Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 5, H.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Office of Planning to establish a South Kona-Ka'u Coastal Conservation Partnership.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Office of Planning submitted testimony in support of this measure. A Representative from the House of Representatives and the Nature Conservancy submitted comments on this measure.

Valuable native Hawaiian resources in the South Kona and Ka'u area on the island of Hawaii are endangered, including heiau, slides, and other archaeological evidence of ancient Hawaiian habitation, due to increased visitor traffic, and the added visitors have also had a negative impact on natural resources, native plants, and land and aquatic animals.

To address these important issues, the Legislature created the South Kona Wilderness Area in 2003; however, your Committee finds that more may need to be done to protect and preserve this precious area. Accordingly, this measure requests the Office of Planning to establish a South Kona and Ka'u Coastal Conservation Partnership to review and analyze the impact on the fragile and historically significant coastal lands and near shore marine areas in South Kona and Ka'u.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 5, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 5, H.D. 1, S.D. 1.