Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016

Punalu`u Livestock Ranch between Makanau and Kawa raises ponies and horses for youth education.
It also raises domestic goats for meat and animal husbandry programs.
See more below. Photo by Julia Neal

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, with about half its 323,421 acres located in Ka`u, marked 100 years of history in August in tandem with the centennial of the National Park Service on Aug. 25. 

      Superintendent Cindy Orlando spoke on the National Public Radio program Here and Now in a feature entitled Flowing Lava at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. She said the park was established in 1916 to protect and conserve the volcanic landscapes and the natural and cultural resources and historic sites. Orlando described Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park as encompassing two of the world’s most active volcanoes, Kilauea and Mauna Loa. “It’s the only park in the system that continuously creates new land,” she said.

Visitors survey for insects during BioBlitz. Photo from NPS

      She pointed to the two eruptions ongoing on Kilauea, with one at 4,000 feet within Halema`uma`u Crater, with the dramatic glow at night, seen since 2008, and the lava lake, vibrant and visible from the overlook at Jaggar Museum. Kilauea has been continually erupting since 1983.
      The newest eruption has sent lava, which can be seen 4,000 away, down on the coast. When traveling to the shore, she said, the view is inspired by dramatic lava fields that represent the birth of new land. On the way, the human story is evident at Pu`uloa Petroglyph Field where 23,000 carvings date back to between the 13th and 15th centuries.
      Orlando provided some caution to visitors and urged them to be prepared and to check in with rangers before heading out on more than 150 miles of trails to hike. “Walking on hardened lava is not easy,” she said. She explained vog and the SO2 gases that sometimes require shutting down sections of the park. She noted that lava “is glass” carried in small particles in the air extending away from the volcano.

Two species of native carnivorous caterpillars that make their
home at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Photo from NPS

      Orlando reminded listeners that “the lava represents the birth of Pele. This is her sacred cultural landscape, and Pele is mesmerizing and beautiful, but she is also an active volcano, and there are associated hazards. You not only have seismic events. You have eruptions, the lava and volcanic gases. We can also have explosions.” She also talked about lava forming new land benches that can fall into the sea. Orlando said one of the challenges is visitor safety. “We are a model worldwide for providing safe access to lava viewing. Volcanoes are a natural wonder and many are drawn to them.”

      Concerning plants and animal life, Orlando described the park as having an ecosystem that has evolved, adapted and flourishes on a volcanic landscape and that the park offers many educational and volunteer programs. “But let’s not forget that we also have a Hawaiian culture linked to Kilauea and Mauna Loa not only historically but today. Remember, this is the home of the volcano goddess Pele.”

      Orlando said that three elements describe Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park: culture, biology and geology. Listen to the interview at http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2016/08/16/national-parks-hawaii.

Rick San Nicolas displays his featherwork through Aug. 31.

THE  100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE saw celebration by locals and visitors at the 36th annual Hawaiian Cultural Festival & BioBlitz. Held at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, the festival featured Hawaiian performers, including musician Kenneth Makuakane, the band Ho`onanea, and Aunty Diana Aki. Halau o Akaunu, Halau Ulumamo o Hilo Paliku and Haunani’s Hula Expressions danced hula, and more than a dozen cultural practitioners shared traditional Hawaiian culture, games and food. 

      A dozen firefighters from the National Park of American Samoa, on their way home from fighting fires on the mainland, delighted the crowd with a spontaneous haka and other traditional dances.
      Artist-in-residence Rick San Nicolas, a master Hawaiian feather worker, hosted an open house at the park’s `Ohi`a Wing and presented the park with a beautiful lei kamoe in honor of its own centennial, which was Aug. 1. He will display his work through Aug. 31, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
      For the second year in a row, scientists and cultural experts, or alaka`i, conducted field inventories at locations around the summit of Kilauea, from rainforest to old lava flows. Families and individuals, intent on discovering the biodiversity in the park, documented 91 different species that included native creatures like the endemic carnivorous caterpillar, and non-native species like the Japanese white-eye, or mejiro, a small bird.
      Families and visitors discovered how science and culture combine and visited the BioBlitz science and cultural booths at the festival. Representatives at the forefront of Rapid `Ohi`a Death, the `Alala Project, Mokupapapa Discovery Center and others shared conservation efforts to protect Hawai`i’s native species.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

A tropical storm and a hurricane could impact Ka`u later this week.
Map from University of Hawai`i

TROPICAL STORM MADELINE is heading toward Ka`u. At 11a.m., the storm was 915 miles east of South Point. Central Pacific Hurricane Center’s latest forecast shows it reaching Ka`u Thursday evening. Madeline should curve toward the west, then slightly south of west with a slight increase in forward speed. Low vertical wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures are creating a small window for continued intensification into a hurricane during the next 24 to 36 hours. After than, guidance indicates that west to southwest vertical wind shear will increase, causing a return to tropical storm status.

