Reactions mixed
on state environmental
plan for North Kona land

The Land Board had rejected
2 proposals from private groups

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By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.com

KAILUA-KONA >> After a century of cattle ranching and environmental damage, a 108,000-acre area of state land in North Kona may be poised for change.

But the parties in a dispute over Puuwaawaa and a portion of Puuanahulu are giving mixed reviews to the plan leading to the change.

The state Board of Land & Natural Resources rejected lease proposals from two private groups on Jan. 25 and voted to leave the land under direct state control.

The competing private proposals overlapped in many ways, but the one from Ka Ahahui o Puu Waawaa emphasized endangered species. There are 10 endangered animals, 34 endangered plants and 14 "species of concern" in the area.

The competing proposal from the Wildlife Conservation Association of Hawaii emphasized hunting and ranching.

Hannah Springer, president of Ka Ahahui, was optimistic about the Land Board's action.

"The board sent a very strong message," she said. "The status quo, benign neglect, is not going to continue."

The approved plan calls for protection of endangered species, but also control of the fire danger posed by non-native grasses, presumably by cattle eating the grass.

Mikio Kato of Puu Waawaa Ranch, which leases 21,000 acres in the area and will be allowed to continue its lease for a while, was pleased by the state control.

"They've got the people that know the land," he said.

But Ka Ahahui Vice President Chris Yuen was less optimistic about environmental protection.

"Good intentions are not enough," he said. "State funding for natural resources has been consistently cut back in the last few years."

"(State officials) confess they don't have the money to do it," Yuen said. Ka Ahahui had promises of grant money, but state control could jeopardize the money, he said.

The hunters are not happy with the decision. Kaimiloa Chrisman of the wildlife group notes a statement in italics in the approved plan, which says the majority of the land will be for "mixed game and other uses."

An explanatory page refers to bird hunting but not mammal hunting. That implies that sheep, goats and pigs in the area will be eradicated, Chrisman said.