
you. We just cannot have a vote...crop council...I don't know....
CF: We have quorum otherwise.
LT: We have quorum otherwise without him...okay we good you can continue...
AA: I just want to ask a question, is there any research what has causing these droughts?
BM: So, it's kind of a natural cycle, but overall Hawaii is getting hotter and drier. Over these
last several years, and over the last serval decades, and a lot of that kind of point to the
increase in climate warming that we're seeing allover the planet. Hawaii...fortunately
has been relatively insulated from some of the most extreme impacts, we've been very
fortunate, we haven't had severe storms, but in general the whole world is warming,
that's probably going to be impacting the conditions. It's really going to be difficult to
assets what's going to be the future, because there's two different papers that have
come out...I don't have them off the top of my head, but I can probably look them up for
you. But one points up to Mauna Kea getting drier... another one points to Mauna Kea
getting wetter... So even amongst the publish resources like that, that have been
deployed...available there's disagreement. Really difficult what the long-term trend is
going to be. But this is probably the natural cycle in the Pacific. So, in the 1880's,
1890's super bad drought in Ka'u and displaced a bunch of people and a big impact on
the birds, and this is kind of the latest iterations, that it is difficult to know what exactly,
what's impacting it, some of it there seems to be some change in the cloud cover, so
that could be a big impact you know. There's another paper that's looking at a reduction
in cloud cover you know...over the next ten (10) —twenty (20) years. That's going to be
another impact...we're going to try to figure out means of... different means of
assessing it ... getting a better understanding...hopefully as technology gets better, we
can get a better idea. But, for right now all we can generally say is the global trends of
increasing temperatures are certainly not going to be helping.
AA: Any information like Waikea selling our water, things like that kind of affecting our
aquafers or maybe that?
BM: I don't know any direct ties that kind of thing. Anytime you're impacting water tables,
you know you could have some direct impact to total water availability... and that area is
all connected... all in one major aquafer. So, it could have an impact, but I'm not aware
of any data that shows that.
21
LT: All right all good...Leomana District 3 1 just wanted to close this up. Thank you very
much. Hold on, okay...
BL: Brian District 4 Thank you for your presentation and everything... Couple of other
things, you said the fire wasn't a big issue, but according to your own thing... 2021 we
had the Mauna fire and the Palila population decrease 21.8% and the following year it
was a 38% decrease, so I think the smoke did have major concern that and the
seedlings.... I'm up there all the time, when the sheep are ground... and keeping the
grass... and the Mamane seedlings...I have pictures, sheep trails... Mamane saplings...
and say like before the extreme excuses sheep go on the Mamane and also, if we open
it up get the sheep in there to keep the fire load down, the vegetation that the Mamane
trees would going to the grasses that are shallow rooted...sucking all the moisture out of
the water...so if we get the sheep in there, we get the fire loads down, things down, the
Mamane seeds can germinate on their own...inaudible...as far as the cats... with the
fences ... told DLNR getting a pack of hound dogs, remove the feral cats... and look up
Ben Lily he was early 1900's, he was with a pack of dogs and wiped out mountain lions
in the log Western States, single handily, one man with a pack of dogs... wiping out
mountain lions...he and two dogs did a more effective jobs than a thousand (1,000)
traps and some fencing, anybody else for that matter... A year ago ... inaudible...one
thing I had on the electric grid, did you guys take into effect that they have apps now
that play bird songs? If you had that out there and you had some guy with this app
playing Palila songs trying to get one to talk back to them, oh my god, this is a
miraculous recovery, hearing birds all over the place. The lawsuit thing is old...the last
nine (9) months our Judges are jumping up stopping Federal dictates on a whim... so 1
can't see why the State, the sheep aren't the problem, we're wasting money, we're
wasting resources, fire is a bigger damage, we need to stop this... oh you know it's a
federal mandate... We have lawsuits back in the days... saying Slavery was okay...now we
can overturn things... you know this is getting old... Everybody here has been talking, I'm
personally disgusted that the fences has ruined PTA, once you guys put these animals in
live stocking conditions and then you throw your hands up and say look at the
environmental damages, No...you turned them in to live stocking, denied them water
and you cry about why we have these environmental damages... you know you can put
water up there...you know, concrete and stuff... the sheep have water I know I'm on a
rant and we're running out of time...but I just wanted to have my say... I see a lot of
things that could be improved....and leave the sheep alone.
BM: Unfortunately, the court case and things and we know the sheep does have an impact
on the ecosystem...and we are not denying that... I think there are some level of harvest
that, or there is some level of animals that can be allowed and you can have
regeneration but we still don't really know what that is... but we do know from the
history that sheep have a big impact on native ecosystem... in general and especially on
the dry ecosystem take thirty (30)—forty (40) years for one tree to reach maturity. 1
22
definitely appreciate any of your comments or concerns and we'll definitely take it into
account if you send those in to me. I still don't have; the CHAT is still disable and I can't
put my email there... I'll be happy to send it to you folks later... and reach out anytime.
LT: All right...thank you sir... Thank you very much...just to close it out, we'll get the CHAT
open and you can drop your email and stay in contact...I just wanted to say thank you
for your presentation... a lot of the data inside can be used to change what we just
discussed...so, I appreciate it a lot and we would definitely have you back with us in the
next one or two meetings.
BM: Appreciate all of your folks input as well...
LT: Mahalo... All right thank you very much for holding that very long presentation... I know
we have 45 minutes left. We have been trying to get these presenters over the last five
(5) months and anything you guys need to say and get it out right now is the time. Okay,
thank you very much...shake it out...we're moving on to Agenda item #5b Ryan Okano,
Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) Department of Land and Natural Resources to speak
on the proposed Division of Aquatic Resources Community Project entitled, "Resurrecting
the Wailoa Station to Support 'Ama'ama Production to Help Revitalize Fishponds." And,
to share an update on various DAR Hawai'i Island community efforts. Aloha sir,
welcome...
b. Ryan Okano, Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) Department of Land and Natural
Resources to speak on the proposed Division of Aquatic Resources Community Project
entitled, "Resurrecting the Wailoa Station to Support 'Ama'ama Production to Help
Revitalize Fishponds." And, to share an update on various DAR Hawai'i Island
community efforts.
