Ka‘ū News Briefs, Wednesday, July 13, 2022

A power line wildfire that started Monday was reported contained on Wednesday, with firefighters from Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, County Fire Department, state Department of Land & Natural Resources and the Pōhakuloa Training Area responding. Photo by Jancie Wei/HVNP

A WILDFIRE NEAR A POWER LINE ON THE SOUTHEAST FLANK OF MAUANA LOA within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park was 70 percent contained Wednesday morning and is mapped at 42.5 acres in size. Light rain overnight and into early Wednesday morning helped firefighters extinguish residual smoldering. A statement from HVNP said the "weather outlook is favorable for firefighters to continue to make progress strengthening fire lines, mopping up, and extinguishing residual heat. As a result, containment is expected to rise significantly" Wednesday and Thursday.
    Mauna Loa Road remains closed to the public from the gate at the Kīpukapuaulu parking lot. Only authorized vehicles are allowed past the gate until further notice.

  The fire was first reported at 6:09 p.m. on Monday and started on a power line road at around 4,800 ft. elevation in the park. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
    Isolated smoldering continues in leaf litter, logs, and snags from the 2018 Keauhou fire. Hazards include snags from previously burned koa and ʻōhiʻa trees and extremely rough uneven lava rock terrain. No homes or other structures are threatened, but the burn did impact habitat for native birds. A 1,760-foot section of ungulate-proof fence that protects native forest from non-native hooved animals was damaged.
     The park message said, "Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park extends its deepest appreciation to the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW); County of Hawaiʻi Fire Department, and the U.S. Army's Pōhakuloa Training Area (PTA) personnel for providing critical local response through the initial attack."

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HAWAI'I TOURISM AUTHORITY FUNDING THROUGH THE STATE LEGISLATURE IS VETOED. 

Gov. David Ige announced the veto this week. The governor said he would fund HTA with federal covid rescue money. The rationale of the veto was the use of a "gut and replace" procedure that often changes the content of legislation at the last moment. The League of Women's Voters and other non-profits have long opposed gut and replace as they see it unconstitutional. 

    Keliʻi Akina of Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi said, "Gov. Ige was absolutely right that the bill was vulnerable to a court challenge, and all of Hawaiʻi can be happy now that no tax dollars are going to be wasted defending it.
   "I hope this will be the end of legislators using gut-and-replace to get their way. That they tried to use it this time was really beyond the pale, especially since it was only last November that the state Supreme Court ruled against it. The public has a right to comment on pending legislation, and gut-and-replace violates that right," said Akina.

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HURRICANE DARBY RESTRENGTHENED TO MAJOR STATUS on Wednesday. The 5 p.m. report from the Central Pacific Hurricane Center said the "intensity has been increased to 100 kt, making Darby a major hurricane once again. Satellite images from the past couple of hours indicated that the upper level outflow has started to become a bit asymmetric, which may indicate that Darby is starting to be affected by the large upper level trough to the northwest." The Hurricane Center predicts Darby will pass as a Depression south of Hawaiʻi Island on Saturday afternoon.

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THURSDAY NIGHT AT THE CENTER: Nietzsche’s Amor Fati and Albert Saijo’s Zensational Rhapsody will be the topic at 6 p.m. in Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. Tim Freeman, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at UH-Hilo, will give a talk and audio visual presentation. The presentation was recently given in May at a philosophy conference at the University of Tallinn in Estonia. The topics addressed concern the relationship between Nietzsche’s thought and Zen, as well as the relationships between philosophy and poetry, philosophy and music, art and truth, and, as well, some thoughts on living in this perilous time of global conflict and ecological crisis. The presentation will take about 40 minutes with discussion to follow. The series is intended to inspire, enhance appreciation of art and life experience, while fostering community connections. This presentation is free, although a $5 donation is greatly appreciated.

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HAWAI'I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK ARTIST IN RESIDENCE BEN COSGROVE will offer a free performance this Saturday, July 16 from 2:30 p.m. in Kahuku, courtesy of Friends of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and the National Park Arts Foundation.

