STAR-BULLETIN / 1999
A makeshift floral memorial cropped up around the Sacred Falls sign soon after the May 1999 rockslide that killed eight people and injured 50. The state is now gathering public input on how to handle access to the once-popular hiking site.
Sacred Falls’
opening advocatedSome residents say certain
restrictions should be in place
Some of the more than 35 residents who attended a public meeting last night on access to Sacred Falls State Park say the site should be reopened to the public, with restrictions for those unfamiliar with the area.
"I would want it to open up for our people that are familiar with the place," said Hauula resident Haleaha Montes, adding that new visitors should have to watch a video or listen to a speaker on what the site means to native Hawaiians before hiking to the falls.
"I want my grandchildren to have the opportunity to go and visit," she said.
The informational meeting at Queen Liliuokalani Children's Center in Punaluu, called by the state Department of Land & Natural Resources, was aimed at deciding the future of the falls and its master plan.
The park has been closed since Mother's Day 1999, when eight people were killed and 50 others injured by a rockslide in the valley.
The victims' families, who say there was not adequate warning signage at the park, received $8.56 million under a deal reached with the state in December.
Attendees at yesterday's meeting considered four different alternatives devised by state consultant Oceanit on how the park should be run. Oceanit has a $240,000 contract to provide the department with a master plan and risk assessment for the 1,376-acre state park.
The company said an assessment of the park's risk to visitors could be released within two to three months.
Residents were asked last night to comment on the plans and which facets of each they liked or disliked. The feedback will be gathered to develop a preferred master plan, on which a public meeting will be held as early as October.
Pupukea resident Ron Valenciana said he thinks the park should reopen, and "changes should be focused on safety."
"I believe what's important is that the local residents are given access to the falls," he said.
Kepa Maly, an ethnographer commissioned by the state to conduct a cultural impact study of reopening the park, said many native Hawaiians he has interviewed for his work have said that those who trek to the falls should do so with a respect for the land and the falls' cultural and religious history.
"Part of the problem in the past was people weren't informed" of dangers at the falls, he said. "Go up. Visit. But be respectful."
Under three of the proposed plans, the park would reopen. But each has varying degrees of staffing and structures at the site, and two offer only limited access to the falls.
One plan proposes unlimited access to the park and would include a picnic area near the park entrance, wilderness camping, walking paths and a staffed interpretive center.
Visitors to the park would be informed of the history of the park and the falls, as well as the dangers. Under this plan, a user entrance fee for tourists was recommended to offset the costs of development and improvements.
A second plan would designate the upper reaches of the park a natural area reserve, which means the trail head to the falls would have limited access, and passage to the site would require accompaniment by a guide.
The third alternative would also include a natural-reserve designation for the upper areas of the park, a picnic area near the park's entrance and walking trails.
All three plans would also include parking for about 55 cars and would not accommodate tour buses.
The fourth alternative would leave the park closed.
Chrys Kalili, who called the falls her childhood "playground," said she wants to see the park open to all.
"It's so sacred up there," she said. "Everybody would like to see it."