RO: Yep, thank you, so I just have a variety of updates... and bring up if you guys have
questions, so I am going to take them one by one... I prioritized them so if I go too long
you guys just cut me off. Bob Duerr knows me so I can always come back and stuff like
that...So the first one I'm going to talk about is stock enhancement so this is something
that we have done in the past if you remember...back in the day...we still have a station...
down by Wailoa by the old Ironworks, back in the day...we use to grow up mullets and
station use to release them back into the ponds... to enhance fishing experience for the
people...so we trying to do that again...so, kind of get the station up and running again...oh
this first (1St) phase, we get some funds, and we get used to it...not pay anybody to breed
fish for us yet, we going to catch fish from the wild, practice growing them out...make
sure the station is all good like that the end game is to get somebody to breed fish for
us...down by our facility by Puhi bay... that would be the guys for breed for us... we would
then grow it out... the phase of growing out is very important, because that increases
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survivorship, because if we release them too small then they get eaten up... a lot of them
don't do as well... so the grow up phase is important, so this station was useful in the past,
that's what we plan on doing. In this...as we engage stakeholders one of the concerns
that came up with stock enhancement was the genetics of the fish we are using, as well
as disease of the fish that we're releasing, so we have worked on the genetic study
partners at Hawaii Pacific University looking at Ama Ama genetics. The findings of that
were that the Ama Ama throughout the State of Hawaii is pretty much one population.
But at the same time if we were to proceed with breeding mullet or paying somebody to
breed mullet for us,the goal would be to source the brood stock from the place you would
release, in this case it would be Wailoa...the mommies and daddies from there basically.
On top of that we have secured Federal earmarked funds... to do Wailoa habitat
restoration and here we are trying to take a two-prong approach, one is we're trying to
put more fish in there, and by the same time we are trying to improve the habitat. So
that habitat improvement consists of removing invasives and the focus is removing
California grass...California grass is problematic to the ecology. Many people believe it
sucks up nutrient silica that is very important for the limu that the mullet like to eat... that
limu that the mullet fisherman use for bait, if you guys are familiar with their style. It's a
diatom that they need silica to grow, and the California grass takes a lot of silica to grow,
so we're thinking that by removing that California grass it will grow more of this limu food
to grow that the mullet like to eat. In addition, it'll create more sun and create more
space for the fish themselves. The California grass is also problematic for our partners
and State Park, because they drift down, partners for DOBOR it goes all the way to the
harbor... it's a big problem this California grass. When it starts coming down the river... a
lot of the DLNR agency mobilize and they try to take care of it before it gets out into the
bay... So, there are many problems with California grass. So, when we remove California
grass. We hope to plant native species such as Akahakai, Aiai and Hala. Those are plants
that provide good habitat forthe mullet, especiallythose plants Aiai in particular is a plant
that has been documented in photos from that place. So, we are trying to kind of restore
it back to what it was...What we think what it was... Yeah, in addition to that restoration
we hope to...we going try to asses and figure out if it is appropriate cultural styles of
improving habitat like umu (?) or putting out stacks of rocks to create habitat for other
species potential for the Aholehole construction. There are some of them down by
Richardson in that little pond... there's some umu? in it, it's interesting, we'd like to
explore that... by the people down there, if they could help us out... So, that's like habitat
restoration... stock enhancement. The next thing I would like to touch on is stakeholder
engagement and we've been trying to up our game. Stake holders for the past couple of
years, a year and a half about we started this fish working group which Bob is on and
among other fisherman we meet monthly to discuss fish issues and fish concerns... I
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should have opened with this but, our agency is division of aquatic resources. And we
manage fish, limu, coral, and even opai everything that's living in the water. We do not
manage the water itself... water quality which is how clean the water is ... is generally
managed by the department of health. Water quantity, the giving and taking of water in
our streams for various uses, that's under the Commission of Water Resource
Management and at the same time we acknowledge these things as mentioned about
water are very important to things we manage. We don't shy away with discussion with
that;and at the same time, we acknowledge the guys who make the rules about that. We
are interested in water quality, we are interested in water quantity, we work with Sea
worm to do studies as to understand how the giving and taking of water influences the
fish, the o'opu and the mullet and stuff like that. Just wanted to touch on that. Yeah,just
what our jurisdiction is and at the same time where our interest is and where we see...
what we can do to improve the situation of the aquatic resources, other ways instead of
just making rules. So, stay in engagement we assemble a fishing working group, but I have
engaged other communities, my community is TKO and I have been engaging them trying
to develop projects, engaging Keaukaha and we just started to engaging lower Puna a bit
more. This is just kind of like the beginning not engaging anybody on Hamakua Moku or
Ka'u Moku yet, but we hope to reach to those guys... again backing up...my position is that
I'm the lead for East Hawaii... so that's my space East Hawaii, we also have another sister
position in West Hawaii same position as me,we divide the Island pretty much in half. So,
things I talk about in East Hawaii, but if you guys have questions about West, or Statewide
stuff I can do my best to answer, if I cannot answer, I can do my best to find out and get
it to you guys. So, on that stakeholder engagement team, there is this effort going on
currently on Maui County or Maui Island or the Island of Maui...called the Holumu effort
and it's an effort where its stakeholder driven you know where we assemble a group of
stakeholders, and they come up pretty much a plan, for what DAR should do. So that's
going on Maui so it's being going on pre-covid, so it's being going on for a long time. They
have a navigation team, and the navigation team meets and discusses and makes rules,
recommendations, and restoration ideas. Looking at the full gambit of tools in our
toolbox to better manage the aquatic resources. I mentioned that effort that is happening
on Maui Island and it's coming to an end and it's going to be initiated on our Island next.
So, that is going to start out with a bunch of six or seven meetings throughout the Island
and that's probable going to happen next year sometime, we're hoping before Summer.
And that is the initial meetings and we're going to ask for nominations for that Navigating
Team... And that's the team that's going to meet and figure out a plan for how we can
manage the resources better. So, looking at the stakeholders and looking at the
grassroots and the input of the stakeholders and we realize our task is to be big to do it
by ourselves, we need the peoples help, so we are trying to get help from the people.
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And that's it, I will stop there, and if you guys have any questions on the things I
mentioned or questions, on the activities and responsibilities of my division go for it.
?? (Public person asking question. He did not state his name). So, I have a question...it might
be related...how safe is the Wailoa basin? Question...it might be related...how safe is the
Wailoa basin?
RO: On the water itself...So I'm not an expert on this, I'll just share, what I hear, what I know
and what I think...From what I understand you know there is a lot of history in that space.
Like that space was a space of abundance, plenty fish, plenty kalo, growing down there,
but after a time period it was heavily industrialized. A lot of people used to live there
and stuff like that. People have found arsenic, one of the main things I hear about... and
from what I understand the arsenic is still there, but it's buried, it's kind of buried and I
think there has been studies done on fish, you know. It all depends on I don't know the
exact numbers, if you eat too much you might get sick...arsenic if you don't eat too much,
like I said I don't know the numbers. Should be safe... That's what I understand, maybe
you can share, but I don't know...
?? (Public person speaking.) I just know stories, at one time they used to tell us stories that
those waters are polluted, so don't eat the fish from there. I was just wondering how bad
it has migrated into the bay and down Keaukaha way, because the current goes that way
and has the State done anything to remedy it?
