Ka`u News Briefs Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013

A false killer whale that recently washed ashore near South Point has been identified through a Cascadia Research Collective photo ID catalog as HIPc162. The whale has been seen swimming off of Kona and O`ahu since 2003.
These whales can live to 60 years of age. Photo by Damien Flores

THE WHALE THAT  RECENTLY WASHED UP ON THE SHORE or was stranded and died along the Ka`u Coast was found by Na`alehu school teacher Heidi Flores, wife of rancher Damien Flores, of Ka Lae. She reported the whale to scientists, who were able to identify the false killer whale as HIPc162.
      A necropsy found five fish hooks in the stomach of the false killer whale.Scientists said it wasn't clear whether the hooks came from longline fishing or other fishing activities.

HIpc162 found dead two weeks ago on the Ka`u Coast.
Photo by Heidi Flores

     According to Dr. Robin Baird, of the Cascadia Research Collective, which keeps photos to identify endangered marine life, this false killer whale is one of 162 false killer whales identified in Hawai`i. HIPc162 was first documented off O`ahu in 2003 and again in 2007 and 2009. The same false killer whale was seen twice off Kona in 2004 and during its last known sighting off Kona on Oct. 26, 2011 when he was seen with 13 other false killer whales. HIPc162 was a member of a rarely seen social group that spends a lot of time on the windward sides of the islands, particularly north of Moloka`i and Maui, Baird said.
     False killer whales can live to 60 years of age. They are endangered, with only about 200 of the distinct Hawaiian family of false killer whales left in the wild, Heidi Flores said.
     False killer whales can be caught by longline fishing boats that are going for swordfish and other commercial catches. False killer whales are on the Endangered Species List and received extra protection when longline fishing was banned in Hawaiian waters. Longline fishing operations are being warned to use circular hooks to avoid catching false killer whales and other marine mammals.
     To report a floating whale or any marine mammal incident, call the U.S. Cioast Guard channel 16 or the NOAA marine mammal hotline at 1-888-2456-9840.
     A member of the dolphin family, a false killer whale has mated with a bottlenose dolphin in captivity and created a fertile calf that has been called a wholphin.

A PROPOSED SUBDIVISION OF COASTAL LAND zoned agriculture and conservation makai of Na`alehu has led to a call for information from descendents of Native Hawaiians and others who may have lived there or used the land for burials, fishing and other purposes. Kawala, Aemalo`o and Kaunamano are ahupua`a names in the area of the more than 1,000 acres reached by a ranch road between Hana Hou Restaurant and Na`alehu Shopping Center. 

      According to a subdivision plan at the county Planning Department, the smallest lots would be long and narrow and side by side with two of them just over six acres. The land in the state Agriculture classification is zoned Ag 20 by the county.

      The subdivision is being proposed by Waimea realtor Leslie Agorastos, of Clark Realty, who owns the property as Kawala, LLC, along with partner Ralph Rollin Olson and others. The proposal is called a consolidation and re-subdivision. In this case, it involves taking existing lots within the larger parcel, some of them former family homesteads of Hawaiians, and moving them toward the coast to maximize property values. The largest lot, more than 500 acres, would be the most mauka.

Subdivision is proposed for coastal land makai of Na`alehu on land classified and zoned agriculture, with smallest lots closest to the
 ocean. Map from Hawai`i County planning department

     In addition to the two six-acre lots near the sea cliff, four more lots would be just over 20 acres. A 162.459-acre lot would wrap around the smaller ones and include the land classified Conservation. The conservation zone would include the existing coastal trail, with a ten-foot-wide public access, totaling 1.54 acres. The conservation designation by the state would keep construction back more than 400 feet from the sea cliffs.
     According to a letter from Aric Arakaki, superintendent of the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, which traverses along the coast of the property, “My community contacts in Ka`u confirmed the presence of an excellent shoreline trail in excellent condition within subject parcels as well as numerous archaeological and cultural sites.” Arakaki also asked the owners to consider a discussion about lateral trails to the coast, the Na Ala Hele.

Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail crosses
the proposed subdivision.

