Comm 26-087 - LOS 26-08 Cave Conservancy of Hawaii

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Comm 26-087 Cave Conservancy of Hawai'i P.O. Box 7083 Ocean View, Hawaii 96737 www.hawaiicaves.org March 6, 2026 Aloha Commissioners of the Hawaii County Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Commission: The Cave Conservancy of Hawai’i, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based on Hawai’I Island, respectfully submits this testimony in strong support of actions to preserve the Hokulia lava tube system, namely in support of Sugg. 26-08, Hokuli' a, South Kona, Hawaii TMK( 3) 8- 1- 027: 021. Our mission is, among other things, to provide protection and conservation for the valuable resources of Hawaii’s lava tube caves. Our members, and the researchers we collaborate with, have studied a large variety of lava tube systems across Hawai’i Island, as well as on many of the other islands and worldwide. For Hawai’i, Hokuli’a Cave is a unique system for several reasons. The age and location of the cave is within a portion of the island where very little exploration of lave tubes has occurred. The age of the flow (greater than 10,000 years) makes this cave one of a very small number that have been identified in flows that old and with the potential to preserve evidence of what this Island was like prior to the arrival of humans. Safeguarding this amazing resource to provide time for us learn what it has to teach us preserves an inheritance that will benefit all of Hawai’i now and into the future and will help us to responsibly care for the lands of this amazing island. Within just a few months’ time, Hokuli’a Cave has yielded a complete skeleton of the now extinct flightless Giant Hawaiian Nene, Branta rhuax, as well as other birds, snails, crabs and seeds. The cave is also full of tree molds, ranging in size from small vines and shrubs to large trees that were on the island long ago when the climate was potentially very different. In addition, and very unusual for a lava tube, Hokuli’a contains a large deposit of sediment at the makai end that we understand has already yielded some interesting discoveries. We urge you to take advantage of this unique opportunity to protect and learn about our past, affirming that we care about our place-based identity, our living landscape, and our relationship to the ‘aina. If this site is damaged, the loss will be permanent. Protecting it is evidence that some places and spaces are valuable for more than short-term development. Rather they are important to the Island’s long-term well-being. Scientific study of this site should provide opportunities for students, professionals, and citizen scientists of all ages. Educators will find opportunities for place-based learning that integrate geology, ecology, climate, hydrology, and paleontology. While no cultural remains have been found to date, it can provide clues as to what the ancient Hawaiians may have found when they arrived on the island. These opportunities for experience and learning from an undisturbed site will be lost forever if Hokuli’a Cave is damaged or destroyed. Furthermore, for scientists and resource managers, lava tubes function as nonrenewable environmental archives. Sediments and deposits within caves may preserve records of vegetation change, fire history, climate variability, and biodiversity across centuries. These records inform wildfire mitigation, watershed