Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 85 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request that the Department of Land and Natural Resources establish a task force of stakeholders to devise a workable statutory plan for ownership and use of Hawaii's caves.

Testimony in support of the measure was received from the Chairperson of Land and Natural Resources.

The measure requests that the Hawaii Caves Task Force's membership include:

The first task force meeting is to be convened no later than thirty days after the last day of the Regular Session of 2001.

As a part of its duties, the Hawaii Caves Task Force is to travel to the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii to seek public input on appropriate cave law, and submit a report of their findings to the 2002 Legislature. The report is requested to include, but not be limited to, considerations of cave ownership and related property rights, the interests of the State and the Hawaiian community, as well as questions of access, trespass, and liability.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii has an underlying network of complex volcanic tubes that are as unique as the Islands' external beauty. Some of these caves were used by pre-contact Hawaiians as burial caves, are marked with petroglyphs, and show evidence of other cultural uses. These caves are home to unique ecosystems and forms of life, including endemic and endangered species, that have adapted to the environment.

Your Committee also finds that unlike other states, Hawaii has no statute regarding cave law that prevents them from being damaged or misused. Without statutory protection, this unique resource of complex volcanic tubes containing delicately balanced flora and fauna and irreplaceable cultural features may be forever destroyed.

Your Committee believes that establishing a task force on this issue would assist the Legislature in determining the best course of action in protecting Hawaii's caves.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 85 and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Water, Land, Energy and Environment.