Comm No 0021.136 - Testimony - CA-7 - PONC fund and Maintenance fund

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The Land Fund is needed to preserve places like Kawa. Even though half the island is under conservation, it is zoned conservation, which means you can still build stuff on the land, which doesn't preserve it. 63% of voters were in favor of the land fund, three times in a row. Other counties, like Kauai, do not have as much money for a land fund. This is because Kauai doesn't have as much land, and other counties, such as O'ahu, have a much higher population. Also, most of the land on Kauai is crazy expensive, not even locals can afford, and if we have the Land Fund, we can prevent the Big Island from becoming like that. There is a 2,000 acre plot of untouched land in Ka'u named Waiakapuna. If we continue the Land Fund, we can buy it and help preserve it. If we don't, it might be bought for commercial use and the pure land will go to waste. At Kawa, there are many native plants, such as the alahe'e, wiliwili, niu, naupaka, kou and kukui, some even being endangered or endemic. We are planting these plants to make an area where these plants will be safe to grow and we are able to take care of them through the funding of the Land Fund. These plants are environmentally and culturally important to the land. There are also native, endemic, and endangered plants in Waikapuna and all around the island. If these important pieces of land are bought by big businesses, they might bulldoze the plants, which is disrespectful and bad for the environment. This is another reason to keep the Land Fund, to help protect these rare, one of a kind species. In conclusion, the Land Fund Program is important, not just because it gives us a place to swim and play, because the next generation will have a place to go to see what Hawai'i was, not what it has become. I hope you vote to keep the program so we can help preserve it for the future. Mahalo, Abby Jensen