State proposal requires
permit for cave visits

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By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.com

HILO >> A landowner taking guests into a cave under his property without a state permit could be fined up to $10,000 under a proposal for a cave protection law.

The fine could be imposed even though the state attorney general has said caves under private land are the property of the landowner, said state Historic Preservation Division head Don Hibbard during a public meeting this week.

To get the needed permit, the landowner would have to apply to the state Board of Land and Natural Resources, an often costly, time-consuming process.

"That doesn't make any sense," said Ole Fulks, chairman of the Hawaii Speleological Survey. "People are just going to be outlaws. There are going to be real enforcement problems."

Hibbard and other members of a cave protection task force mandated by the Legislature concluded four hearings around the state this week.

Comments they heard, many critical, will be considered in redrafting the proposal for presentation to Gov. Ben Cayetano by Nov. 19, Hibbard said.

The final draft will be submitted to the Legislature next year.

The law would require a Land Board permit for any group of five or more people or any group that is charged a fee.

Fulks predicted a permit would do nothing to protect caves. Well-conducted commercial tours, which would need a permit, do little harm, he said.

He said one or two "yahoos," who wouldn't need a permit, can do major damage in 30 seconds by running their hands along stalactites and breaking them off.

The proposal makes no exception for established caves such as Kaumana Caves County Park.

"I would have to stop taking students into Kaumana Caves unless I get a permit," said biology professor Fred Stone, who is also a task force member.

The proposal applies to caves under both state and private land, ranging from lava tubes to sinkholes.

Archaeologist Paul Rosendahl suggested the reference to sinkholes puts a different burden on land owners.

There are thousands of sinkholes in the Ewa Plain, which landowners could not fill in if the proposal is adopted, he said.

But environmentalist Debbie Ward said sinkholes often contain prehistoric bird bones.

Fulks said another problem is that the proposal forbids dumping trash in caves but has no provision for cleaning up existing cave trash.

The proposal does not deal with cave burials, which are already protected by separate laws.