Recommended Hāmākua CDP Community Action Guide

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4.8 Establish and Manage Public Access Community Action 15: Develop and implement plans to establish and manage specific access points and trails. Need: Public access to the ocean and mountains has special recreational, traditional, and cultural significance to the people of the Hamakua CDP Planning Area. The original inhabitants of the Planning Area, the ancient Hawaiians, depended on an extensive network of trails as their only means of overland transportation. In more modern times, many privately maintained and privately owned sugar cane haul roads enabled the public to access the forests and coastlines for over a century while sugar plantations were in operation. Access users were primarily local residents who depended on access to favorite hunting and fishing spots to bring food to the family table and to teach harvesting skills to younger generations. After the sugar era ended in 1994, former sugar plantation land holdings and the mostly unpaved, cane haul roads crossing these lands have been subdivided, bought, and sold. The result is a patchwork of land ownership and an end to the open network of former cane haul roads. Trespassing appears to be a common practice, whether on purpose or unintended and damaged fences, gates left open, and cruelty to livestock are among the problems reported. Some landowners and managers have responded by prohibiting access, but hikers, hunters, fishermen, and community members who are used to unfettered access find this unacceptable. Furthermore, landowner concerns over liability continue to be a barrier to opening private lands to public access. '%6, Potential Community Lead: Action Committee Potential Community Partners: MAMA Mauka Makai Access 1% Potential Allies: North Kohala Access Group, County of Hawai'i (County Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Commission (PONC), Cultural Resources Commission), DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) and State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD), National Park Service (HVNP and AKNHT), The Nature Conservancy, Hawaiian Islands Land Trust, Trust for Public Land, Potential Next Steps: The Action Committee can provide leadership by: • Forming a coalition of people who are interested in working together on access issues, and have knowledge of past and present accesses in the Planning Area. • Identify specific areas of importance for public access. • Place priority on publicly owned lands and public rights-of-way. • Determine which accesses should receive priority attention and why. • Explore ways in which public access arrangements can alleviate landowner, land manager, and agriculture producers concerns. • Encourage the development of partnerships with community organizations capable of assisting with public access management. • Encourage partnerships, funding, and liability protection for community level management of public access. • Study community level public access management approaches in order to identify best management practices that will promote success. • Work with interested community organizations to develop guidelines for "community access" that can Community Action Guide: 2017 27