The state said it issued the subpoena to investigate whether KAHEA’s use of its funds to support direct action on Mauna Kea is an “illegal purpose.” However, how KAHEA spends its monies is not tied to who donates to KAHEA. So, why did the state’s subpoena require disclosing deposit tickets and credit memos that indicate the source of funds? The Court held this element of the subpoena “doesn’t make sense” and struck it as unreasonable.

While declining to quash the entire subpoena as a violation of KAHEA’s constitutional rights, the Court affirmed, “KAHEA’s opposition to development on Mauna Kea falls squarely within the heartland of the First Amendment’s protections.” KAHEA has been a vocal advocate against allowing the proposed Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT) to be constructed on Mauna Kea. Hawai‘i Supreme Court decisions in 2015 and 2019 addressed KAHEA’s appeals from the state Land Board concerning the TMT. The Court also noted, “KAHEA’s anti-TMT advocacy and opposition to the [state]’s client in appeals before this court show that the State AG may have had a motive for targeting KAHEA” and agreed a subpoena for extensive banking records is “an adverse action that would chill a person of ordinary firmness from exercising First Amendment rights.” Yet, the Court declined to go further, citing a lack of evidence of the state’s “retaliatory animus.”

Read the Court’s full opinion here: https://www.courts.state.hi.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/SCAP-20-0000110.pdf

Press Contact: Marti Townsend, marti.townsend@gmail.com, (808) 372-1314

Those scheduled to speak at the press conference include Kealoha Pisciotta (Mauna Kea Anaina Hou), Billy Freitas (practitioner of uhau humu pōhaku, stone wall masonry), Davianna McGregor (Kanaka Maoli scholar), Noelani Ahia (Haleakalā protector), Shelley Muneoka (KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance), and Lance Collins (attorney representing KAHEA). Speakers will address the serious problems raised by the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), implications of the failure to protect natural resources, the violation of Native Hawaiian customary and traditional practices, and DLNR’s recently purchased Long-Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), also called a sound cannon, which has been used for crowd control at confrontations with water protectors at Standing Rock and potentially violates state and federal laws.

Shortly after the removal of the hale and ahu, Governor Ige, Attorney General Clare Connors, Department of Land and Natural Resources Director Suzanne Case, and UH President David Lassner held a press conference on the state’s action, maintaining that these were “unauthorized structures.” AG Connors further stated that “The two structures at the summit were reviewed by the Hawai’i Supreme Court as well as the board. They were determined not to bear any traditional customary significance.” Protectors, however, insist that the two ahu at the summit and the hale located near Hale Pōhaku were built in ceremony to honor the sacred mountain and to serve as a site of religious observance and practice for Native Hawaiians.

On June 24th, 2015, TMT construction crews, escorted by Hawaiʻi County and State DOCARE officers, attempted to make their way to the summit of Mauna Kea, but were stopped at Hale Pōhaku by protectors. Offering ti leaf lei to the crews and their escorts for protection and chanting in ceremony, the protectors stood in lines across the Access Road to safeguard the mountain from the construction of the TMT. The proposed TMT would excavate five acres, 20 feet into the earth, removing 66,000 cubic yards of the sacred mountain— the equivalent of 1,782,000 cubic feet of earth.

Candace Fujikane, Boardmember, KAHEA: The Hawaiian Environmental Alliance

Mauna Kea is the anchor for kanaka maoli, it is our collective mana, which is being stripped and disrespected. Our deities exist in its winds, its rains and mist and dew, and its snows. The elemental nature of the Mauna reaffirms from where we come and where we now stand.

This is not the first time that the state Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) has failed to enforce constitutional and legal protections for conservation district lands, native Hawaiian cultural practices and the environmental resources upon which those practices depend. For two decades, a hui of Hawaiian cultural practitioners and environmental justice advocates have worked tirelessly to bring attention to these issues and to be voices of reason against unfettered development of our sacred Mauna Kea. In 2015, the Hawai'i Supreme Court invalidated BLNR's approval of the TMT permit. BLNR has missed another opportunity to do the right thing and KAHEA and other community petitioners are faced with the burden of fixing those failures, yet again.

