Ka`u News Briefs Sunday Aug. 6, 2017

Internationally acclaimed musicians and singers come to Pahala to honor its diversity and historic
properties with a concert on Wednesday, Aug. 16 at Pahala Plantation House.

HAWAI`I INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL, the kernel of the idea beginning in 2009 with a concert for Ka`u Coffee farmers, students and villagers brought here by Amy Shoremount Obra of the Rusty's Ka`u Coffee family, has grown into a flurry of events this summer.
    This year brings a rare concert to Pahala Plantation Mangers House on Wednesday, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. to help support efforts to honor the history of Pahala through preservation of its historic sites. The artists also perform in Hilo and Honolulu. The music ranges from opera to tango.

JP Jofre will play his tango compositions on the
bandoneon. He is one of the world's masters
of the Argentine instrument.

     The Pahala concert will feature:  Obra who is a New York Metropolitan Opera Soprano and daughter-inlaw of Lorie Obra of Rusty’s Hawaiian Coffee, Virtuoso Violinist Eric Siilberger, Esteemed Pianist Carlin Ma, Hawai`i Symphony Orchestra Cellist Sung Chan Chang, Mexican Tenor Manuel Castillo, Young Artist Mexican Mezzo-Soprano Sandra Aldaz Meraz, and World Renowned Argentinean Bandoneon Player JP Jofre.
     The concert brings attention to the adjacent 60 acres at the old sugar mill site, which  is now on the county Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Commission list for acquisition. It is the location of the sugar wall, an old store and the old bank which is now the Hawai`i Public Radio station building. In addition there is an effort to conserve one of the oldest houses in town, the Lupunui House. An ad hoc group of Pahala citizens advocating for protection of these historic sites is called the Pahala Historic Properties Alliance.

     To help bring awareness to Pahala's history, Shoremount Obra and her musicians will offer an evening of diverse music, performing on Argentine bandoneon, piano, violin and cello, with tenor and soprano voices. The concert begins at 7 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. See http://himfpahala.bpt.me

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REPORTED SIGHTINGS OF AXIS DEER have been shared on The Ka`u Calendar facebook page over the last 24 hours, following the announcement of elimination of the axis deer by the Big Island Invasive Species Committee. The organization urges anyone with any knowledge of seeing the invasive axis deer to call either 443-4036 or 933-3340. 

     Goats, sheep and sometime spotted horses in the distance are mistaken for axis deer. However, every sighting is valued by the BIISC team continuing to search for any axis deer that could remain, after years of making sure they are gone from the island.

Axis deer hunting is popular on Maui but bringing them to the Big
Island is illegal. Photo from mauideerhunting.com

     On The Ka`u Calendar facebook, William Midgle reported seeing one a year ago in the Kahuku forest reserve. Candy Casper reported seeing one less than two years ago in Discovery Harbour.
    The axis deer were introduced to the island by hunters, ranchers and a helicopter pilot illegally. Over the past six years, game cameras and human watchfulness have helped keep them out of the countryside. The deer are considered a danger to agriculture and nature as they compete with native wildlife and destroy farms and orchards.
    The last confirmed sighting, according to BIISC, was in April of 2012 when the fourth deer was killed by a marksman, within a year after the first sighting on Hawai`i Island.

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TODAY MARKS THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT, "but defense of our democracy continues to be at risk of being, undermined," says a statement issued by U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, of Hawai`i.

    The Voting Rights Act prohibits racial discrimination in voting, which is guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. It became law during the Civil Rights Movement, signed by Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson on Aug. 6, 1965.

     Hanabusa said that earlier this summer she joined veterans of the Civil Rights Movement, voting rights advocates and leaders in the U.S. House to sponsor H.R. 12, the Voter Empowerment Act, "to protect voting rights and preserve our electoral system."

     She said the bill will "modernize voting registration, prohibit deceptive practices and voter intimidation, and authorize assistance for states to protect the security of voter information and processes." She urges citizens to join the campaign: "Please stand with me as I call on my Republican colleagues to reject any effort to make it not just harder, but nearly impossible to vote. While many states are taking action to make voting even more difficult, I cannot, I will not, sit idly by while people are denied one of their most basic constitutional rights."

