Hanalei named
a ‘Heritage’ river

That national designation
may lead to federal help to
keep the waterway on
Kauai pristine

By Pete Pichaske
Star-Bulletin

WASHINGTON -- The Hanalei River in Kauai has been named one of the nation's first "American Heritage" rivers, a designation expected to bring both national recognition and more tangible federal help for a still-pristine river struggling with the threat of development.

"This is a great thing for the Hanalei and for the state of Hawaii," said Donald Sampson, the member of the Heritage Rivers' advisory committee who championed the Hanalei.

"I think the Hanalei could be a national model on how to balance environmental and development and tourist activities."

The Hanalei was one of 126 rivers originally nominated to be a Heritage River, a new program aimed at restoring and protecting the nation's waterways, and one of 10 recommended last month by the advisory panel.

Vice President Al Gore yesterday announced that the Hanalei was one of 14 rivers on the final list. He said each river will be assigned a "river navigator," a federal expert who will help nearby communities identify federal resources to help restore and protect the river.

The designation will also attract both volunteer and private aid, backers say.

"There is nothing more powerful than water as a catalyst for economic revitalization and cultural renewal," said Gore.

Sampson, who works as watershed department manager for the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission in Portland, Ore., said the Hanalei was unlike most other rivers considered in its relative pristine shape and potential for sensible, protective development.

"It's a relatively small river, but it's one of the most deserving in terms of a cultural and heritage perspective," he said. "Most other rivers are already very developed, and there was no comprehensive planning."

Although relatively undeveloped, the Hanalei has been the site of a dispute over commercial tour boats that operate out of the river's mouth.

Opponents of the tours have praised the federal designation but said they do not know how it might affect the tours.

The other rivers named as Heritage Rivers were the Blackstone and Woonasquatucket in Maine and Rhode Island, the Connecticut River, the Detroit River in Michigan, the Hudson River in New York, the New River In North Carolina and Virginia, the Potomac River in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania, the Rio Grande River in Texas, the St. Johns River in Florida, the Upper Mississippi River, the Lower Mississippi River, the Upper Susquehanna and Lackawanna Rivers in Pennsylvania, and the Willamette River in Oregon.

Although there was no shortage of applicants, congressional opposition kept the panel from considering some Western rivers. Some members of Congress, as well as private groups, have complained that Clinton's plan will be a federal intrusion into local planning decisions.

Environmental groups have rejected that complaint, saying final decisions will remain local.