The next step will be the court appeal. Both the Hearing Officer and the BLNR have committed some of the same procedural violations that the Hawai'i Supreme Court cautioned against. Both those for and against the TMT earlier sought to disqualify the Hearing Officer, and similarly, objected to participation by board members with conflicts of interest. We emphasize also that the TMT International Observatory Corporation does not have a sublease for its use of Mauna Kea lands. Construction should not begin before all legal processes have run their course. We've been here before, we are here now, and we are here in the days and years to come.

Richard Naiwieha Wurdeman, attorney for the Mauna Kea Hui, said that his clients are encouraged by the Hawaii Supreme Court’s decision to grant the application for transfer. One of the criteria that the Court considers in granting an application for transfer is whether the matter involves a question of imperative or fundamental public importance. Wurdeman said UHH, on behalf of TMT, had strenuously objected to his clients’ application for transfer of the appeal from the ICA to the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court for review.

The grant of transfer comes in the wake of UH’s public concessions of its mismanagement of Mauna Kea and agreements to Governor Ige’s plans for purported “improvements” on Mauna Kea, all of which fall short because they were premised on continued support of the TMT project. “These are interesting, to say the least,” said Wurdeman, “given the University’s vigorous opposition in legal battles.”

In a separate case, the ICA had earlier ruled against the Kilakila o Haleakalā’s similar appeal concerning the University’s CDUP for an Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) to be constructed on the Haleakalā summit. The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court subsequently granted a request for review and oral arguments were held in April in that case. Now, appeals from both the TMT and ATST CDUPs are under review by the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court. The Court has not yet issued an order on whether oral arguments will be held in the Mauna Kea case.

Deborah Ward said the court’s decision to hear the case is “heartening” and Kealoha Pisciotta stated, “This is good news and recognizes the importance of our case for all of Hawaiʻi.” Both cases may bear on the ways conservation districts islandwide will be treated. CDUPs are essentially variances for construction in conservation districts and can be granted only if a project meets eight criteria, including an absence of substantial adverse impact, preservation of natural beauty, and consistency with conservation district purposes.

"The transfer signals that the Hawai'i Supreme Court, in unanimity, believes that the so-called TMT Conservation District Use Permit deserves the utmost legal scrutiny and priority,” stated Kū Ching."

View court order granting application for transfer to Supreme Court

Aoki's report follows contested case hearings held in August 2011 during which petitioners -- Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance, Deborah J. Ward, Flores-Case 'Ohana, Clarence Kukauakahi Ching, and Paul K. Neves -- vigorously objected to further desecration activities on Mauna a Wakea.

"We are disappointed in the Hearing Officer's report," said Kealoha Piscotta of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, "We've been fighting for Wakea for over a decade now, and we won't stop until our constitutional public trust and Native Hawaiian rights are fully protected as the state constitution requires." 

"Aoki's recommendations fly in the face of earlier court determinations that astronomy industry-related construction has already imposed substantial adverse impacts on Mauna Kea," says petitioner Deborah J. Ward. Adding the TMT to the existing 13 astronomical facilities on Mauna Kea would intensify these adverse impacts. The TMT would be over 184 feet high, the tallest building on Hawai'i island and above the maximum zoning height limits for any commercial or resort buildings in Hawaiʻi County. The TMT dome - at a diameter of over 215 feet (over 2/3 the length of a football field) - would become another visual eyesore on the mountain. The proposed location for the TMT lies amidst several hundred shrines and other religious structures, where construction and traffic would adversely impact these historic and Hawaiian cultural resources. Consequently, construction of the TMT observatory would not comply with conservation district use criteria, outlined in Hawai’i Administrative Rules § 13-5-30(c).

The parties will have a chance to respond to this report and present final arguments to the BLNR in Hilo on February 12, 2013 . "This is only a set of recommendations to the BLNR and we will be filing exceptions to point out the many legal and factual errors in the hearing officer's report," said Bianca Isaki, KAHEA board member. 

"Despite what was written in the report, the TMT would cause immense physical and spiritual disturbance and imbalance to this venerated mountain and to everyone and everything connected to it.  Mauna a Wakea is still sacred. ” said E. Kalani Flores of the Flores-Case ‘Ohana.

