Kapulena Hamakua EA PBR Final TMK No. 4-7-005 and 006

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KAPULENA AGRICULTURAL PARK FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT 2.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 2.1 PROJECT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES The Hawaii County Department of Finance (DOF) proposes to permit or lease the subject property for agricultural use as an agricultural park. The agricultural park will allow these lands to be put back into productive agricultural use. The lease rents (or permit fees) will be nominal and therefore not expected to be a major general fund revenue source. However, the County views the promotion of agriculture rather than income will serve the greater public interest in furtherance of sustainability goals. 2.2 NEED FOR THE PROJECT The County has owned the Kapulena Lands since 1994, when it was acquired from Hamakua Sugar Company in lieu of real property taxes owed. Although the County had considered selling the Kapulena Lands to offset budget shortfalls, community interest in using the land for diversified agriculture prompted the County to consider other plans for the property. The County met with experts in agriculture from State and Federal Agencies and forged a partnership with the Hamakua Farm Bureau, the Big Island Farm Bureau, Kamehameha Schools, the University of Hawaii College of Agriculture and Forestry, the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, and The Kohala Center to develop the agricultural park concept described in the Proposed Use section below. The agricultural park concept addresses the following needs: • To develop and demonstrate best practices for sustainable and efficient grazing operations to support the grass -fed beef industry; • To test alternative orchard and other crops for larger scale production; • To test and provide incubator opportunities for value -added products; • To train farmers and processors in cultivation and business practices at different scales from family to larger -scale operations, with an emphasis to strengthen the family -farm based agricultural community in Hamakua. The County recognizes that agriculture in the Hamakua District has diversified to include cattle ranching, production of macadamia nut, fruit trees, vegetables, flowers, aquaculture and forestry. The diversification of the industry has lead to a growth in the total number of agricultural operations, but an overall loss in acreage utilized for farming and ranching. Thus, improving best practices, providing an area to risk new product development, providing training opportunities, and providing low cost start -up land suitable for agricultural pursuits are ways the County can contribute to promote agriculture. 2.3 PROPOSED USE The proposed agricultural park plan will proceed in the following steps: 1) The County will clear the existing cane roads through the Kapulena Lands and install fencing along the roads to create paddocks (see Figure 4 Agricultural Park); 2) Initial grazing activities under a cooperative pilot project with the Hamakua Farm Bureau will take place on about 100 acres in the makai portion of the lands between the Lower Hamakua Ditch and approximately the 1,300 -foot elevation (portion of TMK 3 -4 -7- 005:001) to clear the area of the overgrown non - native grasses. Selective removal of 2 -1