RO: Yeah...That's a challenge when you look at a legacy challenge like that...like a legacy
problem...you know, it's been that age of misuse, mismanagement that puts us were we
are at. So, solution is going to be super challenging. When I think about that space and
you think about arsenic, you could probably dredge it, but could that cause more harm
than good? I mean, I don't know. I don't know...I eat the fish in that space... I don't eat a
lot, but we catch mullet sometimes we catch too much to eradicate them...we eat some...
?? (Public Person speaking). Plus,you get the drainage from up there that keeps adding more
junk and there should be some entity in the State that can try to address this, I mean long
term.
RO: Yeah...
?? I don't mean to...inaudible, I mean into the future you know....
RO: So, like again like I mentioned early talking about water, quantity issues, water quality
falls under the Department of Health... inaudible.... we're interested in that... it's about
the fish and the fisherman. The fisherman are the primary stakeholders, and we got to
26
take of that too, ...This space that we're talking about is kind of a gray space and it's hard,
but we're not shying away from it... working that space we need support and like ideas
and stuff like that too, you know what I mean... How we could improve it... Maybe a
comprehensive study...Department of Health to do a full assessment. You know we have
partners that plan to install some permanent water quality monitoring stations not going
to [inoudible]...but I think it's going to get in the dirt like, like the dirty water, that the
sensors can measure that but it's not [inaudible]arsenic. You know turbidity probably is
one of the parameters that would be obtainable so, some things are going to happen.
?? Thankyou
LT: Leomana District 3 - Mahalo for the presentation... we've waiting for you to come here a
long time... I appreciated it and I just got a couple of questions.Just knowing you are part
of the Wailoa fisheries... Number 1 is the brown line around Wailoa is that from the
County spraying poison, comes up from the water's edge? I notice every once in a while,
the whole Wailoa pond is like a poison line that goes all the way back into town goes all
the way back to the Green Onion. I was just wondering what kind of pesticide to herbicide
they are spraying.
RO: My division we spray a little bit in our space. Which is that little space over there and we
use a little bit Aquamaster is what it is called. But the whole greater area is State parks
they would know more about that. I suspect they spray too, but I don't know what they
use frequently when they spray stuff like that.
LT: Another question, we were talking about Talapia earlier, last year or the year before they
had record sizes in Wailoa Park. What are the fishing rules behind taking out invasive, can
I go in there with a spear or a gun or to try and get Talapia out? Or do we leave you guys
to figure that out?
RO: Yeah and no, you cannot, you got to follow the rules...you cannot, you guys seem to know
the rules, these things that are illegal to do in Wailoa, but we've been trying and it's a
problem and we have been trying to come up with creative ways, to address these issues.
For us Talapia is a big issue, but to us the Konda mullet is a bigger issue. We see it like
that as it is an active competition with the stripe mullet AmaAma,the more desirable one.
And the problem with the Konda doesn't get big and even if you were to throw net on it
the legal eye size of the net is generally too big to catch that Konda mullet. We've been
brainstorming some ideas and when others, for example some fishpond caretakers in
Keaukaha, they have problems with Konda they call on me and we do eradication for
them. And we go out there with our smaller nets and we use to sample and study the
estuary, and we catch the Konda mullet, and we give it to them. They cook it up and eat
27
it. That's one approach...What we aspire to do is kind of set up a program and this would
need funding and we're always looking for funding trying shop around for ideas and
appropriate funding sources and one idea that we had was to this Konda round-up events
where we at DAR have about half a dozen nets that are small eye illegal nets, and we will
train people on how to identify them. Identify the differences between fish,the way they
behave, the way they look and so they can target the appropriate fish. And have these
times maybe once a month or couple times a year allow the public to use these nets in a
supervise way to help us catch the Konda mullet...you know I'm sure you would throw on
the tilapia and we wouldn't be upset about that either. We're kind of trying to figure out
ways to engaged and empower the stakeholders, like I said to manage the resources it's
a sticky one because you know a lot of people acknowledge that the Konda is a food
resource but I have not heard anybody calling us to decrease the size of eyes of the throw
net, nobody has told us to do that. So, I recognize the value of that rule, once we start
allowing that kind of stuff it's harder for us to control and manage you know what I mean,
who is always doing illegal stuff and who is doing the right thing.
LT: Ok, pau for now thank you.
TC: Taysen Wong Chong District 2 — I kind of have the similar question I want to ask, first
question, I remember years ago that's when I first started fishing all my life, even the
pandemic time...I had a permit, and I was one of the few that was fishing in Wailoa. I had
to go to the State building get the permit and whatever...but this is just one rumor I
heard...remember when the pond had choke seaweed, what happened to all that?
RO: Awwwe I don't think anybody knows...So, like, I'll say, I probably wasn't here when the
pond had choke seaweed...I'm from here, grew up and born in Pepeekeo, I've lived on
Oahu, lived on the island of Saipan and I've come back home, within the past two
yea rs...and I know when I came back to Hawaii, that was in 2017 around there...They
experienced a massive decline of limu State wide...and people couldn't figure out why?
What was interesting was good limu, bad limu, invasive limu, all kinds limu in declined.
Some people attribute it to climate change, some people attribute it to differences in rain
falls, some people attribute it to herbivory (the state or condition of feeding on plants)
nobody really knows, it happed throughout the State.
TC: I remember after that big flood, I don't know what year was....but that one had wiped out
a lot of them...that was just my curious question...My next question was like how Leomana
said...I guess you guys already when talk to that...my question was going to be like, would
you guys ever....obviously talk story like, individuals right...me I would be like the Talapia,
you know... the smaller version of the...is that like the type of Australian mullet?
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RO: As another nick name they follow...
TC: Something like the effort like Training...make it like [inoudible]...how you guys make the
tournament for the Tilapia...do it like a family event, and you guys provide the nets...and
it could be a fun community event...to where like...you know how we get the moi dive
events? Like that stuff...it could be beneficial but a fun event as well...and pololei
thing...like it would be a good thing...like you know, especially for that
information...inaudible. So, the catchment by Ironworks was it practically mudded?
Inaudible....
RO: That's what we are focuses on, we've engaged on, it all depends...on the stakeholders of
what they like...I mean so, we've been engaging a lot of people, fishpond guys too...they
have great interest in mullets and that what the reason why we've been focusing on
mullet...release mullet in Wailoa, we know it's been successful...but we focus on
mullet...but people have brought up other potential fish...we not...we wouldn't shy away
from it...and we would enter discussion, and we would try to address the concerns. We
trying to release moi, about a year ago...and right about then, we got in trouble...I got in
trouble for that...
