Report Title:

Kahana Valley; Management Study

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the ahupua`a `o Kahana (the ahupua`a) is located within the moku (district) of Ko`olauloa between the ahupua`a of Ka`a`awa on the east and Punalu`u on the west and extends over four miles from the 2,670 foot crest of Pu`u Pauao on the Ko`olau mountain range to the reefs at the seaward mouth of Kahana Bay; and

WHEREAS, the ahupua`a includes over 5,300 acres of land, plus the submerged lands of Kahana Bay and the primary stream, Kahawainui, which is fed by four tributary streams out of side valleys: Kawa, Pilali, Kalehua, and Koloahulu, and discharges into Kahana Bay primarily at the eastern edge of a wide crescent shaped beach; and

WHEREAS, the culturally significant Huilua fishpond is located adjacent to the mouth of the stream; and

WHEREAS, between 1965 and 1974, the State of Hawaii initiated condemnation proceedings to acquire all 5,260 acres for park use at a cost in excess of $5 million; and

WHEREAS, within the past thirty years, a number of studies and proposals were developed to provide a balance between the public's interest and the rights of the residents who live in the valley; and

WHEREAS, in 1987, the Legislature authorized the Department of Land and Natural Resources to negotiate and enter into long-term residential leases with qualified persons on the condition that these individuals participate in providing interpretive programs at the park for the benefit of the public; and

WHEREAS, the State Park is a living source of spiritual renewal for Hawaiians and others, but only if left intact, and can serve as a field laboratory and observatory for biologists and botanists, a resource for archaeologists and cultural specialists; and

WHEREAS, there are residents of the ahupua`a `o Kahana, who are not lessees in the State Park; and

WHEREAS, residents outside the State Park and lessees within the State Park boundaries are able to preserve valuable cultural practices that cannot be done in other, more urbanized areas; and

WHEREAS, the entire ahupua`a should be managed as a unit to protect the ahupua`a for future generations to study and enjoy; and

WHEREAS, the management of the resources of the ahupua`a are at present divided among numerous federal, state and county agencies; and

WHEREAS, there is a need for a culturally-sensitive ahupua`a-based entity that can provide comprehensive management of the entire ahupua`a as well as promote cooperation between governmental agencies and residents of the ahupua`a with respect to managing the resources of the ahupua`a; and

WHEREAS, this entity should be comprised of residents of the ahupua`a, lessees within the State Park, and representatives of the affected governmental agencies; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Legislative Reference Bureau study the feasibility of creating a culturally-sensitive ahupua`a-based entity that would provide comprehensive management of the entire ahupua`a as well as promote cooperation between governmental agencies, residents of the ahupua`a, and lessees within the State Park with respect to managing the resources of the ahupua`a; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau submit a report containing findings, recommendations, and any draft implementing legislation to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2002 Regular Session; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the District Commander of the Army Corps of Engineers, the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Director of Health, the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture, the Chairperson of the Commission on Water Resource Management, the Chairperson of the Kahana Advisory Committee, and the lessees within the State Park.