Media Contact: Bianca Isaki, KAHEA board member, (808) 927-5606

“If we’re going to save Hawaiian monk seals from extinction, we have to protect the few places where they still survive. Endangered species with protected critical habitat are twice as likely to be recovering than species that don’t have it,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity, which has worked for more than a decade to save monk seals from extinction.

The critical habitat final rule was due June 2, but the Fisheries Service has decided to take additional time to consider scientific information such as the monk seals’ foraging habits. The Service is looking at information brought to light during the comment period, as well as public input and additional studies it’s undertaking by tagging seals.

“If the Fisheries Service needs more time to decide whether to protect habitat, that’s time we all need to use to take care of our seals. It’s everyone’s responsibility to make sure Hawaiian monk seals don’t go extinct on our watch. The science is clear that habitat in the main islands is essential the survival of these animals,” said Sakashita.

Hawaiian monk seals have lived in the Hawaiian archipelago for millions of years, yet their future is now in jeopardy, with the population declining by about 4 percent per year. Monk seals in the main islands are giving birth to healthy pups, and this population is essential to the seals’ recovery. Critical habitat would focus management efforts and prevent federal activities that might harm monk seal habitat.

“The main effect of critical habitat is to make sure the federal government does not undertake or permit any projects that will harm our near-shore environment that the seals depend on,” said Koalani Kaulukukui, president of KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance.

Critical habitat for monk seals will not limit public access; people will still be able to fish, boat, and do other activities in areas that are designated as critical habitat. Federal activities in critical habitat, such as coastal construction, water pollution, and dredging needing federal permits, will need to consult with the Fisheries Service on impacts to the monk seal’s habitat. This can mean cleaner and safer beaches and waters for seals and everyone who uses Hawaii’s shoreline.

The groups that filed the petition are the Center for Biological Diversity, KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance and Ocean Conservancy.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 375,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

Contact: Shelley Muneoka, shelley@kahea.org, 393-4745

KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance has received a grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) in the amount of $23,520 to be used in the coming year to forward our environmental justice work on the Wai`anae Coast.

This grant will fund the continuation of environmental justice bus tours which provide a unique firsthand opportunity to see cultural sites, hear traditional mo`olelo, and visit places that tell a story of environmental injustice as well as places and people that are forging the way for a healthier future for Wai`anae.

Past bus tours fostered partnerships within the community between the Wai`anae Farmer’s Market, MA`O Organic Farms, Kahumana Farms, Ka`ala Cultural Learning Center and many small family farms. The bus tours also bring awareness to people who live outside of Wai`anae, creating relationships and strong advocates who later offer support in submitting testimony and participating in public hearings on Wai`anae environmental and cultural issues.

The grant also provides funding for continued monthly community meetings to keep a pulse on community concerns and events and to build solidarity.

Shelley Muneoka, the outreach coordinator at KAHEA, said,“We’re excited and grateful to receive this grant as the bus tours have been popular and in high demand. We’ve had to turn people away each time we’ve hosted a tour, but we can now look forward to accommodating more riders.”

The funding period is from March 2012 through February 2013.

For more information or to join a tour, please contact KAHEA at 524-8220 or e-mail shelley@kahea.org

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CONTACT:

Paul Achitoff, Earthjustice, (808) 599-2436
Kealoha Pisciotta, KAHEA, (808) 524-8220
Miyoko Sakashita, Center for Biological Diversity, (415) 436-9682 x 308
Teri Shore, Turtle Island Restoration Network, (415) 663-8590 x 104

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Limits on Sea Turtle Deaths in Hawai`i’s Longline Fishery

Honolulu, HI -- The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in a decision issued yesterday upheld a federal district court settlement limiting the number of loggerhead and critically endangered leatherback sea turtles that can be caught by Hawai`i’s longline swordfish fishery. The settlement responded to a lawsuit brought by Turtle Island Restoration Network, Center for Biological Diversity and KAHEA challenging the National Marine Fisheries Service’s decision in 2009 to nearly triple the number of sea turtles the fishery could catch. The settlement rolled back the limit to prior levels. Today’s decision rejected an appeal by the fishing industry, which sought to invalidate the agreement.

