HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0988.016 2018-2020From: Diane Ware
Sent: Monday, July 06, 2020 10:55 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Support for Bill 178 -Forest dedication and restoration
Aloha Councilmembers,
COUNTY CLERK
COUNTY OF HAWAI ' I
RECEIVED
Time I0:15M sy
Date J U L 0 6 2020
Please support Bill 178 to encourage forest preservation and restoration by property owners.
The current forest dedication law can be improved. In the 16 years since it was passed, there have been only 129
dedications, and zero reforestation dedications, a category that needs to be added.
Bill 178 would increase participation in the program. It would allow food crops and some non-native species (but not harmful
invasives), and would allow dedication even if land is covered by lava, with the goal of keeping invasives out as native forest
returns.
Bill 178 would also set lower taxes, and with no waiting period, to encourage owners to commit to preservation and restoration
work.
We need healthy forests to protect the vanishing ecosystem (hundred dollars acres are bulldozed daily, protect our watershed
and slow climate change, provide habitat for native species, support native Hawaiian culture, and provide places to refresh our
spirits.
Sincerely,
Diane Ware
Volcano HI 96785
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