Queen Liliuokalani Trust officials want to protect and preserve threatened plant and animal species on their property, Vice President LeeAnn Crabbe said Wednesday.
But the trust needs to find the balance between land preservation and serving Hawaiian children, Crabbe said after a public meeting on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposal to designate nearly 19,000 acres as critical habitat for three endangered plant species endemic to Hawaii Island.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing the critical habitat for the kokoolau, a small plant, wahine noho kula, a shrub, and uhiuhi, a small tree.
“We want to deal,” Crabbe said. “We want to work with them.”
The problem, she added, is that federal officials have been slow to respond to requests to establish a protection plan. It was a concern Crabbe wasn’t alone in voicing Wednesday; Lanihau Properties President and Chief Operating Officer Riley Smith pressed federal fish and wildlife representatives on whether they would respond with a firm commitment to a management plan before a May 30 deadline.
Crabbe and Smith represent two of several large landholders in the area proposed to become critical habitat, and while federal representatives said the designation wouldn’t impact private landholders, Hawaii Island landowners weren’t convinced.
Crabbe noted that while the trust doesn’t seek federal funding for projects, Hawaii County officials could interpret the critical habitat designation in such a way that requires the county to deny the trust a development permit.
Another concern, Crabbe said, was proposing critical habitat in an area the county and the Kona Community Development Plan has designated for urban development. She said she was worried that the federal government just spent $35 million to build Ane Keohokalole Highway to open up land for development — including for affordable housing — only to have a different federal agency deny further development rights.
Hawaii County Park Planner James Komata pressed the Fish and Wildlife representatives on why they selected such a large area for critical habitat, when the plants appear to be thriving now in much smaller areas. Komata also wanted to know about delisting plants once they have been designated as endangered. Many of the threats to the plant species, including hurricanes, fires and drought, can’t be eliminated, Komata said.
“It’s tough working in dryland forests,” said the service’s James Kwon. “It’s hot, it’s dry, you’ve got fountain grass, some areas ungulates, drought. It’s an uphill battle.”
Public Affairs Specialist Kenneth Foote agreed.
“It’s a personal issue with us,” Foote said. “We realize we cannot address all these issues, but we cannot give up.”
Several members of the West Hawaii Bar Association attended the meeting to express their concerns about the impact the habitat listing could have on the proposed Kona Judiciary Complex. Attorney Robert Kim noted that the federal government’s economic analysis estimated the financial impact at about $35,000 per landowner or planned project. For the judiciary, it’s actually a $90 million matter, the cost of the complex, Kim said.
Fish and Wildlife officials acknowledged that only one species, the Hawaiian hawk, in Hawaii has ever even been proposed for delisting.
Not all of the 75 attendees at the meeting were opposed to creating the critical habitat. Kona resident Michelle Tomas said she planned to submit written testimony supporting the proposal.
“I’m 100 percent for it,” Tomas said. “I applaud what they’re doing. It’s for my culture.”