Earthjustice attorney Paul Achitoff said, “We’re glad the federal appeals court upheld the temporary sea turtle protections we won with the consent decree, but the high level of sea turtle harm NMFS is now proposing may well be worse than the previous rule. NMFS seems to be raising the limits to accommodate the longliners rather than to ensure that the species aren’t driven to extinction, as the law requires.”

“Hawai`i's public-trust ocean resources have to be better managed for our collective best interest, and not just the interests of this commercial fishery,” said KAHEA Board President Kealoha Pisciotta. “The 9th Circuit decision is a victory not just for the turtles, but for Hawai`i’s people who rely on a healthy, functioning ocean ecosystem. We can’t rest as long as federal fishery managers continue to allow unacceptable levels of harm to the few sea turtles remaining in the ocean.”

Turtle Island Restoration Network, Center for Biological Diversity and KAHEA sued the National Marine Fisheries Service over its decision to increase, from 17 to 46, the number of loggerhead sea turtles the fishery could catch in a year before being required to shut down. At the same time, NMFS was considering increasing protections for loggerheads under the Endangered Species Act by upgrading it from “threatened” to “endangered.” The plaintiffs and NMFS agreed to settle the case by rolling back the number of loggerheads allowed to be caught to 17 while the agency decided whether to uplist the species and prepared a new analysis of the effects of increasing the turtle catch limit on the species’ survival and eventual recovery. Judge David Ezra approved the settlement as a consent decree.

In its appeal, the fishing industry argued that the court lacked the power to issue the consent decree. The appeals court rejected this argument, noting that the consent decree simply offered the sea turtles some protection by reinstating the previous catch limit, while allowing the agency an opportunity to reconsider its position in light of the latest scientific information.

“Our settlement ensures that sea turtles can swim more freely and safely in Hawai`i’s waters,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “If loggerheads and leatherbacks are going to survive, we need to stop killing them in our fisheries.”

While the appeal was pending, NMFS in September 2011 changed the loggerheads’ designation to “endangered.”  In January of this year, the agency also issued a new biological opinion as contemplated by the consent decree.  That document proposes to increase the number of endangered loggerhead sea turtles the longliners can catch from 17 to 34.  It also increases the limit for catching endangered leatherback sea turtles from 16 to 26.  Notably, in 2011 the fishery was forced to close after it caught its limit of leatherbacks.

Teri Shore of the Turtle Island Restoration Network said, “Sea turtles are becoming more endangered, not less, so each one we lose in the longline fishery pushes them closer to extinction. Allowing more sea turtles to be harmed in this high-bycatch fishery makes a joke out of so-called sustainable seafood.”

Swordfish longline vessels trail up to 60 miles of fishing line suspended in the water with floats, with as many as 1,000 baited hooks deployed at regular intervals. Sea turtles become hooked while trying to take bait or become entangled while swimming through the nearly invisible lines. These encounters can drown the turtles or leave them with serious injuries. Sea birds such as albatross dive for the bait and become hooked; marine mammals, including endangered humpback whales and false killer whales, also sometimes become hooked when they swim through the floating lines.

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Earthjustice is a nonprofit, public-interest, environmental law firm. The Mid-Pacific office opened in Honolulu in 1988 and has represented dozens of environmental, native Hawaiian, and community organizations.  Earthjustice is the only nonprofit environmental law firm in Hawai‘i and the Mid-Pacific, and does not charge clients for its services.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 200,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

Turtle Island Restoration Network is a nonprofit environmental organization committed to the study, protection, enhancement, conservation, and preservation of the marine environment and the wildlife that lives within it. TIRN has approximately 10,000 members, many of whom reside in the state of Hawai‘i, and has offices in the United States, Costa Rica, and Papua New Guinea.

KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance is a community-based organization working to improve the quality of life for Hawai’i’s people and future generations through the revitalization and protection of Hawai’i’s unique natural and cultural resources. We advocate for the proper stewardship of our resources and for social responsibility by promoting multi-cultural understanding and environmental justice.