TC: To me honestly I was going actually write up...because I remember when I was in high
school, I use to go night time fishing a lot...over there right across the catchment...we use
to use the ...[inoudible]..I know it's illegal, but the baby Aholehole...that is what they use
to bite nighttime...the Moi's... I use to catch like two (2)to three (3) pounds of Moi's over
there...and I remember one night we caught --- inaudible----and that was on land...and
guarantee we miss like 5-6...oh yeah we caught like three pound Moi's and this is night
time by the catchment...so, if I get in trouble like that...I would love to see an abundance
of Moi's in the pond you know what I mean....it would be a good thing to see...
RO: We were trying to release Moi and then...at first we were going to release right in Hilo
bay...oh...everybody going like that...nobody going grumble...there were a few key
stakeholders that was bringing in concerns...so at that point we pivoted and we went to
place base, so we tried to get permission from Keaukaha, and Pepeekeo to release...
TC: I guess because they predatorial ...
RO: That was another concern about Moi vs Mullet...that is for sure, there are these
concerns...yeah and people was concern about the disease and the genetic of it...a few
people in particular raised a ruckus and we did have permission, from Keauhou and
Pepeekeo a moment in time to release...but they kind a got cold feet, and then eventually
those pack rack who finally pulled out, because the Mullet was coming from them...we
were just learning about these things...the goal was ultimately stock enhancement with
29
Mullet and they taught us things and they taught us a lot...about the concerns...major
concerns the community had...which is genetics...and disease and we trying to address
before we actually pay somebody do mullet for us the pack rack stuff help us release and
it's true inaudible.
TC: The other one with the rock stacking...you guys starting that?
RO: No...we never...we never.
TC: You should have been...I think a lot of fish would benefit from the rock stacking honestly...
RO: Yea h...that is the kind of stuff we would like to talk to you know...and the fishpond guys
who did it...we can learn from them more...something that that you know, stakeholders
could help us do...you know what I mean...be cool if you open a rock from your place oh
there, you know what I mean...making it more...
LT: We were thinking of that...taking a rock and putting it over there to make it sacred like
that...
TC: I know a few guys...say, why you guys stacking rocks? Just like it's beneficial...
RO: We trying to improve the habitat, one thing is to put the fish in there...we got to make the
habitat good too.
BL: Brian Ley District 4...I just got two questions...one you guys notice anything once they
eradicated the mangrove tree forest whether there was a decline in the population or the
quality of the water and stuff? Because I know that mangroves took each share of their
pollutants out of the water and the roots were like good habitat for juvenile fish like
that...did you guys notice any decline in anything since they removed the mangroves and
stuff?
RO: I know a little bit about mangroves...I don't know too much about mangroves stuff about
what happened over here first I start off with that...My mangroves experience going
come from stuff from Hei"ea on Oahu...where prior to coming back to Hilo...I lived on
Oahu, working for division of aquatics resources my same division...you know-program
manager role a little bit higher level...so I was involved in restoration...I was one of the
project lead, participated and supported Kako'o Iwi, one of many non-profit in that
Ahapua'a of Hei'ea. You know the fishpond, pai'pai' o'hea, they were doing the
mangroves manually, so, like 20 years whatever's'...they'll still going cutting the
mangroves...but above the bridge...Uncle O'iwi did a took a different approach using
heavy equipment and stuff and they pretty much wiped out all the mangroves...Yes,
mangroves from a global perspective is a treasure...it facilitates habitat...protect
shorelines, it is a carbon sequester, there's a lot of positives to it...but in our Islands the
30
mangroves have not grown...with the organisms it supposed to protect...for example
when the mangroves drop its leaves in Hawaii nobody eats it, it creates bad water
quality, there is no crabs that eat the mangrove in other places...there not here...They
also tend to clog or block conductivity. So, like you know, if a stream was open and
flowing, where the o'opu's can go up and go down and the Mullet and Aholehole can go
up and down, and we can have all that...the mangroves kind of also blocks it...it also
creates and ovicide state, you know make that stink brown mud...and not too much
oxygen in the water...it also prevents the limu growing too...the thing like Mullet like to
eat. So, there's been a lot of ideas, and thoughts, activities related to mangroves
removal, and I think so, that I've learned the most important is at He'ia and I've learned
a lot...as they and that is what we are trying to model Wailoa after. That is what I
learned... all the things I learned over there...and I'm trying to bring over here. We don't
have mangroves, but we have California grass...they also do a lot of increasing the flow,
creating corridors, creating habitat, using rocks to create habitat and such. Like I said
mangroves is good...where it's native, but I don't think it's a good idea cut over hea...
BL: Just remember that Pohiki was the main, all sort of fish and wildlife and everything
there...and when they poison it, hurricane came and wiped them all out... it was just a
cloak and dagger...it was quite sad seeing a vibrant ecosystem turned into just rocks
washing up and down the shore...
RO: When you take out, a plant is better than nothing a lot of the time in my mind...So, when
you take it out, an invasive you got to put something back...I think that maybe the point,
or something they failed, the part they never do...I think...What we are trying to figure
out...what kind of plants that is good to replace...invasive plants that are providing a
service...you know what I mean, another thing we are working on in my community in
Pepeekeo is the Ironwoods on the shore...like it's betterthan nothing...people think there
is a better plant than Ironwoods...that is going to sustain the cliff line...Sustain the cliff line
is so important, not only for the resources, but people who own the property...you know
what I mean...fisherman and the trails...the dirt going fall in the water and make the water
dirty, cover the opihi grounds. So, we've been kind of thinking that too, I mean taking out
the Ironwoods, putting something there, I mean creating a buffer line behind the
Ironwood, then the Ironwood fall and get something else...trying to look at the plants, if
you take out the plants you got to put something back.
BL: I know that they've done Plantation things, what was replaced.Took out what was worse
than what they removed...any possibility of Turtle management?
RO: Turtle management
BL: You are talking about eating all the limu, maybe we have too many turtles...and is there
some reason we can have a slot to keep the population down...
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RO: You not going to like this answer, it's kind of the same answer from the DOFAW guys...it's
a federal thing you know...you know what I mean we would have to work with the Federal
government...to open it up and some people say it must be an international thing. You
know, I've eaten turtle, even in Palau, they have seasons, and I've eaten turtle...I know
other places they don't close it down...they manage it, they have seasons...and back in
the day we had size limits on turtle...When you harvest, kind of like when I watch
TV...people harvest the gators...you have to get one tag and this and that...stuff like that.
We did a management theme in place...back in the day, but the Federal government it's
a challenge, it's much harder, but maybe now would be the time...certain administration
is good for some things...or it's bad for somethings...you know what I mean [inaudible]....
