Wildlife refuge faces
major obstaclesLandowners and the Army
By Pete Pichaske
are reluctant to have one established
in the Koolaus
Star-Bulletin
WASHINGTON -- The national wildlife refuge proposed for the Koolau Mountains would dwarf all but one of Hawaii's eight existing land-based refuges and, according to isle conservationists, offer critical protection for Oahu's native species. But despite progress in establishing a refuge, including listing in the proposed 1999 federal budget, it remains a dream that has taken years to get off the ground and still faces formidable obstacles.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service remains locked in protracted negotiations with the various landowners and users of the mountainous, wooded property, which include Castle & Cooke, the Bishop Estate, the state of Hawaii and the U.S. Army. And a variety of parcels and land-use options are still being discussed, including easements that would leave the land in private hands but allow the federal government to manage it.
"This happens. The landowners are very reluctant to give up any land," said Scott Wise, chief of the Acquisitions Branch for the Fish and Wildlife Service's Pacific Division. "They're concerned about liability, about water rights, public access, about maintenance. We're trying to figure what rights we're buying and what rights they're retaining."
According to the Wildlife Service, the proposed Oahu Forest National Wildlife Refuge would be anywhere from 5,000 to 28,000 acres, depending on what parcels are included. It would consist of natural areas that are home to several known endangered plants and animals and, experts suspect, many more not yet known.
Hawaii is home to more endangered species than any state except California. The prospect of protecting them and preserving natural areas on well-developed Oahu, just an hour north of downtown Honolulu, has conservationists salivating.
They envision a huge natural area protected forever by the federal government from development or overuse and open to limited numbers of visitors who want to a see a pristine native Hawaiian forest.
According to a Fish and Wildlife briefing statement issued earlier this month, the area "include(s) some of the best remaining koa and ohia native natural communities on Oahu.... Establishment of the Oahu Forest refuge would enhance the Service's capabilities to protect and recover a number of endangered species in risk of imminent extinction and would protect the resources of the project area in perpetuity."
"We think it's a great idea," said Kim Harris, director of land protection for the Nature Conservancy of Hawaii, which is aiding land negotiations for the refuge. "There's a definite need for a wildlife refuge both to protect the incredible diversity of the Koolau Mountains and to raise public awareness of the natural environment in Hawaii."
The Oahu Forest project was sixth on the Fish and Wildlife Service's priority list this year, and $1 million in funding for the refuge was listed in President Clinton's 1999 budget.
But with land such a valued commodity on the islands and the variety of private, federal and state owners involved, making the refuge a reality has proved to be a long process that promises to get longer.
Steve Kemp, natural-resources manager for the U.S. Army on Oahu, said Fish and Wildlife officials briefed the Army command on their proposal a couple of years ago.
The Army uses part of the mountains for training and would have to sign off on any agreement.
Army officials were wary, he said, and noted that "there had to be some benefit in this" for them.
Kemp said the Army already is using an ecosystem management plan that includes monitoring rare species and any threats to the species.
State's havens for rare species
Hawaii's national wildlife refuges:
Hakalau Forest NWR, Hilo, 32,400 acres
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
