HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-03-14 Letter to Chris Lee & Richard Creagan re SB 1239 SD 1 Relating to Rapid Ohia DeathHarry Kim
Mayor
Wil Okabe
Mawgrng Director
Barbara J. Kossow
Deputy Managing Director
Cauufv of (U(VU `i
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March 14, 2017
Representative Chris Lee, Chair
Committee on Energy & Environmental
Protection
Hawai'i State Capitol
Honolulu, HI 96813
Representative Richard P. Creagan, Chair
Committee on Agriculture
Hawai'i State Capitol
Honolulu, HI 96813
Dear Chairs Lee, Creagan, and members:
RE: SB 1239 SD 1
Relating to Rapid Ohia Death
Thank you for this opportunity to testify in strong support of SB 1239, SDI.
The way in which the ohia forests of the Big Island have been decimated cannot
be overstated, and it is difficult to comprehend if not seen in person. It seems that one
day there is a forest that people take for granted and assume will exist for millennia, and
the next day there are barren trees comparable to a severe northern winter. Then the
realization sets in that those trees will not regenerate in the spring, or ever again. It is a
very sad situation.
Whatever funding the Legislature chooses to provide in SB 1239, SDI will be a
small price to pay to save what remains of this vital natural resource.
;E;7
tted,
11
Mayor
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