      “It is too early to determine what impacts Madeline could have on the Hawaiian Islands late in the forecast period,” according to CPHC. It is important to remind users that the average day four and five track forecast errors for central Pacific tropical cyclones is around 185 and 250 miles, respectively.” Not far behind Madeline is Hurricane Lester, also heading toward Hawai`i. According to National Hurricane Center, “given the well established steering flow, the track guidance continues to be tightly packed, and this increases the confidence in the future motion of the hurricane.”
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

Nani Soares and helper groom a horse at Punalu`u Livestock Ranch.
Photo by Julia Neal

Youngsters make friends with a baby goat
at the ranch. Photo by Julia Neal

 THE HERD OF GOATS above Hwy 11, below Makanau, photographed recently with concern from conservationists, belong to Punalu`u Livestock Ranch, according to its operators. Nani Soares and Kyle Soares have run the livestock operation for decades, and goats are part of their meat-producing business and also their youth programs. Children come to their ranch to interact with farm animals and take care of them. They also learn to ride ponies and horses.
       Kyle Soares said this morning that the goats are managed, go out during the day and come home at night. He said they are like family and many have been bottle-fed. He said they are domestic, far from being wild goats that would run off into the rainforest and damage native habitat. “They are tame. We take care of them,” he said. “When it rains, they even take shelter in our garage.”

      Soares said he has moved his cattle operation, to another location outside Ka`u, away from the ranch above Kawa, where he leases some 600 acres from Olson Trust and another 400 from the state. He said the lands just mauka of Kawa are a low-producing area for cattle, with lots of lava and often drought. It is appropriate land for goats, he said. “With several hundred, there is plenty of feed for them on the thousand acres.” Soares said that Ka`u is one of the top goat meat-producing areas on the island, with the biggest operator at Kapapala Ranch.

      He said Punalu`u Livestock raises Boer goats, which are bred for meat. He said they originate in Africa and “are the most consumed red meat in the history of mankind.” He said goat meat is increasingly popular with chefs and is being sought by more people than ever before.
      Conservationists stated that a wild herd of goats could make its way into native habitat, destroying endangered plants and habitat for endangered animals.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

MEET KA`U’S U.S. REP. Tulsi Gabbard tomorrow. Gabbard hosts a Tulsi in Your Town meeting at Ka`u Coffee Mill from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. She will meet Hawai`i Island constituents there to talk story, assist with federal casework and discuss legislative updates and priorities related to supporting local agriculture and farmers.

      Gabbard will also discuss legislation she’s introduced to help control invasive species in Hawai`i and across the United States and her work to help secure green bean pricing valuation for Hawai`i-grown coffee, fight for truly transparent GMO-labeling, support the viability and success of local coffee farmers and producers, and more.

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

Click on document to enlarge.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_August_2016.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory2016.html
and kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory2016.pdf.

Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016

Conservationists worry that a herd of goats near Makanau cold damage native plant and animal habitat.
Photo by Nohea Ka`awa

A HERD OF GOATS NEAR MAKANAU has drawn the attention of conservationists concerned about preserving native plants and animals. Megan Lamson, who works with the Hawai`i Wildlife Fund, said,  “Our wildlife organizations are very concerned they will degrade native plants in the area, like alahe`e, which is now in bloom. It  makes us both very sad and ultimately rather frustrated with this rash decision," she said, referring to the possibility that the goats may have been recently released in the area. "Goats have the potential to ravage local farms, native vegetation and the entire watershed," said Lamson.
     The Nature Conservancy, Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, ranchers and other organizations have spent millions of dollars in Ka`u building fences to keep ungulates out of areas to maintain native landscapes and create habitat for native species. Ungulates also spread avian malaria by creating pockets of water where mosquitoes breed.     

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

NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER is reporting on two storms in the East Pacific.

