Sugg 26-04 redacted - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

PONC - AttachmentE Attachment E: Please answer the following ten points by providing summaries and/or abstracts (rather than full reports). Include, if necessary, citations or links to reference the documentation related to the suggested site or project. 1) How would this proposed acquisition or project benefit the general public? This proposed acquisition of the Hilea Property would benefit the public in multiple ways. Adjacent to conservation lands held by The Nature Conservancy and in close proximity to the Ka`u Forest Reserve, this property is important for its conservation, watershed, and habitat protection value. As the site of the storied heiau Kohaikalani, the property has well-established importance as a cultural resource. Ongoing ranching operations by local families demonstrate the agricultural value of the parcel. The distinctive silhouette of Makanau, Pakua, and the other Ninole hills adjacent make for unmistakable open space and scenic value. This parcel also has significant value as a site for forest and native landscape restoration. Situated mauka of Punalu`u and Kawa bays, this property has high value in preserving the viewscape from these coastal areas, and for supplying the freshwater springs and estuaries of both Punalu`u and Kawa. Within the Ka`u community development plan, in the community-based collaborative action guide, Makanau was identified as a prominent element of mauka viewscape that is relatively unprotected from development within "Focused Initiative 4.2: Expand the Local System of Preserves." Approximately 357 of the 1,916 acres of the property is native `ohi`a/uluhe forest, located at Pu`u Pakua and Pu`u `Iki, hills with steep terrain (1,400 to 2,400 feet) that are positioned at the lower edge of one of the largest areas of intact forest land in the State, totaling 68,500 acres. There are at least 119 indigenous vascular plants, 121 known native invertebrates, 15 native and endemic forest birds and one endemic mammal that may directly benefit from this proposed land acquisition. Of these, 18 are species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and are found on the Hilea property or within the vicinity of the property. The Hilea watershed is a critical watershed area.Approximately 8,850 Ka`u residents rely on the Hilea watershed for fresh water and erosion control. Watershed conservation activities at TNC's Ka`u Preserve, adjacent and upslope of the Hilea Property, protect an estimated 180 million gallons of freshwater yield from the time of fence establishment in 2008 to 2065 (UHERO, 2015). The property has three important water sources and maintains water rights to an important water source on TNC's upslope property. Diversion of these vital waters would adversely impact rare, native, and endemic species in the project area as well as species found at the estuary downstream at the County-protected Kawa Bay. The property is hydrologically connected to the County-protected estuary downslope at Kawa Bay. Sugg.26-04