Pick up the August edition of The Ka`u Calendar delivered
free to 5,500 mailboxes throughout Ka`u, from Miloli`i 
through Volcano. Also available on stands throughout
the district. See it online at www.kaucalendar.com

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, seeFacebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

Painting with Peggy, Mon, Aug 7 & 21, 12 p.m., Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. An ongoing series of acrylic workshops for all levels. $20. 967-8222

Volunteer Fire Department Meeting, Mon, Aug 7, 4 p.m., Ocean View Community Center. 939-7033

Haku Hulu, Wed, Aug 9, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center lānai in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Local practitioner Pilialoha Johnson introduces the ancient Hawaiian skill of featherwork. Free; park entrance fees apply.

Backpack Name Tags, Wed, Aug 9, 3:30 – 5 p.m., Pāhala Community Center. Grades K – 8 register Aug 1 – 8. 928-0312

http://kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory_2017

Ka`u News Briefs Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017

A 2009 photo of an axis deer killed by a Big Island Invasive Sepcies Committee marksman.
Photo from BIISC

NO AXIS DEER IN KA`U is the declaration of Big Island Invasive Species Committee. A story by Tom Callis of the Hawai`i Tribune Herald this morning say BIISC "has declared victory in its effort to remove axis deer from Ka‘u, nearly eight years since they were introduced. Spokeswoman Franny Brewer said there have been no confirmed sightings of the deer since the last one was killed in 2012."

     The story reports that it was the keen eyes of the public who reported seeing the axis deer, which can wreck havoc on farms and ranches and disturb native forests. Callis writes that "Game cameras were installed across 5,200 acres, capturing nearly 7,000 hours of footage, to ensure the deer no longer were present. Four were killed by hired hunters."

     Introduction of the axis deer came with a helicopter pilot from Maui cooperating with hunters and ranchers who wanted more game on this island, where it is mainly wild boar, sheep, goats and turkeys.

Axis deer were lifted from Maui to Hawai`i Island for hunting.
The pilot, hunter and rancher were prosecuted and the elimination
of this invasive species began. Photo from mauiderhunting.com.

     The axis deer are already established on Moloka`i, Lana`i and Maui where they run in herds and hunters go after them with bows and rifles. The Big Island would have offered a huge range of uninhabited land where the axis deer population could have exploded. Their ability to jump high would have diminished the work of conservation agencies that built multi-million dollar fences to protect areas of native species habitat from ungulates such as goats, sheep and pigs. Deer would have become another pest as they could have reproduced quickly. In 1868, introduction of a few deer onto Moloka`i led to the population growing to 7,000 within 30 years.

      On April 29, 2011, an axis deer was caught on a game camera in Ka`u, after ranchers reported a deer sighting. Agencies joining together to eliminate them included BIISC, state Department of Land & Natural Resources, Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, U.S.G.S., Three Mountain Alliance and The Nature Conservancy.

Anyone seeing an axis deer on Hawai`i Island is
asked to call 442-4036 or 933-3340.
Photo from redbubble.net

     In early April of 2012, DLNR and BIISC announced the first Big Island killing of the invasive axis deer, without disclosing its location. Invasive Species Committee manager Jan Schipper, said, at that time, "We are not able to disclose the exact locations of deer we have sighted, or the animal that was shot, out of respect for cooperating landowners' privacy. We are mindful that trespassing and poaching are a major concern for some landowners." Schipper described a protocol to ensure removing the problem deer and examining the deer for disease.
      A total of four were killed by the end of 2012, with none reported since that time.
     After the illegal introduction of the axis deer to the Big Island, the state prosecuted and fined the hunter, rancher and helicopter pilot, under laws prohibiting the holding of game animals without permits.
     Anyone seeing another axis deer on the island is encouraged to call  443-4036 or 933-3340.

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THE EUCALYPTUS FARMS ON THE HILLSIDE ABOVE PAHALA, and extending toward Na`alehu and Kapapala, would likely be harvested in blocks, not all at one time, according to forestry experts.
      Harvesting "fields" separated from one another rather than clear cutting the eucalyptus all at one time would help control erosion and mitigate the impact on the view planes of the area. For the 3,700 acres of eucalyptus in Pahala, the harvesting could be spread over five years, creating a few jobs for Ka`u people.
      The eucalyptus is on Kamehameha Schools land and is being sold to Hū Honua by an international timber company called Cambium Global Timberland, which has a land lease soon to expire.