      Tropical Storm Madeline is moving northwestward and expected to reach the Central Pacific basin tonight.

Tropical Storm Madeline is forecast to reach Hawai`i by the middle
of next week. Map from NOAA

      Madeline is moving toward the northwest near nine miles per hour, and this general motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days, NHC reported. Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph with higher gusts. Some strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Madeline is expected to become a hurricane by tomorrow night.

      According to NHC, it is too early to determine what impacts Madeline could have on the Hawaiian Islands late in the forecast period. The average four- and five-day track forecast errors for eastern Pacific tropical cyclones are around 145 and 170 miles, respectively.
      Hurricane Lester is behind Madeline and heading west.
      NHC’s intensity forecast calls for only modest intensification the next day or two, during a time when environmental conditions appear most optimal. After that time, extremely dry conditions are expected to cause slow weakening.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

HAWAI`I IS LEADING THE WAY in preparing highway systems for a future without fossil fuels.

      The Federal Highway Administration awarded nearly $4 million in competitive grant funding to Hawai`i Department of Transportation as part of the Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives program. The grant will allow the HDOT Highways Division to study and explore alternative methods of funding state and county transportation systems in the future.

Ford Fuchigami

      “Trends toward more fuel-efficient, hybrid and electric cars have a significant impact on transportation funding in Hawai`i because of our current reliance on the gas tax as a transportation funding mechanism,” Gov. David Ige said. “While I encourage the move away from fossil fuels as part of our commitment to a clean energy future, the resulting lower consumption reduces the funds available for highways projects. Moving forward, we need to explore new ways to fund our state highway system. We are thankful for FHWA’s commitment to help Hawai`i confront this challenge.”

      HDOT Highways Division plans to use the grant to study alternatives to the gas tax by working with county and state officials and stakeholders to design new systems to obtain highways funding. These systems will then be tested with Hawai`i residents and visitors. One example of an alternative funding mechanism is road maintenance fees based on the number of miles driven, similar to how electric or water utilities are metered.

      “Our goal is to design a system for highways funding that is fair, transparent and easy to use for the public,” said Ford Fuchigami, HDOT director. “We will continue to work toward creating a sustainable funding source for the many projects we have, to address the care and maintenance of Hawai`i roads.”
      Dwindling gas tax revenues is a national problem. Congress created the grant program so that states can study alternatives that will help the federal government restore solvency to the Federal Highway Trust Fund. For federal fiscal year 2016, a total of $15 million in STSFA funds were granted to states on a competitive basis.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

VOLCANO FESTIVAL CHORUS begins rehearsals. On Tuesday, Sept. 6, the Volcano Festival Chorus will have its annual organizational meeting at Keakealani Middle School Campus of Volcano School of Arts & Sciences on Haunani Road. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. Everyone who enjoys singing is invited to join the choir under the direction of Roch Jones.

      Rehearsals of holiday music are every Tuesday at 7 p.m. The final performance, which is the group’s Winter Holiday gift to the community, will be presented on Dec. 3 at Kilauea Military Camp Theater in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
      “Come join our musical family and enjoy the fun of singing with like minded adults,” said Suzi Bond, of Kilauea Drama & Entertainment Network. “All you need to bring is your love of music; everything else is provided.”
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

Casey Baker-Fien

HAWAI`I ISLAND POLICE are searching for a 16-year-old Volcano girl who was reported missing.

      Casey Baker-Fien was last seen in Volcano on Aug. 4. She is described as Caucasian, 5-foot-3, 140 pounds with blue eyes and dark brown shoulder-length hair.
Police ask anyone with information on her whereabouts to call the Police Department’s non-emergency line at 935-3311.
      Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the islandwide Crime Stoppers number at 961-8300. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

ENTRY FEES ARE WAIVED at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park today and tomorrow to celebrate National Park Services 100th birthday.

TODAY AND TOMORROW are the final days to see Kilauea 1916. In honor of Kilauea Military Camp’s and Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park’s centennial, Kilauea Dram a & Entertainment Network presents a look back at the people who were a part of the beginnings of both entities.
      Performances take place at Kilauea Theater at 7:30 p.m. and tomorrow at 2:30 p.m.
      For reservations or more information, call 982-7344 or email kden73@aol.com. Tickets are also available at the door.

