HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0284.046 2020-2022 William K. and Lynn P. Swank
62-3918 Lanikeha Place
Kamuela, Hawaii 96743
COUNTY CLERK
Peter Merriman COUNTY OF HAWAII
c/o Merriman's Waimea RECEIVED
65-1227 Opelo Road B Time lf:500L.M. By. le
Waimea, Hawaii 96743 Date
JUN 1 4 2021
Chair and Presiding Officer Matt Kdneali'i-Kleinfelder
Vice Chair Heather L. Kimball
Committee on Finance, County Council
County of Hawai'i
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Aloha mai e Chair Kdneali'i-Kleinfelder, Vice Chair Kimball, and Members of the Committee
on Finance,
Mahalo for the opportunity to provide testimony supporting Resolution 145-21 for the permanent
protection of Mahukona.
Peter Merriman and I are past Directors of the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust(HILT). Peter,
Lynn, and I have agreed to participate actively in the acquisition of Mahukona on behalf of
HILT. I participated in contacting the current owners, exploring the possibility of an "open
space" acquisition rather than pursuing the development plans they were pursuing, and
introducing them to HILT.
We understand that HILT, Nd Kdlai Wa'a, Mdhukona families and the Kohala community are
working together with the County's Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources
Commission process, among others,to raise public and private funding in order to purchase and
permanently protect the lands of Mdhukona, located along the Kohala, Hawaii Island coastline,
covering 642 acres and six ahupua'a(from south to north) Kaoma, Hihiu, Mahukona, Kamano,
Kou, and Kapaanui.
Peter, Lynn and I have worked on many conservation projects with HILT. Before moving to
Hawaii full time, Lynn and I were active on the mainland in the acquisition and protection of
approximately 1600 acres of ocean front land on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Southern
California. That land is now actively managed by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy
for public access hiking, education, habitat restoration, and perpetual preservation.
The following are some of the reasons we support a conservation purchase and the permanent
protection of Mdhukona:
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Comm. No Xr
Ref.TO: RFQ�
Ref. Date JUN 1. 5 2021
• Prohibit subdivision and development of Mohukona, while protecting Kohala's
agricultural tradition of the Kohala Field System.
• Support `ohana and community stewardship of Mahukona's prominent Hawaiian cultural
landscape and protect the hundreds of ancient heiau and cultural sites stili cared for by
`ohana and practitioners, continuing the area's tradition of non-instrumental navigation
and subsistence fishing practices.
• Protect and restore Mahukona's native flora and fauna habitat, including that for the
endangered `ope`ape`a(Hawaiian Hoary Bat),the Hawaiian monk seal, and other
unidentified threatened, endangered, at-risk, or endemic species.
• Maintain and enhance recreational use of the area's traditional trails and swimming
areas.
• Complete a portion of the large conservation and view corridor envisioned by the Kohala
community and outlined in the North Kohala Community Development Plan, by
connecting the protection of Lapakahi State Historical Park to the south to the County's
Kapa`a Beach Park to the north.
• Ensure the integrity and health of Mahukona's ocean resources, including endemic and
endangered marine species.
• Use of public funds for the protection of Mahukona is a proactive opportunity for the
County and State to uphold constitutional obligations to protect Native Hawaiian
subsistence, cultural, and religious practices and Public Trust resources.
This is an historic opportunity to protect,preserve, and enhance over 600 acres of ocean front
land for the community. Mahukona by itself should be preserved for its rich pre contact history,
for its local recreational and religious traditions, and its endemic species. But it is also important
to protect it as a critical part of creating one contiguous preserved historic and open space
corridor along the Kohala Coast for future generations to enjoy.
Mahalo for the opportunity to provide testimony in strong support of Resolution 145-21 for the
permanent protection of Mahukona.
William K. and Lynn P. Swank
Peter Merriman