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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0284.022 2020-2022 Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,Chairperson Heather L.Kimball,Vice Chair Committee on Finance, County Council,County of Hawaii H A w A I ' i 25 Aupuni Street,Hilo,Hawaii 96720-4252 L AND T R US T RE: Tuesday,June 15,2021,Committee on Finance Meeting Testimony in Support of Resolution 145-21 Board of Directors 2020 Aloha mai e Chairman Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,Vice Chair Kimball and Members of the Committee on Finance, Board Chair Mary Charles Hawaiian Islands Land Trust,d/b/a Hawaii Land Trust("HILT")is Hawai`i's islands-wide land trust that is both a Hawaii 501(c)3 nonprofit,and a nationally Vice Chair accredited land trust. Our mission is to protect and steward the lands that W tain Lisa Grove Hawaii,and to perpetuate Hawaiian values by connecting people to `aina-!.41lLT holds 41 conservation easements restricting private land use(14 on Hawak`i Trearur Island),owns and stewards 7 preserves statewide (1 on Hawaii Island), r Keith Ogata protecting over 21,000 acres throughout the pae `aina. Secretary HILT humbly submits this letter of support for Resolution 145-21 for-lbe Jennifer Luck permanent protection of Mahukona. Part Chair As HILT and Na Kalai Wa`a's PONC nomination for 642 acres of Mahukoria's Jonathan Scheuer lands were ranked#1 in 2020,Mahukona is a priority land protection effort for Neil Hannahs HILT.We would like to share a few land acquisition updates: Matt Beall • HILT secured an Option Agreement to purchase the 642 acres of Mahukona lands. Le`ahi Hall • HILT submitted a federal funding application for USFWS Recovery Land Acquisition funds. This program's purpose is to protect habitat for Larry Stevens threatened and endangered species and if funded, HILT has committed to cultural and community based stewardship of the lands for the protection Jody Kaulukukui of threatened and endangered species habitat. This funding application is done in partnership with DLNR DOFAW. Marissa Harman These Mahukona lands were once slated as another resort development along the Randy Vitousek Kohala coastline—and is now affording us an opportunity to permanently protect the lands and waters that have and continue to teach generations of navigators and Jocelyn Herbert provide a sense of reprieve and well being for Kohala and Hawaii island families. HILT is working in partnership with Na Kalai Wa`a, local 501(c)(3),the four Theresa Young Kohala community groups who also submitted the#3 ranking 2020 PONC nomination, and the greater Kohala and Hawaii Island community to protect Mahukona. These lands are home to over 175 cultural sites including Ko`a Heiau President&CEO Holomoana, and we are diligently working to ensure access and stewardship to Laura H.E. Kaakua lands that can continue to serve as a hub for educational,environmental,and cultural resiliency. ph: 808.791.0729 PONC funds are critical to ensure Hawaii Island's most precious lands, food,and 126 Queen St., Ste. 306 water sources are protected in perpetuity. This support,when done in close Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 partnership with `ohana and communities of place, also builds community www.hilt.org resiliency and overall health. HILT is humbled to be working with the County and other public and private funders on this important and exciting land conservation acquisition effort. A Comm. No. Ref. To: 0 Ref. bate JUN 1 5 2021 I The one comment that HILT would like to raise is a suggestion to remove the fourth"Whereas"clause on the top of pg. 2 of the draft resolution. Although this H A w Q P ! project does provide recreational values for the public,the fourth L A N D T R U 5 T "Whereas"clause on the top of pg.2,seems to not fall in line with the intent of the resolution. Board of Directors Mahalo nui loa for your public service and for the opportunity to submit 2020 testimony in support of Resolution 145-21,with the exception of the above comment regarding the fourth"Whereas"clause on the top of pg. 2. We look Board Chair forward to working collaboratively to protect our most special places in the Mary Charles County of Hawaii. Vice Chair Malama pono, Lisa Grove gzo,2Q, Treasurer Shae Kamakaala , Keith Ogata Director of`Aina Protection, shaeghilt.or�, 808-940-0639 Secretary Jennifer Luck Enclosure Past Chair Jonathan Scheuer Neil Hannahs Matt Beall Le`ahi Hall Larry Stevens Jody Kaulukukui Marissa Harman Randy Vitousek Jocelyn Herbert Theresa Young President&CEO Laura H. E. Kaakua ph: 808.791.0729 126 Queen St., Ste. 306 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 www.h i I t.o rg �F "t MAHUKONANavigati'onal & Cultural Complex Protection of a Hawaiian Cultural Landscape Cared for by lineal descendants of its navigators and Na Kalai Wa'a, local 501(c)(3), Ko'a Heiau Land Protection Shale-, Holomoana is a navigational heiau located on the bluffs of Kamano bay in the ahupua'a of Kou. Purchase by Hawai'i Land Trust,501(c)(3), The cultural significance of Mahukona largely centers around it being