PARTICIPANTS ON A MODERATE, one-mile walk discover Hawaiian goddesses Hi`iaka and Pele and the natural phenomena they represent. The program takes place tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Kahuku Unit of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard comes to Ka`u Monday.

MEET KA`U’S U.S. REP. Tulsi Gabbard Monday. Gabbard will host a Tulsi in Your Town meeting at Ka`u Coffee Mill from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. She will meet Hawai`i Island constituents there to talk story, assist with federal casework and discuss legislative updates and priorities related to supporting local agriculture and farmers.

      Gabbard will also discuss legislation she’s introduced to help control invasive species in Hawai`i and across the United States and her work to help secure green bean pricing valuation for Hawai`i-grown coffee, fight for truly transparent GMO-labeling, support the viability and success of local coffee farmers and producers, and more.

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

Click on document to enlarge.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_August_2016.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory2016.html
and kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory2016.pdf.

Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Friday, Aug. 26, 2016

Pres. Barack Obama has expanded Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.
See more below. Photo from PMNM

IS CONSERVATION THE HIGHEST priority for Hawai`i County residents? At forums on Tuesday in Hilo and yesterday in Kona, attendees answered questions about preferences regarding development over the next 25 years. Ka`u residents had an opportunity to participate at a remote site at Na`alehu Community Center. At the main sites, participants had keypads on which they answered questions, and results were instantaneous. In Na`alehu and other remote sites, attendees filled out questionnaires that will be included in results.

      At yesterday’s forum, 30 percent of respondents said conservation was the highest priority for new development between now and 2040. When asked the same question in relation to their grandchildren, the percentage increased to 44. Cost of housing was the next highest priority, at 26 and 30 percent.

      Presenters proposed methods to conserve agricultural land, including imposing a minimum lot size based on scale of production and prohibiting lots smaller than the minimum. When considering both themselves and their grandchildren, 40 percent favored such a scenario.
      Offering low housing and transportation costs was also important to respondents. Seventy percent said low-cost housing was extremely important, and 85 percent said low-cost transportation was extremely or moderately important.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

KA`U’S U.S. REP. TULSI GABBARD comes to Ka`u this Monday, Aug. 29. Gabbard will host a Tulsi in Your Town meeting at Ka`u Coffee Mill. She will meet with Ka`u community and other Hawai`i Island constituents there to talk story, assist with federal casework and discuss legislative updates and priorities related to supporting local agriculture and farmers.

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard meets with her
Ka`u constituents Monday.

      Gabbard’s visit is part of a six-stop farm and agriculture tour on Hawaiʻi Island that day. She will tour three different Hawaiʻi Island farms, discuss state and federal research on invasive species and meet with local farmers. The Tulsi In Your Town forum follows similar events she has held over the past few weeks, including Kailua-Kona. All meetings are open to the public and give constituents an opportunity to hear from the congresswoman on her legislative priorities, ask questions and share their ideas and concerns.

      Here and at other stops, Gabbard will also discuss legislation she’s introduced to help control invasive species in Hawai`i and across the United States and her work to help secure green bean pricing valuation for Hawai`i-grown coffee, fight for truly transparent GMO-labeling, support the viability and success of local coffee farmers and producers, and more.
      “Throughout my work in Congress, I’ve fought to secure sensible, transparent food policy, support our local farmers and agriculture industry, and strengthen Hawai`i’s food security,” Gabbard said. “In past visits to our local farms in Hawai`i, I’ve seen firsthand how invasive species like the coffee berry borer, fruit flies and macadamia nut felted coccid and others have impacted our local farmers and cost our agriculture industry millions in lost revenue. I’m looking forward to hearing from both state and federal researchers and to update them on legislationI’ve introduced to fight invasive species in Hawaiʻi and across the country. I’m also looking forward to touring more of our Hawai`i Island farms and continuing to meet and hear from constituents across our islands before I head back to Washington, DC after Labor Day.”
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

Papahanaumokuakea is home to many endemic species.
PMNM Photo by James Watt

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA today issued a proclamation expanding Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument “for the purpose of protecting those objects, reserve as a part thereof all lands and interests in lands owned or controlled by the federal government within the boundaries.”