Fires, drought and wind damaged the Pahala eucalypus farms that
 may soon be harvested for the power plant, being built in
Pepe`ekeo. Photo by Julia Neal

     If the sale finalizes and the timber goes to Hū Honua, the logs would be hauled from the Pahala area along Hwy 11 through Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and Hilo and up the Hilo coast toward Hamakua to Pepe`ekeo and the new power plant being built there. In addition to the 3,700 acres of eucalyptus in Pahala, the company would harvest eucalyptus grown on 4,500 acres at a plantation north of Hilo called Pinnacle, also owed by Cambium Global.
    The lease on the eucalyptus farms near Pahala call for the cutting of the trees and the killing of their stumps before the end of the lease term. Whether Kamehameha Schools would open up the land for pasture, coffee farms, growing of koa - Kamehameha has a 55 acre koa farm adjacent to the eucalyptus, the replanting of eucalyptus or other uses is still to be determined.

     The eucalyptus grown in Ka`u is considered far less valuable than the eucalyptus in Hamakua. A New Years 2016 storm knocked down between 50 percent and 60 percent of the trees here. The farms were also ravaged by drought, fires and other wind storms over the years. In addition, Pahala is far from any factory to use the wood and far from the Hilo port for export,  making transportation expensive.
     The quality of the wood and the expenses made it undesirable to sell to anyone but a local consumer which turned out to be a company wanting to burn it for electricity. Cambium said in its annual report, released July 27, that it was shutting down its Big Island operations.
     According to the plan recently approved by the Public Utilities Commission, the Hū Honua plant could be completed in 2018, when the first eucalyptus harvest would be needed to make electricity for Hawai`i Electric Light Co.

Pick up the August edition of The Ka`u Calendar delivered
free to 5,500 mailboxes throughout Ka`u, from Miloli`i 
through Volcano. Also available on stands throughout
the district. See it online at www.kaucalendar.com

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

Ham Radio Operators Potluck Picnic, Sun, Aug 6, Manukā Park. All American Radio Emergency Service members, anyone interested in learning how to operate a ham radio and families are invited to attend. Dennis Smith, 989-3028.

Palm Trail, Sun, Aug 6, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Kahuku Unit of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. This moderately difficult 2.6-mile loop traverses scenic pastures along an ancient cinder cone, with some of the best panoramic views Kahuku has to offer.

Painting with Peggy, Mon, Aug 7 & 21, 12 p.m., Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. An ongoing series of acrylic workshops for all levels. $20. 967-8222

Volunteer Fire Department Meeting, Mon, Aug 7, 4 p.m., Ocean View Community Center. 939-7033

Haku Hulu, Wed, Aug 9, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center lānai in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Local practitioner Pilialoha Johnson introduces the ancient Hawaiian skill of featherwork. Free; park entrance fees apply.

Backpack Name Tags, Wed, Aug 9, 3:30 – 5 p.m., Pāhala Community Center. Grades K – 8 register Aug 1 – 8. 928-0312

http://kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory_2017

Ka`u News Briefs Friday, Aug. 4, 2017

A decade ago, this perched lava channel, which was as much as 150 feet (45 meters) above the ground, carried lava downslope from the Pu'u 'Ō'ō Fissure D vent during episode 58 of Kīlauea Volcano's ongoing East Rift Zone 
eruption. The channel was the main path for lava between July and November 2007. Episode 58 continued until 
early March 2011. Pu'u 'Ō'ō is visible at upper right. See story below. USGS photo by J. Kauahikaua, October 2007

EUCALYPTUS TREES ON 3,700 ACRES ABOVE PAHALA on Kamehameha Schools lands leased to an international timber company will likely be harvested, according to plans for the recently approved Hū Honua biomass energy plant in North Hilo at Pepe`ekeo. The Public Utilities Commission has approved the project to produce electricity and sell it to Hawai`i Electric Light Co.
      A filing with the PUC says that "Hū Honua’s project involves agricultural activities that fall under the definition in HRS § 269-1, as it involves a commercial agricultural facility or pursuit conducted, in whole or in part, including plant production for nonfood uses, as well as the harvesting and processing of crops (e.g., eucalyptus). Specifically, it depends on the sustainable cultivation, harvesting, and processing of biomass feedstock, including eucalyptus trees in the Pahala and Pinnacle plantations."

