HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0377.195 2024-2026From: William Higa
Sent: Monday, August 18, 2025 8:53 AM
To: Council Testimony
Cc: Kimball, Heather, Kagiwada, Jennifer, Onishi, Dennis; Kierkiewicz, Ashley; Konealii�
Kleinfelder, Matt; Galimba, Michelle M.; Villegas, Rebecca; Inaba, Holeka; Ho3tacepn
c CD
James Z
Subject: Please SUPPORT Res. 234-25 _ <�
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Aloha Chair and Council Members,
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I stand in full support of Resolution 234-25 to protect the health, safety, and cultural integrity oWawai'i
Island. This is a historic and important opportunity for our residents. We ask.that you unanimously Vote
in SUPPORT of Resolution 234-25 that will help end Pohakuloa live fire and bombing practice, and further
contamination and destruction of the landscape and soil/air quality in the Pohakuloa Training Area,
rejecting land swaps and lease renewals with the military unless specific stipulations are established,
with the U.S. Military adhering to our Hawai'i State Constitution and motto through the Ka Pa'akai
Analysis on the area.
For decades, Pohakuloa—a sacred and ecologicallyvital area —has been subjected to contamination
and destruction from military activity. These impacts extend far beyond the immediate training grounds.
What happens on our land directly affects our island's water quality and quantity. The pollutants and
toxins from bombing and live fire seep into the soil, travel into our aquifers, and threaten the clean water
that sustains our families, farms, and fisheries.
The Board of Land and Natural Resources recognized this danger when they denied the U.S. Army's Final
Environmental Impact Statement in May 2025—its second failure to meet the requirements of our laws.
The Army's recent, partial clean-up efforts are not acts of goodwill; they are strategic moves to secure
more land and reframe their public image. True stewardship means consistent respect for cultural sites
and environmental health —not compliance only when more land is at stake.
Pohakuloa is culturally sacred. It is also centrally located at high elevation and greatly impacts our
island's ecological health. We cannot allow further poisoning of our land, air, and water under the guise
of national defense. Protecting this area is protecting our people, our culture, and our future. I urge you
to adopt Resolution 234-25.
Please review these articles:
Ka Pa'akai Analysis:
https:11kawa iota. news/cols/e nin a u i@ nhlc ask the native hawaiian-legaL-Dyflnoration/e-nhlc-
what-ia-a-ka-paaka i-analysis/
The Army is Not Our Neighbor:
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Ref. To:
Ref. Date 2025
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Mahalo,
William R. Higa
County District 1