Hanalei River
may win U.S.
heritage honor

Such a designation
would give the river a federal
advocate to help local authorities
get national assistance

By Pete Pichaske
Star-Bulletin

WASHINGTON -- Kauai's Hanalei River, site of a bruising local debate over future development, has been recommended for national recognition as one of the nation's first "American Heritage" rivers.

Besides bringing national recognition to the river, the designation would bring to Kauai a "river navigator," a federal employee who would help local authorities get national assistance for any improvements and initiatives.

President Clinton announced the American Heritage Rivers project in his 1997 State of the Union speech as a way of offering federal aid for conserving and restoring rivers.

The Hanalei was one of 126 rivers nominated for the first round of designations. Yesterday, it was one of 10 recommended for designation by the advisory committee overseeing the process.

Clinton is expected to name the first American Heritage rivers next month. While he is not bound by the panel's recommendations, committee members say they give the 10 rivers a powerful boost.

"I think this is going to be a great thing for the Hanalei and for the state of Hawaii," said Donald Campbell, the advisory panel member who championed the river. "I think it's going to be a model process for other Hawaii rivers and for the nation."

Campbell said the Hanalei application, prepared by the University of Hawaii's Hawaiian Stream Research Center, stood out for a number of reasons.

Among them, it was the only Hawaii river nominated and one of the few from the West, and it had universal support from the state's congressional delegation.

"This is one of the unique rivers in the nation," said Campbell.

"It's not the Mississippi, but it provides a good opportunity to see how the local community can balance protection of a river with economic and social uses."

"It's wonderful. It's another indication of just how important Hanalei is," said Kauai resident Barbara Robeson, who has fought the proliferation of commercial tour boats operating out of the Hanalei's river mouth.

She said she didn't know how the designation might affect the boating dispute, but that it adds federal recognition to the environmental and cultural importance of the river.

Hanalei was the last of the 10 rivers selected, said Campbell.

Others picked were the Connecticut River, the Detroit River, the Hudson River, the New River, the Rio Grande River, the Potomac River, the St. Johns River, the Upper Mississippi River and the Willamette River.

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 the rivers initiative will be a federal intrusion into local planning decisions.

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

"We see this as a way of bringing a lot of attention to some really extraordinary local efforts to restore and conserve rivers," said Doug Siglin, vice president for Conservation of American Rivers, a national river conservation organization. "It's a great opportunity to show off what they're doing."

Designation as an American Heritage River, said Siglin, will also make it easier not only to navigate the dozens of federal aid programs available, but to obtain volunteer and private help.

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Star-Bulletin writer Trish Moore
contributed to this report.