GREG KOOB / USFWS The Fish and Wildlife Service wants to expand critical habitats on Maui and Kahoolawe, protecting such plants as kulu'i.

Federal habitat proposal
gives landowners pause

By Gary T. Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.com

WAILUKU >> Federal wildlife officials have proposed more than tripling the size of critical habitats for threatened and endangered plants on Maui and Kahoolawe, prompting at least a couple of major private landowners to reassess their position about the government plan.

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. and Maui Land & Pineapple Co. say, in general, they are in favor of efforts to preserve threatened and endangered species, but need to study in detail the latest proposal.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing expansion of the critical habitats on Maui and Kahoolawe to 128,294 acres from 34,126 acres. Federal officials said the critical habitats are concentrated in the East Maui watershed, the West Maui Mountains and the coastal areas of Kahoolawe.

The public has 60 days to comment on the proposed rule, published yesterday in the Federal Register, and 45 days to request a public hearing. The proposed rule is intended to comply with a U.S. District Court order issued in 1998, following a lawsuit filed by Conservation Council for Hawaii.

KEN WOOD / NTBG The Fish and Wildlife Service wants to expand critical habitats on Maui and Kahoolawe, protecting such plants as kohe malama malama o Kanaloa.

The agency is designating critical habitats to determine those areas that require special management or protection to restore threatened and endangered species.

A major change in the critical-habitat proposal is the addition of acreage into historic ranges where endangered plants no longer exist.

"The long-term recovery of these species depends not only on protecting existing populations, but also on establishing new populations where these plants were once found," said Anne Badgley, Pacific regional director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

One of the endangered plants is Kanaloa kahoolawensis, a rare shrub with cream-white mimosa-like flowers.

One of the species is a recently discovered fern, Asplenium fragile var. insulare.

The agency said 13 critical habitats totaling 126,531 acres are proposed for Maui, and two habitats with 1,763 acres are planned for Kahoolawe.

Warren Suzuki, a vice president with Maui Land & Pineapple, said his firm did not have a lot of worries about the proposal made in December 2000 because the designated areas were within state conservation areas and reserves. But Suzuki said the latest proposal seems to have expanded the critical-habitat areas "significantly."

Sean O'Keefe, director of A&B's environmental affairs, said the firm did raise "some concerns" last year about the agency's proposal to include some of its shoreline land in East Maui as critical habitat.

He said some areas were used for pasture and zoned for agriculture, rather than conservation.

Copies of the April 3 Federal Register may be reviewed at certain public libraries, including the Kahului Library and the Hawaii State Library on Oahu, and also on the Web at www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.

Written comments may be mailed to the Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Islands Office, 300 Ala Moana, Room 3-122, Box 50088, Honolulu 96850.