HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0349.790 2006-2008 Murashige, Laura
From: Drew Kapp [dkapp@hawaii.edu]
Sent: Monday, July 09, 2007 8:38 AM
To: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us t?Q~ U ~ t~-.
Subject: Testimony on Resolution 169-07
Attachments: Punalu'u testimony DK.doc
.
Punalu'u testimony
DK.doc (28
Aloha kakou,
2 am attaching a copy of a brief statement of testimony in support of Resolution 169-07.
2 have also given a copy to someone who will be attending this morning's County Council
Meeting.
Mahalo,
Drew
Drew Eric Kapp
Lecturer in Geography and Keaholoa Project Specialist University of Hawaii at Hilo &
Hawaii Community College 200 W Kawili Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720
(808) 933-3495 / 974-7648
dkappC~hawaii.edu
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a July 2007
PO Box 1192
Volcano, Hawaii 96785
dkapp@hawaii.edu
(808) 938-3328
Aloha Hawaii County Council,
I am writing in support of Council member Bob Jacobson's proposed resolution
on preserving the Punalu'u area in Ka'u through the purchase of land in the area.
It is an excellent idea for preserving a very unique, biologically delicate, and
cultural significant area - on an island whose landscapes are quickly becoming
transformed in ways that endanger native biota and Hawaiian cultural practices.
I am a geographer, and have a particular interest in landscapes and the stories
they tell about people and their relationship to places, and I see that Punalu'u
represents one such place of legendary status -definitely warranting its
preservation in the maximum way. I teach Geography at the University of
Hawaii and Hawaii Community College, and have availed my students of the
natural and cultural resources at Punalu'u on field excursions in the past; the
experience there was a profound one for them, particularly for the Native
Hawaiian students I work with. Not only was Punalu'u like a living laboratory, but
it also provided vital cultural sustenance and grounding for many of these
students: they were positively transformed by the place, and gained valuable
knowledge - of the type that could not be gained anywhere else. The place is
unique, and must be preserved. Without hesitation, I support Bob Jacobson's
proposed resolution, and salute the work that the `Ghana Hanoa was done to
preserve Punalu'u.
Sincerely,
Drew Kapp