    Cosgrove is a traveling musical artist and keyboardist who explores rhythms of landscape, place and environment. He performed and held fellowships at Acadia National Park, Isle Royale National Park, NASA, Harvard University and more.
    Due to high infection rates of Covid-19 on island, attendance is limited to 25 people. Registration is required and is free. 

    Go to https://bit.ly/KahukuConcert to reserve a seat. Attendees must wear masks.

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This band from Ka'u goes to Kona this weekend.

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Tuesday, July 12, 2022

The 16,451-acre Pōhue Bay parcel is home to numerous well-preserved and significant Hawaiian cultural sites, including the largest recorded abrader quarry in Hawaiʻi, ancient lava tube burials, mauka-makai trails, fishing shrines, remains of once-thriving coastal villages and petroglyphs. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park became its steward on Tuesday.
Photo from Trust for Public Land

POHUE BAY AND SURROUNDING LAND BECAME PART OF HAWAIʻI VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK on Tuesday. The 16,451 acres from Mamalahoa Highway to the shoreline near Ocean View was transferred Tuesday from Trust for Public Land, which stewarded the sale by a private landowner, to the National Park Service. A statement from TPL and NPS says the aim is "preserving the area's unique natural and cultural resources from development." Lea Hong, Associate Vice President, Hawaiian Islands State Director for Trust for Public Land, said, "Aloha ʻāina begins with our commitment to preserving our islands' precious natural and cultural systems. We are grateful the National Park Service will steward the area with the support of the community, ensuring the history, culture and natural beauty of this place are protected for future generations."

Hawksbill turtles nest at Pōhue Bay, its surrounding lands now protects as part of Hawaiʻi
Volcanoes National Park. Photo from National Park Service

   Trust for Public Land purchased Pōhue Bay for over $9.4 million funded by the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, plus a catalytic donation from Wyss Foundation. Trust for Public Land transferred ownership and stewardship of Pōhue Bay to the National Park Service "so the area's native ecosystems and cultural treasures would be well cared for and preserved," says the joint statement. Trust for Public Land also transferred and donated $800,000 to Friends of Hawaʻ'i Volcanoes National Park to support the National Park Service's management of Pōhue Bay.
    Pōhue Bay has been the subject of several resort development proposals. However, community members identified the Pōhue Bay property as one of the highest priority acquisition/expansion areas in the Kaʻū Community Development Plan, and the acquisition of Pōhue is recommended in the 2016 Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park General Management Plan.

    Before the land transfer, NPS met with community members in partnership with TPL and Hawaiʻi

More of the Kaʻū Coast preserved through the purchase of
lands surrounding Pōhue Bay. Photo from Trust for Public Land

Alliance for Community-Based Economic Development "to better understand the land's cultural, historical and ecological significance. This preliminary process will continue over the next several months. Until a Pōhue interim operating plan is completed, and safe access protective of cultural and natural resources can be ensured, public access is temporarily restricted. There are no bathroom facilities or capacity for trash removal, and emergency response is very limited. Portions of the current jeep trail and pedestrian routes to the coastline pass through private lands not managed by the park," says the joint statement.
    Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park Superintendent Rhonda Loh said, "Pōhue is an incredibly precious and culturally significant landscape that needs to be protected. We are actively seeking community feedback to get a better understanding of the natural and cultural resources in the area. The park is working to develop an interim operating plan for Pōhue that explores opportunities for public use compatible with resource protection. We thank the community for your patience and for the manaʻo shared so far."
    A public meeting will be held at the Ocean View Community Center on Saturday, August 13 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and additional meetings will be announced soon.
    Pōhue Bay is home to numerous well-preserved and significant Hawaiian cultural sites, including the largest recorded abrader quarry in Hawaiʻi, lava tubes, burial sites, mauka-makai (mountain to sea) trails, fishing shrines, remains of once-thriving coastal villages, and petroglyphs. A well-preserved portion of the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail or Ala Loa, an ancient coastal trail system, hugs the coastline.