a key location for with a Conservation Easement held by the traditional navigational training. Its shorelines were home to ancient fishing villages,working ma County of Hawai'i,and stewardship uka(towards the mountain)to the productive agricultural Kohala Field System. partnerships with Na Kalai Wa'a,501(c)(3), The Mahukona lands span the coastal regions of six ahupua'a:Kaoma, Hihiu, Mahukona, and the Kohala and surrounding communities. Kamano, Kou,and Kapa'anui. In the 1880's,the ahupua'a of Mahukona became the main harbor for sugar and an industrial sugar plantation town.After the close of Kohala's sugar Cultural practice and education;native species plantations,these lands have been slated for resort and residential development from the 1980's habitat restoration;archaeological and cultural to today. preservation;landscape level conservation. In 2020,with support from the Kohala community and the voyaging nonprofit Na Kalai Wa'a, Hawai'i Land Trust began pursuing a conservation purchase of Mahukona. Hawai'i County's ` Public Access,Open Space,&Natural Resources Preservation Commission ranked Mahukona Cultural and historic sites that support present its#1 priority for protection. Hawai'i Land Trust is now seeking matching public and private day cultural practice,scenic view planes, funds.As the integrity of cultural practice and lifestyles are inextricably tied to ecosystem health, healthy marine ecosystem,public recreational removing the development threat of these lands through a access,native species habitat,agricultural conservation purchase and perpetual conservation pasture lands. easement ensures the generational continuance of subsistence, religious,and cultural practice and stewardship; 642 Acres the restoration of native dry land and coastal ecosystems; H AWA I'I LAND TRUST and the maintenance of the rural Kohala lifestyle. Connecting to Our Past to Community Vision M Safeguard Our Future Collaborative community ownership and Hawai'i County Public Access,Open 9 To date, 175 historical sites have been stewardship of Mahukona includes: Space,&Natural Resources ' Preservation Commission P 3 identified including four heiau(one being an ( ONC) c important navigational heiau),shrines,a 'Ghana and community based o section of the Alaloa trail that once encircled stewardship of natural,cultural,and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery m the island,other ancient trails,and burial historic resources. Land Acquisition Program sites. Mahukona continues to be a place for o training in the Hawaiian practices of Safe cultural and natural resource State of Hawai'i Legacy Land 0 traditional navigation,fishing,and gathering. education and recreational Conservation Program v Its shoreline and waters are where nearly opportunities. o Private Donations&Grants every child of Kohala first learned to swim. Restoration and stewardship of native and threatened andstems Native and endemic species abound in ecosystems Mahukona's water, land,and sky. From the endangered species. Get Involved! c endangered'ope'ape`a(Hawaiian hoary Securing a sustainable water source for bat)who are commonly seen at dusk along Director of'Aina Protection, o h f d ffusers othe ti t restoration efforts an the coastline,to the endangered seabird landHawai'i Land Trust 808-940-0639 1 v ake'ake(Band-rumped storm-petrel)and place. shae@hilt.org m the threatened'ua`u (Hawaiian petrel)and Open space protection of the Kohala Z 'a'o(Newell's shearwater)who forage off coastline. s a Hawaii 501c3 nonprofit T the coastline from their mountain burrows in the intact Kohala Mountains,to native and Circular economic development. and nationally accredited land trust that protects _ endemic marine life from fish,to limu and stewards the lands that sustain Hawai'i,and (seaweed),dolphins, rays,and the Perpetuate values of Mahukona such as perpetuates Hawaiian culture by connecting W endangered Hawaiian monk seals that haul listening,sharing,family,work,and people with'aina. L- out in the rocky coves. Native plants harvesting by seasons. including the'iliahialo'e(coastal _- , is a Hawai'i 501c3 nonprofit that sandalwood), 'aki'aki (coastal grass),and _— maintains cultural values and customs through hinahina(native beach heliotrope)grow t -! the teaching and applying of non instrument along the coast. navigation and open ocean voyaging.NKW ? r' cares for navigational cultural sites and the sailing canoe Makalh at Mahukona. i., hil--t-ori nakalaiwaa.ora ••q- I� y � 'xr t .k �/ ina ve beat eliohope .� _. wr MAT Mahbk1na obaU bn,(by:Haney K 1.eba) H A W A 1'1 LAND TRUST MAHUKONA NAVIGATIONAL AND CULTURAL COMPLEX KAPA'A NUI, KOU, KAMANO, MAHUKONA, HIHIU, AND KAOMA AHUPUA'A, KOHALA, HAWAII ISLAND c CL Q ; G_ Q 1 � 6 pa a q O � Q 7 a C C � Y a Lapakahi State Historical Park ah • Adr�o� Ka as a Beac Park Makao ule M ukon a Point Kaoma Point • Beach K auilii Point Park 0.5 Miles Map Key `CpLA/ w �q o Project Area(642 acres) 1P 9 y d \ State of Hawaii o�� 1d 0 r � United States of America K o h a l a a U e 'oa Ahupuaa + � � � � 0 Ahupuaa �"� Tax Map Boundaries MDI<U O HAWAI I AND T R S MAHALI I