HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0208.012 2004-2006 T II e
TRUST To: HAWAII COUN"CY COUNCIL F[NANCF.
F U li
PUBLIL COMMIT"I'EE
1' N ~ Date: Tuesday, April 19, 2005, 930 A.M.
Subject: TESTIMONY [N S'T'RONG SUPPORT OF BILLS 78 & 79
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I°' h`°I'I' 'the Trust for Public Land (TPL) is anon-profit organization dedicated to preserving
and protecting land for people, whether those lands are important cultural, recreational,
ecological or scenic areas that add to our quality of life here in Hawai `i. TPL has protected
over 2,000 acres of our best-loved and most-used places throughout the state and is working to
protect other areas every day, including cultural lands at the City of Refuge in Honaunau, the
Homl`apo coastal area, and Wao Kele o Puna. We strongly support Bills 78 and 79 and believe
that passage of these laws is crucial to protecting the integrity of Hawai`i's environment, our
precious recreational, cultural and natural resources that support our economy, and our local
quality of life.
The County of Hawaii has so much to gain with the passage of this bill. Every year
millions of dollars of Federal funds are available for land acquisition and conservation, but in
most cases those,Junds must he matched by local funds to he drak~n to the Big Island. With
some programs, one dedicated county dollar can leverage 3 federal dollarstripling it's
impact. By dedicating 2% of the current property tax revenue, approximately 2 million dollars
per year will be directed to a land conservation fund-money that can attract millions of
federal and private matching dollars to the Island of Hawaii that would allow local
communities and this Council protect special areas of land for Hawai'i's future generations.
Without a predictable source of seed money provided by Bills 78 and 79, opportunities
for land protection on [he Big Island routinely slip away. Just last year, $I.SM in federal
funding from the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program was returned to Washington DC
that could have been spent helping Hawaii farmers stay on the land and protect our wide open
spaces. Important areas that have provided mauka and makai access to generations of residents
could be saved with Federal help while still allowing businesses and landowners to realize
market value for their property and avoiding litigation and the courts. And, cultural landscapes
that define the soul of our Island culture and are critical to the tourism economy could be
protected in creative partnerships that leverage money from a number of sources.
Although we fully support Bills 78 and 79 in their current form, TPL believes that one
basic amendment can help make it more efficient and effective. We suggest adding language
that will clarify that traditional hunting and gathering areas are priority areas of public concern
and eligible for funding from the Preservation Fund, namely: "Public outdoor recreation and
education, including access to beaches, mountains, and traditional hunting and gathering
areas."
TPL is ready and prepared to help protect the lands that are most critical to the Big
Island community. Our organization and our land trust partners need dependable funding year
in and year out to apply for matching funds, work with willing landowners, and save this
Island's natural resources and the economy that depends on their preservation.
TLc Tru,.t for I'ubLc LanJ
I lauauan Inlan.6 O(6io
zIa nt~r.h.,,,, s~r~.~., Mahalo for the opportunity to testify.
s,~~r~~;'~` Josh Stanbro,'CPL-I[awai`i Project Manager
I I~~no ulu, I II UPSI i
Comm. No:_~ -
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