BL: Same thing with Mouflon sheep, we had 10,000 Mouflon sheep, that was way too
much...but inaudible...was not the answer...we need...you come in the middle we need a
manageable herd...you know the ones...inaudible...you know the turtles are scaping the
rocks with their beak because there is nothing to eat...and it's affecting the fish
population...that's competing with the native fish...See if that makes sense, but there's
nothing that makes sense now days...
RO: I think so...a lot of people would support some type of turtle take...but you have seen how
the population change...it has increased, and nobody would deny that.
BL: See if anybody has anything else...
LT: Leomana District 3...Anybody has any questions for Mr. Okano right now? All right no
questions.....I just want to say mahalo again for showing up and just a comment on that last
one...about eating turtle. I did ask, I talked to a couple of DLNR agents about harvesting turtle
under Article 12 Section 7 and we talked to the police chief of DAR, even if you are practicing
traditional gathering rights...you will have to, if they caught you in the act they would arrest
you...they would jail you and when you would go to court you would still have to prove...in court
you were taking it legally...instead of not being harassed. I kind of no like that style, I understand
why they do it like that...I don't fill out any paper work, I just go get them as a Hawaiian...but I
wanted to bring up the legal status, but if DAR catches you and arrest you and you got to prove
your case in court...
RO: Yeah,that's how I understand it too. Was messed up because had one time,we was trying to and
this is not turtles, but sharks...we was trying to do this thing,we have a special activity permit and
we wanted to include cultural purpose in that special activities permit, right now it's for stuff like
research, education, management you can do legal stuff, you have a special activity permit you
can have small eye lay net...cultural special activity permit including cultural take, sharks we could
do it is a State rule...the turtle we couldn't do that, Federal rule to... but the sharks we couldn't do
that, but we got push back from I think so was from OHA...by doing that, we disregard the ruling
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that you brought up and I can see that....[inaudible]....that was kind of weird...we need the
space....the shark is managed by us,we don't want...put a rule of no can take...at least we can take
shark...we could have some flex with that...like the turtle would be a little bit hard.
6. OLD BUSINESS
a. GMAC creates an informational/marketing brochure design markups for
Commissioners to consider. Chair Turalde and Commissioner Aquino
b. GMAC 2025 First Quarter Report on its activities, Chair Turalde.
c. General Plan update status as is currently being discussed by the County Council.
Chair Turalde
d. Report on the site visit with NARS, DOFAW. GMAC, and hunters of the proposed
fencing of Puumakaala Forest from 800 acres. Chair Turalde.
e. Firearms rules public update, on rulemaking for the firearms regulations. Chair Turalde
LT: Yes,sirthank you very much foryour presentation...hopefully you get[inaudible]...all right
we got about eight (8) minutes left...you know we have a lot of agenda items to cover and
a lot of it is nonpriority. I'm just going to table from 6 all the way to the end...I did want
to bring up under old business agenda item number 6 c which is the General Plan update
and Status, so I had Mr. Alan Brown put this out...from the committee chair which is
Ashley Kierkiewicz and her evaluation of all of the General Plans...and comparison
between each one that came up with all the policy and action items...it's about 200
pages...if you guys want a copy, I will let them know and print you guys out a copy and
you want one too uncle and tomorrow is a hearing at 5:00 o'clock you guys can read this
one tonight if you guys plan to go to the hearing tomorrow, we'll figure that out...Kona,
get'em on zoom...yep this is all four (4) of the General Plan...and going down to agenda
item...number 7 B...this one says, the commission to discuss an official letter to Mayors'
office asking for extension for commissioners terms...for the number of months that
meetings were cancelled due to things we could not control. So, I just wanted to ... First
make a motion...can I make a motion?
CF: This is Cody, you can make a motion, but I want to point everyone back to the Hawaii
County Charter which is Board and Commission...unfortunately no can...
MA: (Micah Alameda) -You can hold over....90 days...
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CF: You can always send a letter to the Mayor...in order to modify the Charter...you got to do
a charter amendment...which requires a thing on the ballot...right in a year and half...right
because we just had...last year 2024 so in 2026 we going have another...the council votes
right...every two years is another charter amendment possibility. The Charter
amendment action by council takes a while...so you got to build into it...something you
guys want to do...you can do the letter...to ask the mayor to consider a proposal to our
Charter amendment or you could bring it up with your local county representative or your
council member for your district...but the charter is super clear and it applies to all boards
and commission and not just GMAC. So, get choke that never have like my Salary
commission we never had meetings but they going term out...however Mr. Alameda has
indicating that made a provision when you pau your term so, there is limitation so I would
suggest you look at 13-4 the fact sheet for GMAC doesn't say when you guys terms is, it
just say when you term out...when you expire...So, I don't know if any of you would fit
within the options to when you could re-up with the Mayor's approval...and that's based
on if you are filling a term of two years or less...so if that is one of you guys...then you
might be able to re-up if not then when you guys term out...you pau..you can holdover
for 90 days...providing that your position, your district has not been filled by someone
else....so that's the only 90 day leeway that we have under the charter, short of an
amendment. So, you guys could do a motion to ask the mayor to consider a charter
amendment proposal to council, but he doesn't have the authority unfortunately as much
as we would like him to under the charter....eh you can do extra period because you guys
never had meeting...unfortunately the charter rules that out?????
TWC: Two years less, you can still do the extended term. Can you be re-appointed?
CF: Yeah, re-appointed under the charter, if you were serving a term that was no more than
that period of time. So, if you were a standard 3 year-4 year, cause those are standard
yea h....
TC: So, if you were a 3 year—4 years, you can only do the 90-days before coming back in?
CF: Yeah, no can...and you wouldn't be able to just back in right back into GMAC, you gotta
take a break. You can get on another Board and Commission...then come back to GMAC
TC: You got to stay out for a year yeah?
LT: Two years, two years...I think we just went over this with Abraham that's why and so it's
about two years (2) Leomana District 3 — I know that there's a charter and the Mayor
gotta follow the charter, but this idea was just because we had four (4) meetings cancel
on us, not that we didn't have meetings, we were all here and the meetings got cancelled
for whatever reason, and we gotta follow the charter and the rules, but this was just to
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put it out there and let them know that, Hey! We got four (4) meetings cancelled on us.
Not, we never had four(4) meetings, that made me frustrated and for a calendar year 12
meetings, that's one quarter gone, that's all of us not getting our say, not having our
presentations, and information not being passed and to me that's not okay. So, this letter
is, I know it's not going to get us a longer term, but this letter is a way for me to bring it
up to the people in charge and complain and say we need to do something different and
if we have four(4) meetings cancelled on us, again in the County, we cannot succeed with
meetings being cancelled and everybody's here. So, I'm just frustrated and I wanna make
a complaint to somebody, and this is my way of bringing it up to the higher ups, Eh!, can
you look at this, can you extend us, I know you cannot but do something. So..