Media Contact: Marti Townsend, 808-372-1314

Honolulu (August 3, 2011) – A lawsuit filed today in Hawai`i's Federal District Court challenges a fishing gear permit issued to Kona Blue Water Farm by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for its open ocean aquaculture “aquapods.”  Local watchdog group, KAHEA, and D.C.-based group, Food & Water Watch, filed the lawsuit to address the misapplication of commercial fishing regulations to industrial aquaculture activities. 

“Industrial aquaculture equipment is not “fishing gear” by any stretch of the imagination,” said Marti Townsend of KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance.  “Industrial aquaculture has distinct effects on the health of our ocean resources. These facilities do not belong in our federal waters. But if they are to be permitted they need their own specific regulations, not this kind of ‘force it to fit’ approach to regulation and resource management.” 

“There is a process for making these kinds of decisions,” Townsend added.  “NMFS has no excuse for not following the established process for regulating new uses of our collective ocean resources.” 

According to the complaint, under federal law, the defendants can only issue a fishing permit if authorized to do so under a regional Fishery Management Plan, which they were not. The complaint points out that defendants lacked the statutory authority to issue a fishing permit for Kona Blue’s aquaculture venture and states that they “acted outside their authority and arbitrarily and capriciously in issuing it.”  

The complaint also accuses NMFS of failing to adequately assess the environmental impacts in violation of federal law.

Industrial aquaculture operations in Hawai`i have damaged the environment, interfered with traditional and customary practices of Native Hawaiians, and pushed for the privatization of public trust ocean resources.  Around the world, industrial aquaculture has contributed to the decline of wild fish stocks and water pollution.

The aquapods released last month are not the first to be released into Hawai`i’s oceans.  In March, Kona Blue Water attempted to launch two aquapods into the Alenuihaha Channel ahead of receiving its “fishing gear” permit, but immediately lost both aquapods at sea due to rough waters.  One aquapod washed ashore, the other is still lost at sea.  

“This is exactly why the open ocean aquaculture industry is dangerous for our oceans,” said Townsend.  “Thanks to Kona Blue’s unregulated aquaculture activities, we now have more marine debris in the ocean, causing who knows what kind of harm to our ocean resources. This shouldn’t be allowed.”

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“New habitat protections could be a lifeline for endangered monk seals, protecting Hawaii’s clean beaches and coastal waters,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center. 

Studies have shown that endangered wildlife with habitat protections are twice as likely to be recovering as those without. The proposed rule expands the current critical habitat area for the Hawaiian monk seal in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to include deeper waters. It also designates new areas on all of the main Hawaiian Islands: Ni'ihau, Kaua'i, O'ahu, Moloka'i, Lāna'i, Kaho'olawe, Maui and Hawaii. Areas protected would include coastal land up to five meters inland and waters out to 500 meters in depth, with certain exclusions.

“The hearings are an opportunity to speak up in favor of protecting our beaches and reefs not only for monk seals, but also for Hawaii’s paddlers, fishers, surfers and all people of these islands,” said Marti Townsend of KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance. 
The hearings are as follows:

The National Marine Fisheries Service is also accepting written public comments on the proposal until Aug. 31, 2011 (www.regulations.gov#0648-BA81).

For more information see Save Our Hawaiian Monk Seal (http://on.fb.me/mwHgmT).

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The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit conservation organization with more than 320,000 members and online activists dedicated to protecting endangered species and wild places. www.biologicaldiversity.org

KAHEA is a community-based organization working to improve the quality of life for Hawai’i’s people and future generations through the revitalization and protection of Hawai’i’s unique natural and cultural resources. We advocate for the proper stewardship of our resources and for social responsibility by promoting multicultural understanding and environmental justice. www.kahea.org

Media Contact: Marti Townsend, KAHEA 808-372-1314

Honolulu, Hawai`i -- This week a grassroots hui of Native Hawaiian practitioners, conservationists, and recreational users filed their “Opening Brief” in the much anticipated contested case hearing over the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) proposed to be built on the public conservation lands of Mauna Kea.

