The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0988.022 2018-2020 Council of the County of Hawaii West Hawaii Civic Center, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway #�i1 Kailua-Kona 01&July 22, 2020. 9 a.m. COUNTY OF HAWAIII Re; Bill 178 RECEIVED Tize_L0q_&M By Dear Hawaii County Council members, late JUL 2 1 I am writing to express my very strong support for Bill 178 which amends and updates the county code for native forest dedications. Since 19921 have dedicated my professional and personal life to the conservation and restoration of Hawaii's native forests. Bill 178 is a novel and forward-thinking process to engage the public to play a role in the stewardship of our forests. My master's and doctorate degrees from the University of Hawaii coupled with my 20-year career as a scientist for the USDA Forest Service in Hawaii have opened my eyes to the reality of protecting and restoring our native forests in Hawaii. Despite dedicated efforts to fight threats to Hawai'i's native ecosystems, we are losing the war. Table 1.Ecosystem status for Hawaii. Resources to protect remaining native areas and save Percentage of terrestrial ecosystems surviving as native plant endangered species are entirely inadequate for slowing down, communities(data from the Hawaii let alone halting, the loss of HawaiTs native species and Conservation Alliance). ecosystems. While many lands across Hawaii have Ecosystem Percent of conservation status, invasive Tion-native pathogens,plants, and Types Original Ecosystem animals are rapidly destroying our native ecosystems. Less than Remaining half of Hawai`i s land area currently remains as native Lowland Dry 5%Forest dominated vegetation(Table 1). In addition, less than 5% of Lowland these areas are adequately managed to ensure their future Mesic Forest 17% survival. The current trajectory for these ecosystems is one of Lowland wet 53%Forest continued rapid degradation and loss, and global climate change Montane Dry will likely accelerate the pace of this decline. If we continue Forest 41% Montane along our current trajectory, within the lifetimes of our children, Mesic Forest 44% Hawaii will lose most of her remaining native ecosystems and Montane wet 90% with them, many of the native plants and animals they support. Forest Hawaii has already lost over a thousand species of plants, subalpine 90% birds, and invertebrates to extinction, and leads the United Alp1lle 99% States in numbers of plants and animals listed as threatened or Total 46% endangered (394 federally listed threatened or endangered species). One out of every three native Hawaiian plants is already extinct, endangered, or at-risk of becoming endangered. Any efforts proposed by county, state and or federal agencies to enhance and encourage public involvement in forest stewardship will help us transform our relationship with the land, water, plants, and animals that sustain and inspire us. While efforts to restore native ecosystems are ongoing, the challenges often outweigh the effort (i.e. invasive species, invasive pathogens such as Rapid Ohia Death, wildfires, and drought). The categories proposed in Bill 178, including functional and successional forests are innovative and based in reality. The promotion of functional forests—i.e. using native and non-native but No 41.22 Ref. DateJit" 2 2 2U2a noninvasive species is grounded on long-term research showing a reduction in weedy species and a promotion of native species while also reducing the amount of maintenance effort. Non- native/noninvasive species can include many of our beloved canoe plants such as Ulu,Niu, Kukui, Kou, Kamam and Ti thereby adding utility and sustenance while conserving native biodiversity. The preservation of successional (lava) lands put forth in Bill 178 is the most forward-thinking aspect of this bill. To many—these lands have no value, but for a native forest they are a welcome map to begin life. Ecological succession is defined as the process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time. Species that arrive first in a newly created environment(such as a lava flow) are called pioneer species, and they, through their interactions with one another, build biological communities. In a sense—the protection of successional lands is the ultimate form of natural restoration. Further, our iconic and beloved `Ohi lehua(Metrosideros polyinorpha) is one of the only woody species (native or nonnative) that can thrive in this environment. By encouraging protection of successional lands,we are protecting the future of`01ii. For these reasons I urge you to support these amendments. This is for our future. With Aloha, Digitally signed by SUSAN SUSAN CCORDELL D�O�020.07.21 09:0736 CORDELL Susan Cordell, PhD