HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0489.490 2018-2020 ,
From: Krista Donaldson
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Please pass Bill 101
Date: Monday, November 18,2019 3:56:41 PM 7019 141.1V 19
Mahalo niu loa for the opportunity to comment. I support Bill 101 and encourage you to do
the same.
Some of Hawaii's cutest and smallest endangered species can be found in select bushes all
along Kailua-town's Ali'i Drive - seven distinct varieties of Hawai'i's Yellow-faced
beeshttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/10/bees-endangered-species-hawaii-
yellow-faced0/#clo se
were our nation's first bee species to be listed as a Federally Endangered Species in 2016.
Science no longer disputes the fact that Round-up contributes to the havoc facing bee colonies.
Along Ali'i Drive, Yellow-Faced Bees have adapted to many plants found in our County
Beach parks - heliotrope, nau paka, and others. The modern use of poison at County beach
parks is counter productive to many state and federal efforts to repopulate and preserve
Hawaii's Yellow-Faced Bee populations. County Parks should be safe havens for Hawaii's
endangered species. Bill 101 would be a huge step forward enabling County lands to act as
barriers against the modern land maintenance strategies contributing a variety of assaults to
Hawaii Islands' fragile reef and shoreline ecosystems.
Discontinuing County's practices of managing our most important lands with a known bee-
killer is an important step towards repopulating Hawaii's Yellow-Faced Bees. By pursuing
alternative land maintenance strategies, Counciwoman Villegas' bill models to our most
important land stewards - County employees and civilians - a forward-thinking approach.
Thanks for your consideration and time.
Krista Joan Donaldson
75-5789 Makamae Place
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
808-557-9085
Comm. No. � .L� `O
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