In February, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) voted to approve the University of Hawai`i's request to build the TMT, subject to the outcome of this contested case hearing.  This hearing is an administrative fact-finding process, where those directly affected by the proposal can challenge the claims of the project proponents that are inconsistent with Hawai‘i’s laws, in order to help the agency make a more informed decision.

One of the primary challenges to the TMT is the fact that it will destroy one of the last intact natural viewsheds from the summit of Mauna Kea.  If built, the TMT would obstruct summit-views of the sunset, as well as culturally significant viewplanes to Haleakalā.  At a proposed 180 feet, the TMT would be the tallest building on Hawai’i Island -- twice the height of the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel and three times higher than the King Kamehameha Hotel in Kona.

“Understanding this issue is simple,” said Kealoha Pisciotta of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, one of the petitioners. “Mauna Kea is a sacred site. Destroying holy places is offensive no matter where you go, but here in Hawai`i our sites are regularly destroyed in the name of development. BLNR has allowed Mauna Kea to be overbuilt and that violates our rights because Native Hawaiians and the general public can no longer enjoy these awesome sites once they are destroyed.”

Another Hawaiian group in the hui, the Flores-Case `Ohana, shares that “Our ancestors remind us that Mauna Kea is still the purest, the most sacred of all of Hawaiʻi.  When we continue to build on what is left of our natural temples and our sacred places on this earth, it creates disharmony and imbalance, not only within our environment, but also within ourselves.  To allow this to happen, is to continue to allow others to take all that we have left, and with that everything we are.”

In addition to disputing the merits of the TMT project, the Mauna Kea hui is also challenging BLNR’s longstanding failure to protect the Mauna Kea conservation district.

“Mauna Kea is already overbuilt,” said Deborah J. Ward, also a petitioner. “The natural resources have been impacted by habitat destruction, alien species invasion, toxic spills and trash. Since 2000, one telescope has been recycled and none removed, but still UH proposes to build more -- 13 more, in fact: 8 Keck Outriggers, 4 PanSTARRS, and now the massive TMT.  Good management involves saying no to too many, too much.”

Mauna Kea from the Saddle Road up to the summit was designated conservation land in 1961 when the current Land Use Law was enacted.  The 1961 law codified the existing land use designations from the Kingdom and the territory that protected Mauna Kea as the headwaters for many streams; this law also identified the BLNR as the sole entity in charge of managing conservation districts, like Mauna Kea.

“For too long, BLNR has abdicated its responsibility to uphold the public’s interest in protecting this fragile and important conservation district,” said Marti Townsend, with KAHEA, also one of the hui petitioners. “BLNR has allowed UH - the advocate for all telescope construction on Mauna Kea - to drive decision-making about the mountain and its resources, and that is illegal.”

One consequence of BLNR’s failure to uphold the public’s interest is the fact that none of the telescopes on Mauna Kea pay rent for use of public lands, which is a violation of public trust laws.  “The people are really getting robbed in this deal,” said Clarence Kūkauakahi Ching, a former OHA trustee and longtime member of the Mauna Kea hui. “These are public lands!  Any money made off the use of these lands should be going to the public, but it isn’t. What has not been given away for a dollar or less, is spent on million-dollar lawyers and PR-campaigns for projects that aren't even fully funded. This is a negligent waste of public money, especially in this time of economic crisis.”

The Mauna Kea hui ultimately won the previous telescope construction case in 2007, when the Third Circuit Court overturned BLNR’s approval of the Keck Outrigger telescopes project for lack of an adequate management plan.  The Pan-STARRS proposal halted public hearings after the 2007 court decision was announced and has since withdrawn funding for construction on Mauna Kea.