An anchialine pond and home to Rare endemic ʻōpaeʻula (red shrimp), located within
the addition to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, which includes Pōhue Bay.
Photo from Trust for Public Land

    The Pōhue coastline is also critical habitat for federally listed endangered Hawaiian species, including the Hawaiian hawksbill turtle (honu'ea) and Hawaiian monk seal. Rare endemic ʻōpaeʻula, (red shrimp), live in the area's anchialine ponds, and the bay is often frequented by native and migratory birds, including ʻiwa (frigate bird), koaʻe kea (white tailed tropic bird), kōlea (golden plover), ʻūlili (wandering tattler) and ʻaukuʻu (black crowned night heron).
    Trust for Public Land is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than three million acres of public land, created more than 5,000 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $84 billion in public funding for parks and for parks and public lands, and connected more than nine million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.
    More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 423 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
    In 2018 Hansjörg Wyss and the Wyss Foundation met the nature crisis by launching the Wyss Campaign for Nature. Wyss has committed $1.5 billion to the Campaign before the end of this decade, supporting Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and nations in their efforts to protect 30 percent of the planet by 2030.

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"THE MOST CONSEQUENTIAL ALLOCATION OF FUNDING for the implementation of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act in its 100-year history," is the phrase employed by Hawaiian Homes Commission Chair William J. Ailā, Jr. He released a statement Monday to described the $600 million funding bill passed by the 2022 Hawai'i Legislature that was signed by Gov. David Ige.  Act 279 appropriates the $600 million to serve beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. DHHL lands are in the South Point area, Wai'ohinu and above Punalu'u, as well as house lots in Discovery Harbour.

Hawaiian Homelands of Ka'u, encircled in red,  are in the South Point area DHHL lands are in the South Point area, Wai'ohinu and above Punalu'u, as well as house lots in Discovery Harbour. DHHL map.

    "Sufficient funding to develop the raw landholdings of the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust has been elusive for decades. Today's signing marks a turning of the page from this dark past to a brighter future for native Hawaiians," said Ailā. "The measure will allow the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to

expedite the construction of thousands of new homestead lots and housing units throughout the state. DHHL will also leverage its federal funding and trust assets to expand housing services to beneficiaries including down-payment assistance, rental subsidies, and expanded financial literacy education. These resources offer us an aggressive way forward. I thank the legislature for their bold decision making and Gov. Ige for his acknowledgment and support of the promises made to native Hawaiians."

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New Halema'umau Crater Thermal Images Released 

    Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) flights on July 7 allowed USGS aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The active lake surface is limited to the western portion of the crater. The scale of the thermal map ranges from blue to red, with blue colors indicative of cooler temperatures and red colors indicative of warmer temperatures. USGS has special use permits from the National Park Service to conduct official UAS missions as part of HVO’s mission to monitor active volcanoes in Hawai'i, assess their hazards, issue warnings, and advance scientific understanding to reduce impacts of volcanic eruptions. USGS Image

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Ka‘ū News Briefs, Monday, July 11, 2022

MAJOR HURRICANE DARBY IS TRACKING TOWARD HAWAIʻI ISLAND but is expected to lose intensity, become a Tropical Storm and arrive as a Depression on Saturday evening at 5 p.m.. On Monday, Darby was moving west at 17 mph with sustained winds of 140 mph about 1,825 miles east-southweast of South Point. Central Pacific Hurricane Center predicts that Darby will begin turning to a more west-northwest direction on Tuesday and move from the Eastern Pacific to the Central Pacific Basin on Wednesday.

Hurricane Darby is expected to reach the southside of Hawaiʻi
Island on Saturday as a Depression as she enters drier air, over
cooler waters. Image from www.Weatherboy.com

    The hurricane is very compact with hurricane force winds only extending 50 nautical miles from her eye. Darby "maintains a classic major hurricane structure with well-defined outflow in all quadrants, a symmetric cloud pattern, and a distinct small eye (less than 10 n mi in diameter). Satellite images indicate that the eye has become even more defined over the past few hours, but deep convection has been weakening a little to the west of the eye," says the 5 p.m. Hurricane Center update. "Darby is likely near its peak intensity. The major hurricane will be moving over progressively cooler waters and crossing the 26 degree C isotherm in about 24 hours. In addition, Darby will be moving into a drier airmass, which should accelerate the weakening trend. In a few days when Darby is over the central Pacific, a mid- to upper-level trough should induce strong westerly shear and cause Darby to become a post-tropical cyclone in about 4 days."

