HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0377.680 2024-2026From: - Colleen Wallis
Sent: Monday, September 1, 2025 8.46 AM
To: Council Testimony
Cc: Kimball, Heather, Kagiwada, Jennifer, Onishi, Dennis; Kierkiewicz, Ashley, Kanealii-
Kleinfelder, Matt, Galimba, Michelle M.; Villegas, Rebecca; Inaba, Holeka; Hustace,
James on
Subject: Please continue your SUPPORT for Res. 234-25 cn zo
Aloha Chair and Council Members, -Tim
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1 stand in full support of Resolution 234-25 to protect the health, safety, and cultural integrity Z9 HaO7 i
Island. This is a historic and important opportunity for our residents. w
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 TrainingArea, 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 ecologically vital 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 without delay.
Please review these articles:
The Cost of the U.S. Military in Hawai'i:
httos•//hawaiifirst blog/20251QB1271the-cost-of-hosting-the-u-s-military-in-hawai%CA%BBi/
The Army is Not Our _ ..
https://ethanmckown.substack.com/p/the-army-es-not-our-
,, . V-3 2025
Mahalo,
[Your Name]
[Your District]