More information available at: www.kahea.org/sacredsummits

Contact:
Miyoko Sakashita, Center for Biological Diversity, (510) 845-6703, miyoko@biologicaldiversity.org
Marti Townsend, KAHEA, (808) 372-1314, marti@kahea.org

SAN FRANCISCO— The federal government has proposed to designate more than 11,000 square miles of critical habitat for endangered Hawaiian monk seals. The proposed rule protects beaches and coastal waters on all the main Hawaiian Islands and expands protected habitat in the Northwestern Islands. The proposal responds to a 2008 petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, KAHEA: The Hawaiian- Environmental Alliance, and Ocean Conservancy. Hawaiian monk seals are among the most endangered marine mammals in the world, with a population of approximately 1,000 animals. The proposal will protect coastal areas for seals to raise pups and marine waters for foraging.

“New habitat protections, including all of the Hawaiian Islands, are essential to bring endangered Hawaiian monk seals back from the brink of extinction,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center. “The proposal to protect Hawaii’s coastline for monk seals is a landmark decision that will benefit seals and the coastal environment for generations.”

The proposed rule expands the current critical habitat area for the Hawaiian monk seal in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to include deeper waters. It also designates new areas on all of the main Hawaiian Islands: Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui and Hawaiʻi. Areas protected would include coastal land up to five meters inland and waters out to 500 meters in depth, with certain exclusions.

Studies have shown that species with critical habitat are twice as likely to be recovering as species without it. The revised habitat protections are vital for monk seal survival because monk seals are dying of starvation, and populations of the seals on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are plummeting. Seal pups have only about a one-in- five chance of surviving to adulthood. In contrast, monk seals in the main Hawaiian Islands are in better condition and giving birth to healthy pups. Hawaiian monk seals are present on each of the main islands, and their numbers are slowly increasing. Thus the main islands are essential important habitat for the monk seals. Additionally, habitat in the main islands will provide a refuge for monk seals as important beaches where seal pups are born and raised have been lost due to sea-level rise and erosion.

“Critical habitat compels U.S. federal agencies to consider the survival of this Hawaiian seal before they permit shoreline development — protecting our beaches and reefs not only for monk seals, but also for Hawaii’s paddlers, fishers, surfers and all people of these islands,” said Miwa Tamanaha, executive director at KAHEA: The Hawaiian- Environmental Alliance.

Critical habitat designation will mean greater protection of Hawaiian monk seal habitat under the Endangered Species Act. Critical habitat protection does not close areas, but it does limit federal government activities that could harm monk seals or their habitat. Once designated, any federal activities that may affect the critical habitat must undergo review to ensure they will not destroy or damage that habitat. For example, habitat protections can help prevent pollution and require modification of construction activities to prevent destruction of the environment.

The proposed critical habitat designation for the Hawaiian monk seal is scheduled to be published in Thursday’s Federal Register. The National Marine Fisheries Service is accepting public comments on the proposal for 90 days.

For more information about Hawaiian monk seal critical habitat and how to comment on the critical habitat designation, go to: http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/PRD/ prd_critical_habitat.html.

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The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit conservation organization with more than 320,000 members and online activists dedicated to protecting endangered species and wild places. www.biologicaldiversity.org

KAHEA is a community-based organization working to improve the quality of life for Hawai’i’s people and future generations through the revitalization and protection of Hawai’i’s unique natural and cultural resources. We advocate for the proper stewardship of our resources and for social responsibility by promoting multicultural understanding and environmental justice. www.kahea.org

Honolulu, Oahu (May 4, 2011):  KAHEA:  The Hawaii Environmental Alliance will help lead a rally to protest the proposed plan by Kyo-Ya Resort and Hotels to build a new massive tower next to the historic Moana Hotel on Waikiki Beach.  The rally will take place on Saturday, May 7th, and concerned citizens are invited to meet at the Zoo at 9:30 a.m. to walk down Kalakaua Ave. to the proposed site at 10:00 a.m.  The rally will last about an hour, and participants are asked to wear blue and to bring their families and friends.  Members from environmental groups like KAHEA, Surfrider Foundation, Hawaii’s Thousand Friends and the Ka Iwi Coalition will also be in attendance.

As part of the Waikiki Special District, zoning laws were passed decades ago to protect the treasured beaches of Waikiki and to limit shoreline development and the coastal erosion that comes with it.  Existing hotels were allowed to remain as they were, and the understanding was that all subsequent developments had to follow the new zoning codes.  But Kyo-ya and its corporate partners in New York want special exemptions to tear down an existing 8-story building and create a new 26-story tower. The Dept. of Planning and Permitting granted them variances to violate the existing height and shoreline setback requirements, but a coalition of petitioners is seeking to appeal this decision.