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A promotional photo shown online by Big Island ATV Southside Tours. 

AN ACCIDENT INVOLVING AN ATV TOUR IN KAʻŪ was reported by Big Island Thieves Media on Sunday. At Waiʻōhinu Park, passersby said they saw a helicopter land, bringing a woman with an injured leg for assessment and treatment, along with her companion. Big Island ATV Southside Tours is one of at least two ATV tour companies operating in Kaʻū. The company provides riders from ten to 90 years of age with either double or single quads for the adventure, along with helmets, gloves, dust masks and bottled water. The cost starts at $200.
    Tours go down the public Kaʻalualu Road and onto trails on Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and Kamehameha School property.
    An online promotion for Big Island ATV Southside Tours posts the following: "Welcome to the Southern most area of the United States! Our tour will take you to places that tourists and locals alike have never visited. This is the REAL untouched Hawaii. The Southpoint area is where the Hawaiians originally landed on the Big Island. It's beautiful, warm, sunny and sometimes windy.

A family shown along the trail on Big Island ATV Southside Tours.

"Youʻll be crossing rugged lava flows and grassy fields, Ancient Kiawe forests with all the natural fauna and flora of The Big Island. Gorgeous aqua coastline with crashing waves worthy of photos, especially when the surfs up! If on a winter tour you might even see a whale or two. You will experience colorful tropical fish and green sea turtles visible from rugged lava cliffs as you peer into Shark Bay. We also do private family tours so book ahead so we have spaces available for you and your family. Get a little SUN and have a little FUN! Lets GO!" See the website for Big Island ATV Southside Tours at https://www.viator.com/tours/Big-Island-of-Hawaii/Big-Island-ATV-Southside-Tours/d669-358276P1?m=58932&nid=VR.16e43091-f2b3-4122-88e4-75e1d56f1d1e.TA_EMAIL_ATTRSUP?mcid=56757.

    A review online in July says, "The hosts, Wes and Vicki were so knowledgeable about the island, and the terrain. The trails we took were rough at times, but that made the experience even better. The spots they took us to at the ocean, and bays were perfect, we even got to view the sea turtles at shark cove. We would recommend this tour to everyone, well worth the money."

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AN OPPORTUNITY TO SIGN BOOKS OF CONDOLENCES in memory of the late former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, who was gunned down last week, is available through Hawaiʻi County, in partnership with the Honorary Consul General of Japan in Hilo, Art Taniguchi.

    The last time the County of Hawaiʻi hosted Books of Condolences for Japan was in 2011, when The Great Tōhoku Earthquake destroyed more than 100,000 buildings and triggered a nuclear disaster.

    Abe's Books of Condolences can be found in the Office of the Mayor in both Hilo and Kona and are open to the public for comment. After a week, the Books will be hand-delivered to the Consul General of Japan in Honolulu and sent off to Japan to be stored and archived for Prime Minister Abe and his ʻohana. The Books will be available to the public through Friday, July 15.

    “We encourage anyone with a message of solidarity and unity for our Japanese brothers and sisters to come down to the Mayor’s office and share that message,” said Mayor Mitch Roth. “Prime Minister Abe was a friend to Hawaiʻi and the United States, and through that, there are many across our state who have been impacted by his sudden passing. Regardless of our differences with our elected officials, we should all stand against violence and join the Japanese community in memorial and mourning.”

Mayor Mitch Roth and Honorary Consul General for Japan in Hilo, Art
 Taniguchi, offer the public opportunity to sign Books of Condolences 
for the late former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe.
Photo from the Mayor's Office

    The Hilo Honorary Consul General for Japan said, “Prime Minister Abe was well-respected domestically and internationally, and the world mourns the loss of a great leader and visionary. We are very thankful that Mayor Roth has allowed Books of Condolences in the Mayor’s Offices in Hilo and Kona from Tuesday through Friday. We encourage anyone who wishes to offer their condolences to please go into either the Hilo or Kona offices of the Mayor and share your thoughts during normal office hours.”

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Kaʻū musicians head to Kona this Friday for a performance

at Gertrude's on Ali'i Drive.