     Discussions with the county planning department included proposed public vehicular access down the 20-foot-wide gravel road from Na`alehu to a microwave antenna site, where a gravel parking lot for two cars would be provided. Pedestrians would walk from the parking lot to the shore along a path next to the gravel road where the owners in the new subdivision would drive to their properties.
      According to documents filed with the county Planning Department years ago, the subdivision was planned more than six years ago and saw little progress. In November 2009, former Planning director Bobby Jean Leithead Todd asked the owners to respond to issues by Dec. 9, 2009, or the subdivision would become null and void. Since then the group has contracted additional archaeological surveying, and the archaeologist has asked for more public input on burial and other historic sites on the property. Sites include lava tubes with burial sites and Kahiwapapa Heiau.
     A letter from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to the applicants several years ago stated, “We believe that the applicant should identify significant historic properties that warrant preservation; and that these sites be designated with preservation easements as part of the subdivision process. Consultation with persons familiar with the history” and places within the subdivision area “should also occur at this stage of the subdivision review,” said the state Historic Preservation officer.
      David Kimo Frankel, of Native Hawaiian Legal Corp, wrote in 2008 that lava tubes and other sites may contain burials. “We believe historic properties will be affected.”
      Anyone with information about the history or burial sites in the area can contact archaeologist Dr. Robert Rechtman, Rechtman Consulting, LLC at 969-6086 in Hilo.
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Stuart Donachie

KILAUEA CALDERA IS HOME TO A NEWLY DISCOVERED, purple species of cyanobacterium. Stuart Donachie, associate professor at University of Hawai`i – Manoa’s Department of Microbiology, and his team reported their finding in the scientific journal PLOS ONE. Gloeobacter kilaueensis is one of only two known species in the genus Gloeobacter. 

      Researchers were investigating microbial diversity in lava caves and found the species in an almost 100-year-old cave less than one-half mile from the volcanically active Halema`uma`u pit crater.
      “It’s a great find because both species represent an entire taxonomic order distinct from the other 7,500 known cyanobacteria species,” said Donachie. “They lack the photosynthetic membranes that are found in all those 7,500 species, which means they are also the most primitive known cyanobacteria.”
      Researchers said, “We are indebted to Rhonda Loh, Tim Tunison, Jadelyn Moniz-Nakamura and Deb Sheppard of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, National Parks Service, whose support and cooperation at all times assured our safety in the field and the scientific success of the project.”
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Melanie Bondera

THE KOHALA CENTER, INC. IS TO RECEIVE a $151,913 Small Socially Disadvantaged Producer Grant. The grant will allow The Kohala Center to assist approximately 215 socially disadvantaged producers within five cooperative groups including Ka`u Agricultural Water Cooperative District. The program will provide technical assistance training in equipment use, maintenance training, advanced Korean natural farming techniques, cooperative business skills, local direct marketing training and consultation and conflict resolution. 

      Chris J. Kanazawa, state director for USDA Rural Development, said, “Hawai`i’s small businesses play a key role in job growth and innovation in our rural communities. The SSDPG funding will jump-start small socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers by funding the tools they need to be successful producers. This effort is an example of President Obama’s vision of strengthening the middle class in rural communities. The award to The Kohala Center will broaden the outreach into Hawai`i’s rural communities to ensure that small socially disadvantaged producers have access to this resource.”
       “The Kohala Center is pleased to again be able to offer five Hawai`i agricultural cooperatives trainings through this grant. The trainings this year will include natural farming, organic composting, aquaponics, business skills, conflict resolution, taro farming, poi processing, and co-op membership,” said Melanie Bondera, Rural Cooperative Development specialist for The Kohala Center.
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Bird hunting areas in Ka`u open next Saturday. Map from DLNR

BIRD HUNTING SEASON ON THE BIG ISLAND opens a week from today on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013. The season runs through Monday, Jan. 20, 2014, with legal hunting days on Saturday, Sunday, and state holidays. In Ka`u, Kapapala Ranch Cooperative Game Management Area, Kapapala Forest Reserve and Ka`u Forest Reserve are bird hunting areas.  

      Department of Land & Natural Resources wildlife biologists are predicting an “average” season of bird hunting, with the easing of drought conditions in many parts of the state.
      A valid hunting license is required for all game bird hunting on public and private lands. All game bird hunting is regulated by Hawai`i Administrative Rules Title 13, Chapter 122. See hawaii.gov/dlnr/dofaw “Administrative Rules.”
      Hunters are required to check in and out at established hunter check stations and obtain permission from landowners when seeking to hunt on private land. DLNR asks hunters to help prevent wildfires by not parking or driving in tall grass or brush and to report fires to 911.
      Hunters can support wildlife conservation by reporting game law violators to the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement at 643-DLNR (3567).
      For further information, call 974-4221.

Ka`u Trojans finish their inaugural eight-man football season Nov. 8.

KA`U TROJANS RACKED UP 28 POINTS in their game against Kealakehe JV last night but could not get past the Waveriders, who won by one point. 

      The Trojan’s next and final game for the inaugural eight-man football season is homecoming on Friday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. when they once again play the Moloka`i Farmers.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

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