CF: You can do a motion to, but you always...you're advisors, you can always draft a letter to
the mayor...providing input feedback, concerns, whatever your needs are. You could do
that, indicating your frustration with the following, and ask him to consider a charter
amendment, to afford, so to cover situations like this. I don't know if that will actually
happen right, but there is no harm in asking.
RD: To draft that, to make a motion to draft that...to make it and take it to the next meeting?
LT: It takes three (3) months, right? So, motion, we bring it back...vote on the final draft...
RD: Counsel what ...
CF: You could do that...the quicker way would be to provide authority, if you guys know
exactly what you want the letter to say in essence...make the subject letter to say and
provide authority to a particular member...to draft that proposal...within those
parameters, the chair authority to sign, the chair is drafting it, to sign it and send it off to
the mayor, with a courtesy blind copy to all members...that would just delay the next
hearing and you guys can approve it, you know what I mean?
LT: Yes...
CF: But you really need to know what the parameters of the letter are, and whoever the
author is, then they would stay within those parameters...
RD: If we keep it really simple to asking to extend commission terms for a number of months
that were cancelled...
LT: That's it, that was my letter...
RD: That's simple we have a concern
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CF: Recognize that the charter doesn't currently allow for it...and to consider recommending
charter amendments...He can't do that, what you're asking for, the only way to do that
would be to amend the charter...so you could bring it to his attention...express the
concern and the mechanisms to fix it would be a charter amendment...maybe cover all
three (3).
Action Item: L. Turalde made a motion to draft a letter to the mayor, and/or Council and the Board
and Commissions head, Micha Alameda, to extend commissioners term for the number of
months that the meetings were cancelled, suggesting that the mayor's office consider a
proposed amendment to Hawaii County Charter Section 13-4 to allow situations such as this.
Seconded by R. Duerr. Motion carried unanimously.
LT: Leomana District 3: 1 would like to make a motion...to draft a letter to the mayor...to the
mayor's office, council and to Mr. Micha Alameda, over here head of Boards and
Commission...to discuss...asking to extend commissioners term for the number of months
that the meetings were cancelled...to address the issues within the charter ...
CF: Suggesting that the mayor's office consider a proposed amendment to Hawaii County
Charter Section 13-4 to allow situations such as this...
RD: So, it's going to go where it goes...after that...
LT: The motion is to have one of the commissioners draft the letter and the chair to sign and
send off...ASAP
CF: Who's drafting?
LT: We gotta make inaudible
RD: I'll second that motion...and then discussion.
LT: Okay...discussion, who can draft the letter?
RD: I can work with counsel, and really simple paragraph
LT: We'll sign and send it off...Roll call or all in favor?
CF: All in Favor...
LT: All in favor say Aye... Aye, any oppose, none seen all pass. Mahalo.
RD: Chair, on that item, we're coming to the end of the year, and yourself and Brian...are
terming out and another 90 day, moving forward, but still that brings us to a tight...we'II
have 5 members on the commission...considering that Courtney's husband is
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appointed...so we are in need of really good drafting new members...getting new
members...pushed...ummm side to that, in the election of the new officers...we can do a
permitted interaction group to discuss election of new officers...so that maybe a good
idea...to put that together to see like...who wants to do it and what we look to accomplish
next year...and we come to...we kind of have a plan before we go into the new year...
CF: So, this is my thought...the need for the PIG...you don't need on just to nominate for
officers...unless you think there really is ... discontent or disagreements amongst the
parties...
RD: We could talk amongst ourselves.
CF: You could talk individually, so the agenda item for new business...insure you don't violate
the spirit of Sunshine call all eight (8) of you...your counter parts...to talk about the same
item...for example...the cleanest would be...you add an agenda item to November or
December, because you gotta wait for the next year...or January is really the
cleanest...and it would be selection or nomination...of chair and vice chair...in for January
of 2026. And someone makes a motion...I move that...so and so be appointed as
chair...and you have that discussion and just keep going with the motion...until somebody
passes...it would violate the spirit of sunshine if you were to call everyone interim,
technically it doesn't violate the sunshine law, but it violate the spirit of it, so I don't
recommend it but all you need is a motion...to do so and so is chair and so and so is vice
chair...either they pass or no pass...
RD: We will do this in January.
CF: That would be the cleanest....theoretically we do have the amazing Micah Alameda...who
controls our nominations...and he is aware who is going to term out...he's always tracking
every board and commission in that regard...finding people who want to serve...sometime
it's a harder thing...he would be able to indicate either we are going to have somebody
lined up to come in...January or whoever is terming out is going to holdover until the spot
are filled...It wouldn't make sense to nominated them to be chairing / vice chair....for a
short period of time..so they can holdover in the chair position...until someone else comes
in and you can hold the election...in March right?....up to you guys,get choke options....it's
really what you guys like do...
LT: We'll think about it...[inaudible]....
CF: The permitted interactive group is so specific...the requirements are pretty stringent...I
don't want you guys to create one...if you don't need it...
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RD: I think the sunshine law does permits an interactive group...separately for a group
meeting...to discuss election of officers...
CF: You can, but, I just don't want to make sure you utilize it if you don't need it...if you want
to I'll work with whoever wants to kind spearhead those motions...to make sure you
understand the requirements...the reporting requirements, the deadlines on how all of
that works....couple of different options, but I just don't know if you needed for this
purpose....I have never seen a PIG just for nominations, it's more like you want to update
your rules...that's a big lift, let's do a PIG for that purpose....
RD: In business essentially what you would do, which we are not doing...try to line up what
we can accomplish next year, and how do we build those presentations to accomplish
that....and we've kind of going month by month...and the process is also a problem...but
that being said...well taken it and we can bring it up in January.
CF: I think that's a different issue then just a nomination of chair and vice chair....then what
are the priorities of GMAC and what are the projected priorities...the topics for
2026...and at the same time that is something that all districts all 9 representatives
would want to chime in on....maybe on next month agenda you should add priorities
and goals...for GMAC 2026...topics to be addressed for the year...and everybody can
chime in and a lot for the year, this would be for January, February, March, April and I
think that everybody that represents a district would want the opportunity well this is
important to me and my district and that allows everyone to collaborate rather than an
all permitted interactive group....just an idea.
LT: Maybe we can hold off on that and next month...if it's that big we can...I think it's
important to have a year planned...for all of us and we can make a special meeting
about it or something...
CF: But it's something you can include...Chair on your agenda everyone is force to start
thinking about [inaudible] continue it under old business, old business [inaudible]
continue under new business and then to old business and continue to collaborate,
discuss and decide, if possible, till the end of the year. It would be a work in progress in
other words.
