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Murashige, Laura P,
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From: Philip Thomas (www.philipt.com) [pt@philipt.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 11:16 AM 1009 APR 21 AN 11. 10
To: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us
Cc: cohdem@co.hawaii.hi.us Cr, Subject: OPPOSE Resolution 67-09 " J
COUN'Ff 'I ' °II
* I oppose Resolution 67-09 because it seeks to prevent the Department of Land and
Natural Resources from fulfilling its mandate to protect and manage our Forest Reserves.
* Most--if not all--of the designated Forest Reserves are ceded land. These lands
are held in trust by the State of Hawaii for the benefit of Hawaii's people and future
generations.
* The Forest Reserves are valuable as watersheds for drinking and irrigation water,
habitat for rare and endangered Hawaiian species, and sources from which selected forest
products can be grown and harvested, such as koa.
* Cattle grazing is not compatible with the purposes for which the Forest Reserves in
Hawaii were established.
* Grazing cattle inhibit the regeneration of koa and other native plants used in
reforestation efforts.
* If the DLNR thought that cattle grazing was the best use of this land, the DLNR
certainly would have pulled this area out of Forest Reserve status and put it under the
Land Division for leasing to private ranchers. But, the DLNR has not done so, therefore,
we hope you will support and work with the DLNR to protect the Forest Reserve and
watershed.
* Aerial shooting of wild cattle, if done carefully, is a safe and humane way to
remove cattle. A sharpshooter shooting from a helicopter is more humane than most
slaughterhouses and more humane than some hunters using poorly trained dogs for pigs,
sheep, goats, and deer.
* If the County is willing to pay for the timely and complete removal of wild cattle
from this area using an alternative method, we would support that. Regardless of which
method is used to remove these cattle, the owner of the cattle should be billed for all
expenses incurred by the state or the county. We should also do everything in our power
to discourage private landowners from feeding at the public trough at the expense of
public trust lands and the people.
Aloha,
Philip Thomas
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Philip A. Thomas - pt@philipt.com - http://www.philipt.com
P.O. Box 1272, Puunene (Maui), Hawaii 96784 USA
...trying to make the web a better place, one URL at a time...
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