2011-05-19 Leeward Exh B - UH Marine Center

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BOWMAN: Thank you. YADA: My name is Harry Yada. I’m the Director of Real Property for University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. BOWMAN: Thank you. TURNER: Dr. Jason Turner, associate faculty for Department of Marine Science and director of Kalākaua Marine Education Center. BOWMAN: Thank you. FEE: Tom Fee, principal with Helber Hastert & Fee, Planners, the planners on this project. BOWMAN: Okay. Would you like to begin your presentation, or -? Thank you. FEE: Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and for the excellent presentation, Mr. Arai. Tom Fee with Helber Hastert & Fee. I’d like to introduce Dr. Turner to provide some background and talk about the vision for the Kalākaua Marine Education Center. TURNER: Thank you. Thank you all for giving us some time. I’m just going to read something that I put together. It’s been just over 20 years since UH Hilo professor, Dr. Walter Dudley came to the university with the vision, and that was for the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo to develop a world- class marine facility at Puakō. Walt knew then what we all know now that marine resources on Hawai‘i Island are like no other in the world, and it’s our kuleana to, our responsibility to study, care for and then help to manage them. He also realized that there were other marine facilities throughout the world situated in unique ecosystems like here in Hawai‘i, and the researchers and students would travel thousands of miles to study what we see everyday in our backyards. He also knew that the best way to study these resources was to provide opportunities for local communities and to showcase this research to scientists throughout the world was to build a first-class marine facility. At UH Hilo we have been applying this as a proof of concept for the past 20 years, as part of our annual summer course class; it’s a Quantitative Underwater Ecological Surveying Techniques class, which I come from today down at Ke‘ei – so excuse my casual dress. But in of all students are learning how to do, among other things to fish surveys, assess coral disease and conduct surveys of invertebrate populations while scuba diving. And this course is presently taught at very rustic setting where students camp in tents, lab works done on picnic tables and we run all our lectures and analysis and statistics using generators. This model, although has been successful, brings several limitations like flooded tents, insect infestations and fatigue associated with living outside, which is also shared by researchers who do work along Hawai‘i Island, as well as the students. And the marine lab at Puakō would provide educators, researchers and students a stable platform to do research and to teach some of these unique field labs we can offer here on Hawai‘i Island. Finally, Walt knew that the Puakō community represented an ideal location for such a marine facility as it offers some of the best coral reefs in Hawai‘i, stable weather patterns and is a nice location right between East and West Hawai‘i, and finally has a local community dedicated to protecting the marine environment. And I think they, the community, sums it up best in their mission, and I quote, “is to promote awareness and protection of our unique environmental assets of 4 EXHIBIT B