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Home My WebLink AboutRES 208 Draft 01 2008-2010COUNTY OF HAWAII STATE OF HAWAII RESOLUTION NO. 208 09 A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF MAINTAINING THE `IO, OR HAWAIIAN HAWK (BUTEO SOLITARIUS) ON THE FEDERAL LIST OF ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE. WHEREAS, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 provides a program for conservation of threatened and endangered plants, animals and habitats in which they are found and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior maintains a worldwide list which, as of February, 2008 included 1,574 endangered species; and WHEREAS, based on its restricted range on the Island of Hawaii and the well- documented loss of native forest habitat from agriculture, logging, commercial development, and natural risks, e.g. volcanic activity, volcano off gases (VOG), hurricanes, extreme weather conditions, forest fires, West Nile, toxins, poisons, Ohia dieback, the `Io, or Hawaiian Hawk (Buteo solitarius) was listed as endangered since March, 1967; and WHEREAS, on August 5, 1993, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a proposed rule to reclassify the `Io or Hawaiian Hawk from endangered to threatened, and funded athree-month island-wide survey from December 1993 to February 1994, resulting in the decision to abandon said reclassification; and WHEREAS, in 1997, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service formed the `Io Recovery Working Group (IRWG) to evaluate existing recovery goals, and to formulate new goals if warranted and, in 1998 the IWRG concluded there was no substantive information to support listing of the `Io, or Hawaiian Hawk under provisions of the Endangered Species Act, since the study of 1998 the land development on Hawaii Island has seen enormous expansion, and the study did not include cultural and religious impacts to native people of Hawaii; and WHEREAS, at the time of the `Io's or Hawaiian Hawk's listing on the Federal list, the designation of critical habitat for the `Io has never been identified under the Endangered Species Act, therefore denying it full protection it could otherwise have enjoyed, and WHEREAS, the `Io, or Hawaiian Hawk is respected and recognized as `uhane kapu (sacred spirit) in Kanaka Maoli traditional spiritual practices, chants, mele and oli, worshiped as Aumakua (family guardian spirit) by many Kanaka Maoli and present day Ohana through their Mo`okn `auhau (genealogical and totemic ancestry), and therefore should maintain its protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973; and WHEREAS, the `Io is an intrinsic part of traditional Hawaiian religious practices which is protected under the Federal Religious Freedom Act of 1978, Native American Free Exercise of Religion Act of 1993, and the State of Hawaii Constitution, Article XII, Section 7, Hawaiian Affairs, Traditional and Customary Rights; and WHEREAS, their nesting, fledgling and perching habitat has been greatly reduced in recent years and the `Io mate for life and build permanent nests in the highest Ohia trees to which they return yearly to lay only one egg per mating season, and are therefore slow to build up their population; and WHEREAS, President Obama ordered federal agencies to halt all pending regulations and publication of federal regulations planned but not yet published in the Federal Register and the December 2008 "Drafr Post-Delisting Monitoring Plan for the Hawaiian Hawk, or `Io (Buteo solitarius)" is such a proposed federal regulation; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to maintain the `Io, or Hawaiian Hawk (Butec solitarius) on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and continue protection under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the County Council of Hawaii acknowledges that there exists documented and published archaeological evidence that the `Io, or Hawaiian Hawk once nested and roamed throughout all the Islands of Hawaii, but is now limited and found primarily on the Island of Hawaii. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the mere fact that the `Io, or Hawaiian Hawk exists nowhere else except Hawaii Island, the development of agricultural lands, clear- cutting of native forests, urbanization, and the delisting of the `Io currently occuring on Hawaii Island poses ongoing threats to the `Io, Hawaiian Hawk's primary habitat and survival. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council of the County of Hawaii encourages a safe habitat for the `Io, or Hawaiian Hawk (Buteo solitarius) on Hawaii Island and that cultural traditions, spiritual practices and inter-relationship between Kanaka Maoli, `Io, or Hawaiian Hawk (Buteo solitarius) and environment be encouraged, supported, perpetuated and protected. BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Clerk of the County of Hawai'i shall send a copy of this resolution to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; the Pacific Island Fish and Wildlife Office; Endangered Species Division, Honolulu, Hawai'i; the Pacific Regional Office, Portland, Oregon;, the State of Hawai'i Board of Land and Natural Resources;, the State of Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources;, and the Honorable William Kenoi, Mayor of the County of Hawai'i. , Hawai'i, this day of ,2009. Dated at INTRODUCED BY: ~~ /i4~jl\ COUNCIL M BER, COUNTY OF HAW A1'I COUNTY COUNCIL County of Hawai'i Hilo, Hawai'i ROLL CALL VOTE I hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUT'ION was by the vote mdicated to the nght hereof adopted by the COUNCIL of the County of Hawal'i on AYES NOES ABS EX ENRIQUES FORD GREENWELL HOFFMANN IKEDA NAEOLE ONISHI YAGONG YOSHIMOTO ATTEST: Reference: C-432/: PWIRC 208 09 COUNTY CLERK CHAIRPERSON & PRESIDING OFFICER RESOLUT'ION NO. 3