Eucalyptus above Pahala is closer to being harvested with approval of the Hu Honua biofuel plant in Pepe`ekeo.
Photo by Julia Neal

      Hū Honua's filings with the PUC that also point to Pahala state that "Independent consultant, Mason, Bruce & Girard, performed a due diligence review of the plantation forestry operations and reviewed several relevant resources and information, including the Road Easement documentation for the Pinnacle and Pahala properties, Hawai`i County Grading Permit and Grubbing permit terms and conditions, and Exemption from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the construction of two engineered stream crossings at the Pinnacle property," on the Hamakua Coast.
     Another filing states that an "Ashford & Wriston law firm letter dated October 10, 2016, did not find any permitting requirements that would prohibit Hū Honua to continue forestry operations on the Pinnacle and Pahala properties." 

     The 2017 annual report  Cambium Global Timberland, Ltd., released July 27, stated that the company, which is traded on the London Stock Exchange, plans to dispose of itS 3,700 acres of eucalyptus in Pahala and another 4,500  acres of eucalyptus at its Pinnacle plantation north of Hilo for more than $3 million.

    The report sates that the "biomass energy company that is contracted to buy the plantations  (Hū Honua) has settled its dispute with the electricity utility and has made a US $156,000 non-refundable payment of Cambium in return for which the purchase has until 31 July 2017 to close the transaction."

     The report says that "Given the limited profitability of harvesting and exporting wood from Hawai`i, local buyers have been the only realistic option for liquidity."

    The annual report also advises stockholders of problems with its Brazil forestry projects, including squatters camps that are to be evicted, economic and political turmoil and the costs of firefighting, insurance and security. Both the Hawai`i and Brazil plantations are classified as "discontinued operations."

     Hū  Honua, on its website, presents its "Guiding Principles, the driving factors that keep us focused on bringing our biomass power plant online:
     "Ratepayers come first. Hū Honua is committed to producing electricity at a cost to HELCO that is less than fossil fuel sources so consumers can benefit.
     "Jobs, jobs, jobs. Hū Honua will increase employment opportunities for the people of Hawaiʻi Island in construction, plant management and maintenance, and ancillary services such as forestry.
100% clean, renewable energy. Through a public-private partnership, Hū Honua will deliver clean renewable power to help Hawaiʻi meet its goal of 100% renewable electricity energy by 2045.
     "Stimulate the forest industry. Hū Honua will maximize economic impact by revitalizing the forestry industry, including harvesting, hauling, processing, and replanting trees.

Architectural rendering of the Hu Honua Plant at Pepe`ekeo

Be a good neighbor. Hū Honua is making a long-term commitment to our neighbors by minimizing impacts related to operations and by repositioning an historic facility to serve the future."

       See huhonua.com.

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The ongoing East Rift Zone eruption has seen a lot of
lava in the last decade. USGS Photo

WHAT WAS HAPPENING AT KILAUEA VOLCANO TEN YEARS AGO? That is the question being answered by scientists at the USGS Hawai`i Volcanoes Obeservatory in this week's Volcano Watch:
     Kīlauea has now passed the one-year anniversary of the episode 61g lava flow reaching the Pacific Ocean. But what was this busy volcano up to a decade ago? Were things as dynamic then as they are now? Absolutely!
     Slightly more than ten years ago—on July 21, 2007—episode 58 of the ongoing East Rift Zone eruption got underway with a dramatic collapse of the Pu'u 'Ō'ō crater floor. At the same time, new fissures opened high on the northeastern flank of Pu'u 'Ō'ō. These fissures unzipped the ground and erupted lava to the northeast as far as the 1986-1992 Kupaianaha lava shield, about 3 km (2 mi) downrift.
     Activity soon became localized at the northeastern end of the new fissures. This vent, called Fissure D, produced a series of short-lived 'a'ā flows. By late August, the open lava channel feeding the 'a'ā flows began to overflow its banks. The overflows raised the enclosing levees to form a "perched" lava channel that eventually stood about 45 m (150 ft) above the pre-existing ground.

