HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0377.092 2024-2026From: GERALDINE BYRDSONG
Sent: Sunday, August 17, 2025 6:11 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: written testimony to Support Res. 234-25 Q
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Subject Line: Support Res. 234-25 co fl�
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Sr.
Aloha Committee Members, _ �—
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I strongly support this resolution. N
US Military training at Pohakuloa has already caused serious harm -burning nearly 20,000 acres,
contaminating the land, and threatening endangered species. Beneath this area lies a major aquifer
that supplies fresh water to Hawai'i Island, and the military's track record shows they are not
equipped to protect it.
There is also serious concern about depleted uranium left in the soil, which can become airborne
during exercises and has known health risks. Please support the State's Constitutional Obligation to
MAlama 'Aina
As reaffirmed by the Hawai'i Supreme Court in Kahaulelio v. DLNR (2019), the State has a proactive
duty to preserve and maintain trust lands.
Pohakuloa is a wahi pana- a sacred place with deep cultural and ecological significance. Continued
military use is incompatible with its conservation status and the values of aloha 'Aina.
Please support this resolution to protect the land, water, and people of Hawai'i.
Mahalo,
Geraldine Byrdsong
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(former resident of Hawaii)
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