Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Energy and Environment, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 409, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of:

begs leave to report as follows:

Testimony supporting the nomination of Karen Poiani was submitted by the Board of Land and Natural Resources, and The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii.

Upon review of the statements submitted by the nominee, your Committee finds that the aforementioned nominee is a volunteer, willing to serve without compensation, and will work with compassion and commitment to assist in administering various government functions. Your Committee further finds that the nominee has been appointed based upon her professional credentials, integrity, and a desire to make Hawaii better through her participation on the board or commission to which she have been nominated.

Your Committee notes the following specific qualifications of the nominee:

Karen A. Poiani is the Director of Landscape Conservation with The Nature Conservancy, Hawaii. She has a B.S. degree in Environmental Science, a M.S. degree in Botany, and a Ph.D. in Ecology. She has worked as an Ecologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and a Research Associate for the Center for the Environment at Cornell University working on wetland functions. She has been a Landscape Ecologist and Director of the Landscape Ecology Program for The Nature Conservancy for six years, working both nationally, regionally in Asia and the Pacific, and here in Hawaii. In her capacity as a Senior Conservation Ecologist, she has dealt extensively with policy and practical measures of managing native species and habitats and has focused on practical aspects of what is needed for recovery of endangered species on a landscape scale. She adds both field and policy perspectives to the workings of the Committee.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, character, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.