2012-57.8 FinnTestimony to DLNR re Hawaiis Volcano Circus Ltd Application for Lease of State Land (TMK 1-2-9-15)

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III. RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS A. Update EA with all missing information (see the State guidelines at h of 20ocuments E ironmental Assessment ri i e Kit D EA -FEA- Checklist. df ) and fully disclose all proposed activities and anticipated impacts from the proposal to lease the State land and include the P P P proposal to amend the Special Uses permit. By including the request for an Amendment to the Special Use Permit 1122 the community would have the opportunity to comment on this and would be able to ascertain community benefits (could include: use of proposed facilities, job creation, use of State land, and other possibilities). Remove references to the 1998 EA and its associated actions (except as introductory background material) as it is outdated information and should no longer be considered relevant. B. The major neighborhood concern is likely to be noise impacts. To reduce these impacts look into noise abatement mitigation including, but not necessarily limited to: installing soundproofing in all buildings that would generate noise (e.g. the performance space, industrial arts center) and sound proof gravel road /driveways through some road surface modification (paving or other). Once the Amended Special Use Permit proposal is included there would likely be additional noise mitigation recommendations from its proposed activities. C. Develop a land management plan to provide for taking care of the 59 -acre parcel (as was recommended by OHA in a letter dated February 10, 1998) including: Habitat improvement /protection: To protect and enhance habitat for native birds, revegetation and /or other habitat improvements of the site could be considered. For example, native vegetation (described below) favored by the two native birds seen during the original survey could be planted if found to be scarce. Also, the Hawaiian hoary bat may be found on the site (the 1997 biological surveys only included avian surveys) and as such may be able to benefit from management activities as well. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Hawaiian Hoary Bat Recovery Plan (1998) habitat loss is thought to be a factor in the bat's decline. It further states that the availability of roasting sites is believed to be a major limitation, along with other threats including pesticides, predation, prey availability and roost disturbance, among others. They describe the usefulness of education programs to inform the public along with other actions as beneficial to the bat. Native birds in Hawaii have been shown to benefit by activities which improve their habitat and increase their reproductive success (see below information from the State of Hawaii's 2005 Wildlife Report), including: reducing the feral cat population which can be facilitated through spaying and neutering, controlling the rat population which could be assisted by traps or other methodologies, and by fencing out wild pigs or other ungulates to protect native vegetation and reduce standing water which breeds mosquitoes and leads to disease in bird populations. Some of these measures may be worth considering on the 59 -acre State Land parcel to 0