RD: Finally under new business....we kind of started this with the hack...and thank the fella
who was in West Hawaii....they cut that in the butt...was awesome, essentially...we
know other groups have been hacked...and maybe like today...the person on zoom
had...can be verified....and also a lot of zooms....you don't have the opportunity, the
person handling zoom lets you in, open your mic...right so, but it's a bigger issue...
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CF: Right...so Mr. Alameda and I and my office...have been discussion last month was the
Veteran advisory committee that...had a similar hack...like we did in July...the video...
there is one clear way to avoid the video in the future and that is in-person
meetings....that is the only way to avoid it....even with hypothetically we require
everybody to come in, Hi, I'm Cody and I'm here to testify in person....and I just used a
faked name....Jennifer Smith right...and I'm going to testify publicly and I get my three
(3) minutes...and boom, I spam everyone....and I used a faked name and nobody is going
to know....the difference is I'm not Jennifer...the reality is you switch to in-person...and
to accommodate everybody got to drive right...Hilo-Kona-Hilo-Kona so...This month
we're in Hilo, next month we're in Kona....that way everybody has to drive every other
month...Police commission does it, Fire commission does it...choke boards and
commission does it...where they alternate locations...so we accommodate everybody
RD: Could you do in person and zoom...and no interaction with the audience?
CF: We're going to be allowing the zoom participant, what would be the purpose of allowing
the zoom? Because the sunshine...there are different rules depending on how the
zoom...the hybrid ... [inaudible]
RD: It's essentially allowing the public to witness a public display of a public action....
MA: This is Mike Alameda...the executive assistance to the mayor...it would be easy to
livestream an in person meeting...right so it's an in person meeting...we livestream it to
YouTube....so people behind the wall can just watch....hold us accountable by just
watching...that's actually easy...it's the moment we got to run zoom...and it's an open
meeting we have to people in...we cannot say, "are you sure your name is John Doe, we
got to verify that.......because here in the county council meeting...which is an open
meeting...bound by sunshine...people can walk in, you cannot require them to sign
in...you can say, Sir are you here to testify?Yeah, can you please sign in? No, I no
like...enjoy thank you for being here...you can go in and sit down...when your time
comes and you like stand up and testify on an item...and ask is there anymore
testimony, yep...me...come sir, sit down....So, they had no way to pre-screen that person
walking in...Essentially we got to do that same thing...on line...so we got to share the
zoom link....we got to share the password....you can come in and we can pre-screen
you...Aloha sir, what's your name...why are you here...I'm here to testify on item four
(4a)...great...hang on...we'll let you know...nigger, nigger, nigger, nigger...boom ...Jeff did
great...mahalo Jeff...yeah hate crime...someone can file a police report...right now go to
HPD and say that happened in this meeting and we can suggest that. But that goes to
the police department they would file that...hate report...
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RD: Micah,...Chair...moving forward on what has been a long discussion...if we were to agree
to go to an in person meetings....whether with a YouTube strain...would we be allowed
to go back to into the county council room, where we know historically we have had
meetings...that were well attended...back to a time where facilitate people to showing
up in person....
MA: So, good question...I think...the county council who runs their reservations for their
room, I think they would give us a hard time...just because their reservations are already
what they consider almost the capacity, they have a hard time for getting us in...by our
request. So I think, I don't know how open they would be getting GMAC back into their
schedule...we can ask...we don't run that chamber....We run this conference room...we
run the Pueo conference room upstairs and that's all the mayor has access to....to that
we have to go through the clerk...
RD: What do you control in West Hawaii?
MA: We control the conference room where aunty Barbara is right now...Hello aunty
Barbara...we have Hale G which is downstairs near the pavilion..., but those are the two
options...Hale G which is a bigger room than that...and we have that room that is
attached to the mayor's office, in West Hawaii.
CF: I have been told...for my police commission and salary commission are the ones I had
before...that county clerks are no longer going to be authorizing after hours...of usage of
council chambers here in Hilo and Kona, However...when I did the firearm which
represents the police...the public meeting on the firearm updates...we used council
chambers in both...Kona council chambers after hours...I don't know if it's public
meetings based on public publications .... I'm not sure how they are allowing, but that
would be the county clerk question, but that also beg the question are you guys going to
go back to ... are you trying to go back to night time, I know that you guys first started to
talk about back in July when I first joined right verses day time right....kind of make a
difference whether we are talking day time hearings or night time hearings, because it
requires...facilitations from the county clerk's office...to help turn on the
equipment...and so night time meetings are a little more problematic...raise the issue of
security ... from some time ago...if you stick with daytime, might be easier, that would
be something Micah and I would be working on ...with chair and or Barb too....to ask
county clerk office .... If we can use council chambers...
pending on the schedules...everybody tries to use it because of the equipment...
MA: Everybody wants to use that chambers, everybody does...but we get access to these
conference rooms. I will say on the night meetings...the mayor is open with it, he just
40
wants to make sure that...the staff is supporting the night meetings are good...so he was
thinking we could start like a hybrid....one month we go evening, one month we go
daytime,just to get back in the groove...
RD: Maybe we do one month per quarter...if that was something regular...people knew they
could show up in person...I think they would take advantage of it...
MA: Yeah, we could look at that, right....we can ask the clerk if there is no room monthly can
we do a quarter meeting...in there...I don't know...we'll ask...
CF: The only way to avoid the scammers right is to switch to in person.... because if the
livestream....
RD: How does that come down....
MA: So the charter, the county charter...Section 6— 1 .3 item B right...gives full administrative
function of all agencies, departments, boards and commission...under the managing
director....So, I would consider these livestream...how the agendas are written...the
minutes are written...as an administrative function...which would give the managing
director control to say, until we can get a solid solution...down, we going full in person
meeting...for the x-amount of time...until we have a solution that works for all....
RD: With a YouTube livestream?
MA: Yeah...
CF: I don't know if it would be YouTube...
MA: With a livestream....
CF: With no testifiers— no public participations.... unless they are here in person...
MA: Commissioners won't be able to join remotely like all commissioners would have to
come in.
CF: The moment we have interact...Hilo-Kona... wherever right...if you doing Hilo and Kona,
how are you guys communicating among yourselves? That's going to be the interactive
[inoudible].....so it has to be everybody shows up in one place the zoom is only people to
watch...remotely from home wherever...but they not participating, they want to
testify...to come to wherever you guys are...so it is our notice on the agenda...for
sunshine purposes...that's going to matter. So, the moment we gonna split...now we got
to have somebody to run both Hilo and Kona, to allow testimony and we gotta...have a
remote feature...connect because we not going to know...which [inaudible]....
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MA: Which is what the county council does that's the best example, they run it...so that's
why they require the two spots open...staff there, with the live stream...
LT: That's where my ideas are coming from watching the county....
CF: That's why people can testify remotely....