      The federal lands and interests in lands reserved in the expansion consist of approximately 442,781 square miles, “which is the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected,” Obama’s proclamation states. The monument will be expanded from 139,800 to 582,578 square miles. The expansion is expected to provide critical protections for more than 7,000 marine species.
      As a result of the expansion, “all federal lands and interests in lands within the monument’s boundaries are withdrawn from all forms of entry, location, selection, sale, leasing or other disposition under the public land laws to the extent that those laws apply, including but not limited to, withdrawal from location, entry, and patent under mining laws, and from disposition under all laws relating to development of oil and gas, minerals, geothermal, or renewable energy,” the proclamation states.
      While commercial fishing and mineral extraction will be prohibited, permits are available for Native Hawaiian subsistence fishing and cultural practices as well as scientific research “to further understanding of Monument Expansion resources and qualities,” according to the proclamation.

      On Wednesday evening, Gov. David Ige sent a letter to President Obama conveying his support for the expansion.

The expansion adds more than 400,000 square miles.
Map from NOAA

      “Mahalo to your administration for taking the time to conduct direct meetings and public forums to hear from the public, even though this proposal involves only federal waters and does not impact state jurisdiction,” Ige said. “Doing things the right way for the right reasons leads to better decisions, and I know the input of fishers, Hawaiian cultural practitioners, scientists, conservationists and others interested in the proposal strengthened it. Based on public input, I appreciate that Sen. Brian Schatz’s proposal limits the expansion in the current monument southern boundary, to preserve popular fishing grounds for recreational, subsistence and commercial fishers from the main Hawaiian Islands. …

      “You may be familiar with the Hawaiian proverb, E ota ke kai, e ota kakou – As the ocean thrives, so do we. This proposal strikes the right balance at this time for the waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands, and it can be a model for sustainability in the other oceans of planet Earth.”
      “This is one of the most important actions an American president has ever taken for the health of the oceans,” Sen. Brian Schatz said. “Expanding Papahanaumokuakea will replenish stocks of ahi, promote biodiversity, fight climate change and give a greater voice to Native Hawaiians in managing this resource. President Obama’s declaration is only the beginning. To create continued success, we will need to follow through with management, research, educational opportunities, and enforcement. This declaration sets us on a strong path forward for our irreplaceable environment and the generations to come.”
      “I congratulate and thank the President for taking the important step to be a global leader in protecting ocean resources,” Sen. Mazie Hirono said. “President Obama’s efforts to enhance protections for our ocean ecosystem will help to combat climate change, preserve biodiversity and honor cultural traditions. As part of his announcement, I appreciate the President’s recognition of the importance of commercial fishing to Hawai`i’s way of life and our shared goal of supporting Hawai`i’s sustainable pelagic fisheries.”
      Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that Obama will address the World Conservation Congress in Honolulu on Wednesday before traveling to Midway Atoll. Ka`u residents attending the conference include representatives of The Nature Conservancy, Hawai`i Wildlife Fund and Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

Dick Hershberger portrays Dr. Thomas Jaggar in Kilauea 1916; A

Centennial Celebration of KMC & HVNP. Photo from KDEN

ENTRY FEES ARE WAIVED at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park today through Sunday to celebrate National Park Services 100th birthday.

KILAUEA 1916 CONTINUES through Sunday. In honor of Kilauea Military Camp’s and Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park’s centennial, Kilauea Drama & Entertainment Network presents a look back at the people who were a part of the beginnings of both entities.
      Performances take place at Kilauea Theater today and tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
      For reservations or more information, call 982-7344 or email kden73@aol.com.

Keiki watch Hula Halau Ulumamo o Hilo Paliku perform during a

previous Cultural Festival. NPS Photo by Jay Robinson

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK holds its 36th Annual Hawaiian Cultural Festival tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The free festival invites people of all ages to engage in Hawaiian cultural practices and learn how native Hawaiians lived closely to the land as its stewards.
      BioBlitz, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., returns to the festival again this year. Participants join scientists and cultural practitioners and discover biodiversity that thrives in the park. Register for free inventories at fhvnp.org.               See nps.gov/havo.

KAHUKU UNIT OF HAWAI`I VOLCANOES National Park offers free programs this weekend.

      Palm Trail Hike tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. is a moderately difficult, 2.6-mile, loop-trail hike that provides one of the best panoramic views Kahuku has to offer.
      On Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., participants on a moderate, one-mile walk discover Hawaiian goddesses Hi`iaka and Pele and the natural phenomena they represent.

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

Click on document to enlarge.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_August_2016.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory2016.html
and kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory2016.pdf.