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Sharon Rowe, PhD, MFA <br /> January 30, 2026 <br /> VIA EMAIL: ekfn-edithkanakaolefoundation.ora <br /> Edith Kanaka'ole Foundation <br /> 1500 Kalaniana'ole Street <br /> Hilo, HI 96720-4914 <br /> VIA EMAIL: kamuela.kaapana@tpl.org <br /> Trust for Public Land <br /> 1 164 Bishop Street, Suite 1512 <br /> Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 <br /> Re: Support for the protection and purchase of Ka'alaiki Kula, Ka'alaiki, Ka'u, Hawaii Island <br /> To Whom it May Concern, <br /> My name is Sharon Rowe and I write in support of the Ka`u community, Edith Kanaka'ole <br /> Foundation, and Trust for Public Land's, in their efforts to purchase and protect Ka'alaiki Kula <br /> (approximately 1,600 acres) in Ka`alaiki, Ka`u, Hawaii Island. <br /> Ka`alaiki Kula runs between highway 11 on the makai side and Ka`alaiki Road on the mauka <br /> side. Protecting the kula lands would ensure the entire ahupua`a is preserved, allowing this <br /> area to serve as a cultural educational site demonstrating the importance of ahupua'a land <br /> management practices as well as protecting significant cultural and archaeological sites <br /> including a railroad trestle and `Imakakaloa Heiau, one of two intact hula heiau in the Hawaiian <br /> Islands. <br /> Edith Kanaka'ole Foundation is a Hawaiian cultural-based non-profit 501(c)(3) organization <br /> established in 1990 to maintain and perpetuate the teachings, beliefs, practices, philosophies, <br /> and traditions of the late Luka and Edith Kanaka'ole. EKF's mission is to elevate Hawaiian <br /> intelligence through cultural education founded on the teachings and traditional practices of <br /> Edith and Luka Kanaka'ole. EKF possess a high level of Hawaiian cultural knowledge and skills <br /> relating to land and resource practices as well as cultural site restoration, protocol, and ritual. <br /> I represent no organization and have no direct relationship to the EKF although I have been <br /> privileged to learn from them over the years. <br /> As a citizen of this state for more than 50 years I have seen what happens as the land is <br /> continually developed and over developed. No longer, for example, do the clouds rest upon the <br /> Ko'olaus as they once did, nourishing the land, keeping its climate temperate and providing <br /> abundant clean water. Highrise development in Waikiki and downtown Honolulu has changed <br /> the pattern of winds that once also lent to a temperate climate, offering a congenial environment <br /> Sugg 26 09 <br />