Public debates use
of land on Big IsleThe newly acquired Kahuku
land has culturally significant
sites on Mauna Loa
HILO >> Upper elevations of the newly acquired Kahuku land at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has unusual Hawaiian cultural sites such as upright stones described as a mini-Stonehenge.
Those places high on Mauna Loa are reachable by Hawaiian trails, Hawaiian cultural expert Kepa Maly told park officials last night.
The public must be educated to respect those sites and not damage them as sites have been damaged elsewhere, Maly said.
Maly was speaking at a public meeting on how the park should use the new 116,000-acre area. The meeting was the last of four held to get public ideas.
Ranger Jim Gale said officials were excited by the richness and diversity of ideas presented. But some of the proposals are prohibited by law, Gale noted.
At last night's meeting, hunters called for hunting of mouflon sheep in the area. Park superintendent Jim Martin said sport hunting is prohibited, but eradication hunting can make use of public volunteers.
There are so many sheep on the mountain that some will be there for another generation, he predicted.
No attempt was made at the meetings to decide what will be adopted, Gale said. Those decisions will be written into a plan later, he said.
The lowland elevations of Kahuku were a cattle ranch until Damon Estate sold it to the National Park System this summer, with the Nature Conservancy serving as an intermediary.
Ranching meant native forests were replaced with pastures. Some people propose reforestation programs with youths doing the work, Gale said.
They want to use the work to teach youths to stay off drugs, much in the way that the Civil Conservation Corps of the 1930s put youths to work in outdoor settings.
The park can take written comments for 30 days more at P.O. Box 52, Hawaii National Park, HI 96718; or jim_martin@nps.gov.
More information is available at www.nps.gov/havo/manage/plan.htm.