Pu'u 'Ō'ō in 2007. Photo from USGS

     This feature was somewhat unusual in that it represented a cross between an elongate lava channel and a lava lake. Perched lava ponds or lakes are formed by a similar process, with periodic overflows raising the levees and elevating the pool of molten lava above its surroundings. This process has been observed only once with Kīlauea Volcano's current lava lake at Halemaʻumaʻu, but the phenomenon was common at summit lava lakes in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

     The episode 58 perched lava channel provided some interesting observations of "seeps," as they were called by USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) geologists. The seeps, extrusions of sticky lava through the enclosing levees of the perched channel, produced short toothpaste-like flows adjacent to the channel.
     Another early phase of episode 58 produced "rootless shields" south of Pu'u 'Ō'ō. These broad, gently sloped accumulations (shields) of lava are called "rootless" because they are not situated over primary eruptive vents. Some of the rootless shields collapsed over time, providing new insights into the formation and destruction of these structures. Similar structures and related lava flows have also been reported in Iceland and recognized in satellite images of Mars.
     Lava from episode 58 eventually formed a stable tube system that extended to the southeast and reached the ocean on March 5, 2008. This ocean entry was called Waikupanaha, which was about 3.9 km (2.4 mi) east of today's Kamokuna ocean entry.
     Episode 58 endured until March 5, 2011. It was significant in several ways, primarily for increasing our understanding of Kīlauea and its volcanic processes.
     It was also the first East Rift Zone eruption episode to occur simultaneously with an eruption at the summit of Kīlauea—the Overlook vent and lava lake within Halemaʻumaʻu, which opened in March 2008. Such synchronous eruptive vents separated by 20 km (12 mi) continue today. The two ongoing eruptions offer tremendous opportunities to study the hydraulics of the magma plumbing and transport system between the summit and east rift of Kīlauea.

Pu'u 'Ō'ō in 2007. Photo from USGS

     Episode 58 ended when the shallow conduit carrying lava from the main reservoir beneath Pu'u 'Ō'ō to the Fissure D vent became plugged. This caused a back-up between Pu'u 'Ō'ō and the summit magma reservoir, providing another data point in how the two parts of Kīlauea Volcano's plumbing system influence each other.
    Time-lapse images obtained by remote HVO cameras prior to and during episode 58 were compiled in a series of movies to illustrate Kīlauea in action. These short Quicktime files can be freely downloaded from the U.S. Geological Survey at https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/621/ds621.pdf.
     As the episode 61g lava flow enters its second year, HVO continues to track and study the dynamic processes of Kīlauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes. Only time will tell what the next decade will bring.

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GMO LABELING RULES are being finalized at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and fellow lawmakers have called on Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Purdue to ensure labeling standards are consumer-friendly, fair, and transparent.
     A statement from Gabbard says that in July 2016 "Congress passed weak GMO labeling standards into law that create a confusing web of disclosure options, allowing companies to choose between on-package text, a USDA-regulated symbol, or an electronic or digital link (e.g., QR code)." While

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has long advocated in the U.S. House of
Representatives for labeling of GMO foods.

Gabbard has supported transparent right-to-know labeling requirements, "she strongly opposed the legislation signed into law because it undermines Hawai’i and other states’ ability to mandate GMO labeling, exempts many common foods from labeling requirements, and creates unnecessary extra steps for consumers to access basic ingredient information. The legislation also raised concerns by the FDA, as well as various environmental, food security, and consumer interest groups," the statement says.
     Wrote Gabbard, “Nine out of ten Americans consistently report they want the right to know if their food is produced with genetic engineering, the same right held by consumers in 64 other countries. As the USDA works to establish a mandatory, national disclosure standard for GMO foods, we write to express our strong belief that USDA needs to meet consumer expectations, be consistent

Pick up the August edition of The Ka`u Calendar delivered
free to 5,500 mailboxes throughout Ka`u, from Miloli`i 
through Volcano. Also available on stands throughout
the district. See it online at www.kaucalendar.com

with international standards and be inclusive of all Americans – including consumers without smartphones, rural residents and the elderly. We expect USDA’s mandatory GMO disclosure standard to apply to all GMO foods, including foods which contain ingredients like highly refined sugars and oils, as well as foods produced with new
genetic engineering techniques.”

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Realms and Divisions of Kahuku, Sat, Aug 5, 9:30 – 11:30 a.m., Kahuku Unit of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. This moderately difficult two-mile, guided hike on Kahuku Unit’s newest trail, Pu‘u Kahuku, explores the traditional Hawaiian classification system. Bring a snack for the talk story segment of this hike.

Ecstatic Dance, Sat, Aug 5, 2 – 4 p.m., Volcano Art Center. With Jo Caron. $20. 967-8222

Ham Radio Operators Potluck Picnic, Sun, Aug 6, Manukā Park. All American Radio Emergency Service members, anyone interested in learning how to operate a ham radio and families are invited to attend. Dennis Smith, 989-3028

http://kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory_2017