RD: If you would do it on zoom, could you limit...to commissions and presenters?
CF: No...
MA: No, at that moment it is a remote meeting...
RD: And does everybody else come in person?
CF: No, the moment we have commissioners and the remote hybrid meetings we have to
afford the same opportunity to the public...that's why I'm saying you can go back to in
person, then all this is avoided....and then we have the livestream for everybody watch,
from home wherever...
MA: So I will say this, we are looking at solutions....we are looking at zoom webinar...so this is
a zoom meetings...standard zoom meetings...send out the meeting ID the
password...everybody has the ability to join in...a zoom webinar, the host has more
ability to control...the host controls who is muted...who can see who cannot see...all of
that...So, we are looking at that...we are also looking returning to in person...and
livestreaming it all...all of the boards and commission...you are all force to go back in
person...however we are going to livestream as much means as we can...so, 30 plus
boards and commissions...in our county...all don't meet in the same place...as
right...some meet here, some meet there...like the board of water they meet...in the
base yard by the transfer station...it's a reaI...the network is vast....so try and pull it all
together...it's going to take time...
RD: One simple thing, you haven't worked in radio...you always had the F button...it was a
five (5) second delay...if somebody came in that wasn't appropriate...you hit the button
and they never get on the air....because you always delayed five (5)... or ten (10)
seconds...but in any regard, I'm sure...smart people can figure out...because if we have
to travel to Kona, and West Hawaii guys have to travel to us...there goes our ability to
get quorums...gonna be comp rise[inoudible].
CF: I would hope not, I would say...sometimes the attorney has to be the bad person
right....theocratically when you signed up to be commissioners...if committed...to the
dedication of GMAC...that requires, hypotactically everybody should understand the
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kuleana of going back and forth if the position requires it or we just never mind and we
let people do this because nobody wants to drive...[includible]..
RD: We can go into PIG to do work and coming together in public .... For less time... you
know once a quarter...and committee work pushes our business forward...and you don't
need a quorum for a presentation...I'm just thinking out aloud [includible]...I just know
time is valuable, it's all new...[includible]...thanks for working it out...thanks for being
here...the person that was able to make this meeting pleasurable without putting salt...
MA: You know in this situation here; we were actually lucky that Jeff Kahakua was in the
room with aunty Barbara...was fast...other boards and commission they are no more this
kind...staff support. Every board and commission is so different...I cannot even sleep at
night...it's so kapakahi...Mahalo aunty Barbara for getting Jeff there...to nip that in the
butt...but the veterans advisory committee...was going on for minutes...because of the
tita who was in there...is a secretary you know...who has been working for the county
for 30 years...and zoom is not her proficiency, but she is tasked as secretary to manage
this board. So, it was on her not to navigate that issue...so it's not a one fix all at this
moment. If every board and commission had someone like Jeff Kahakua...let's move
forward with zoom...nip it in the butt, press F button...eight (8) seconds he's gone, carry
on...but this is government...the sanctity of government...needs to be protected...if going
in person is the price we have to pay...this is government Alameda has the authority to
protect this government...and if that has to be done, that maybe the
recommendation....however we are working on it and it's not the
recommendation...now Mahalo Jeff, we're going continue what we see now...until we
don't so...we're working on it guys...I'm sorry this happen...this is embarrassing...you
know it's embarrassing...[includible]....I'm going to link up with Jeff...what he did today
was good right...in the waiting room, kind of screening people right....that was solid
right....that's the way to do it...unfortunately he still got through...I'm going to make sure
the boards and commission has that kind of support...we just had today...
CF: I just don't know if [inaudible].... you're good, I just don't know what we require, I gotta
pull...inaudible...the opinion on it...we can require calling the mayor's office to be like,
"Hi, I'm so and so a real person [includible]....and just spam us. We want to make sure
that we're careful....
RD: Do we shout to OIP and say listen we have this problem...how are you guys dealing with
this?
CF: You could no harm in asking...anybody [inaudible].
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MA: We want to move forward as a county we like to livestream meetings, have
commissioners join from home, wherever they are.... Wherever is convenient, I want
that...that's the direction we have to go....but if we can't trust the people in this remote
world, then we are going to take some steps to just lock it down...but eventually I want
this...I like commissioners joint from the districts from wherever you are...booths on the
ground, tell us what you are seeing and what you are hearing....this is powerful
yea h...my first step is to try to make this work...try to make this remote system
work....stronger, more effective...if no can and we do what gotta....you have my word
this is what I want for our county....I want us to move in this direction...because we are
Big Island...four thousand twenty-eight square miles...(428,000sq miles)and we are
growing every day...so we have to have people joining from where they are. I going to
try my best...Mahalo for your patience and sorry that this happened again.
LT: Yes sir, thank you very much...thank you to the staff...any last words from any of the
commissioners before we end our meeting? If I can summarize just this last section....If
we can try to move forward once a quarter in the council chambers that will be
amazing...we can start with that...on top of mind keep in person meetings...and then try
to get the night time meetings back...for our community because most of our
community is at work right now...and taking care of business...nothing else needed to be
said...
CF: Are you guys switching what you guys are going to do next month or status quo just to
clarify.
LT: We be doing the same thing[inaudible].
MA: We do the same thing...hopefully Jeff will be there...30 days from now we have a better
system...we just got approval to purchase a webinar feature...so I'm going to test it out
in the next week and a half....and hopefully I can work with auntie Barb and if that's the
way we can go then...move forward with zoom webinar...if not we going to move
forward with the same system we have right now....
7. NEW BUSINESS
a. The Commission intends to discuss topics for future GMAC agenda
presentations. Chair Turalde.
b. The Commission to discuss an official letter to mayor asking to extend
commissions terms for number of months meetings were cancelled. Chair
Turalde
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c. Kau Forest Reserve Access, discussion and decision-making as to whether or not
to support grant of easement for continued public access to the Kau Forest
Reserve crossing the mauka portion of Tax Map Key 9-5-008:001 between
Makino Road and Haao Springs, as related to the Naalehu Hill Consolidation and
Resubdivision, Application No. PL-SUB-2024-000279. Commissioner Duerr
d. U.S. Department of the Interior FY 2026-2030 Strategic Draft for Public
Comment, discussion and decision-making to consider GMAC's participation to
provide comment.
8. ANNOUNCEMENTS:
a. Next Meeting: October 21, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. 25 Aupuni Street, Puna
Conference Room, 1501, Hilo, HI 96720
9. ADJOURNMNENT:
LT: With nothing else needed to be said...all in favor of ending the meeting right in the Puna
conference room at 11:08 am .... say Aye, any oppose...none. Thank you, guys, for this
amazing meeting and I appreciate it, and this meeting is done....
Respectfully submitted by,
Barbara Kossow
Secretary
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