“We’re asking people to draw a line in the sand against Kyo-Ya’s plans,” says Tim Tybuszewski, Surfrider’s Oahu Chapter Co-Chair, “because their new development will create a dangerous precedent for other developers to ask for similar exemptions from the zoning code so they too can start building taller towers closer to the water.  While other high-end hotels such as the Hale Kulani have successfully abided by the rules, Kyo-Ya asserts they shouldn’t have to adhere to the zoning code.”

According to the zoning laws, beachfront buildings in Waikiki must be built 100-feet inland of the vegetation line. Shoreline setbacks were designed to protect our beaches and public safety, but Kyo-Ya wants to build new structures closer to the water and to harden the shoreline with a higher seawall.  This is likely to cause more beach erosion.  No amount of sand replenishment will be able to restore or save Waikiki’s already shrinking beaches in the face of more construction, storms, hurricanes, tsunamis and sea level rise.  Kyo-ya asserts that beach sand replenishment, which will be paid for mostly by the taxpayers, will restore the beach in front of their new tower and wall, but for how long?  As other walls on the Waikiki shoreline demonstrate, where the shoreline has been hardened, the beach washes away and with it goes beach access.

The new tower will also contribute to the canyon effect, dwarfing the beautiful and historic Moana Hotel and further destroying Waikiki’s unique sense of place.  If approved, Kyo-ya’s plans could motivate a new wave of developers to seek the same exemptions and build more towers and more walls on the Waikiki shoreline.  Rally organizers invite other groups and citizens to join their protest to see where the proposed new tower will be built and learn more about how this development will affect Waikiki.

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"It made absolutely no sense to have one arm of the National Marine Fisheries Service increasing the lethal capture of loggerheads, while the other arm is in the process of determining whether loggerheads should be uplisted from threatened to endangered," said Todd Steiner, biologist and executive director of Turtle Island Restoration Network. "With extinction looming, these animals need more protection, not less."

"With this decision, Hawaii's public-trust ocean resources can be better managed for our collective best interest, and not just the interests of this commercial fishery," said KAHEA program director Marti Townsend. "This is a victory not just for the turtles, but for Hawaii's people who rely on a healthy, functioning ocean ecosystem."

Conservation groups represented by Earthjustice filed a federal lawsuit challenging a 2009 rule allowing the swordfish fleet to catch nearly three times as many loggerhead sea turtles as previously permitted. This settlement freezes the number at the previous cap of 17 while the government conducts additional environmental studies and decides whether or not to classify the loggerhead as endangered, rather than its current, less-protective status of threatened. For leatherback turtles, the bycatch limit remains at 16 per year. In 2010, eight Pacific leatherbacks and seven loggerheads were caught in the longline fishery, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. There have already been 4 loggerheads captured in 2011, which has sea turtle conservationists concerned.

"Sea turtles have been swimming the oceans since the time of dinosaurs. But without a change in management, they won't survive our voracious quest for swordfish and tuna," said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity. "If loggerheads are going to survive in the North Pacific, we need to stop killing them in our fisheries."

"Pacific loggerhead sea turtles are nearly extinct, so this bycatch rollback helps right a serious wrong," said Teri Shore, program director at Turtle Island Restoration Network. "We can't allow these rare sea turtles to disappear for a plate of swordfish. It's tragic that it took a lawsuit to correct this fishery problem."

Swordfish longline vessels trail up to 60 miles of fishing line suspended in the water with floats, with as many as 1,000 baited hooks deployed at regular intervals. Sea turtles become hooked while trying to take bait or become entangled while swimming through the nearly invisible lines. These encounters can drown the turtles or leave them with serious injuries. Sea birds such as albatross dive for the bait and become hooked; marine mammals, including endangered humpback whales and false killer whales, also sometimes become hooked when they swim through the floating lines.

Read the settlement agreement summary.
Read the complete legal settlement order.