THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	154
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

AFFIRMING SUPPORT FOR THE PURCHASE, PRESERVATION, AND RESTORATION, OF AGRICULTURAL AND CONSERVATION LANDS IN MAUNAWILI VALLEY, OAHU TO PROTECT THE IMPORTANT ANCIENT AND HISTORIC SITES AND TRAILS AND WATERS IN MAUNAWILI VALLEY.

 

 

        WHEREAS, Maunawili Valley in the ahupuaa (land division) of Kailua is celebrated in story and chant for its association with akua (gods), alii (chiefs), cultural heroes, and important historical figures, including Queen Liliuokalani; and

 

        WHEREAS, Maunawili Valley contains wetlands, streams, and freshwater springs that provide most of the water that flows to the Kawainui Marsh ecosystem and more than fifty springs and smaller streams are present, including Maunawili Stream, the most significant stream in the Kailua ahupuaa; and

 

        WHEREAS, ancient and historic sites throughout Maunawili Valley include heiau (temple or sacred site), sacred stones, petroglyphs, Hawaiian burials, ala hele and alahula (path or trail), house sites, grinding stones, irrigated and dryland agricultural terraces, large auwai (irrigation ditches) related to extensive loi (taro patches), and nineteenth and early twentieth century structures related to agriculture and food production; and

 

        WHEREAS, Kawainui Marsh is a designated Ramsar Wetland of International Importance; and

 

        WHEREAS, the 1994 Kawainui Master Plan recommended that the State acquire the privately-owned wetland/semi-wetland areas in Maunawili, noting that they are hydrologically part of the economic, ecological, and cultural resources of Kawainui Marsh, separated only by the highway, and that acquisition would "protect the wetlands from future undesired developments" and inappropriate alteration of the landscape and waterways; and

 

        WHEREAS, there is a need to protect and conserve the Maunawili wetlands, semi-wetlands, Maunawili's Hanalei soil, which is the most fertile soil in Hawaii, fresh water resources, ancient and historic sites, and historic trails within the vital context of agricultural sustainability; and

 

        WHEREAS, there is a need to provide managed and restricted access to the State's Maunawili and Olomana Trails in proximity to Maunawili Historic Wetland/Semi-Wetland areas and The Queen's Retreat; and

 

        WHEREAS, there is a long history of public interest in acquiring and protecting lands in Maunawili, but the State has not been able to secure these Maunawili lands, which remain privately owned; and

 

        WHEREAS, HRT Realty, LLC, owns more than one thousand acres in Maunawili, including most of the biocultural resources noted above as well as the Royal Hawaiian Golf Course; and

 

        WHEREAS, HRT Realty, LLC, has expressed an interest in selling its Maunawili lands, or a significant portion thereof, to the Department of Land and Natural Resources and Department of Agriculture, working in partnership with The Trust for Public Land, Hui Maunawili-Kawainui, and the Kailua community; and

 

        WHEREAS, the Hui Maunawili-Kawainui is a group of descendants and residents of Maunawili and Kailua who represent a coalition of respected Hawaiian cultural and environmental organizations, who have joined to protect prime agricultural and culturally significant lands in Maunawili; and

 

        WHEREAS, Hui Maunawili-Kawainui seeks to restore the health of Maunawili so that the valley can resume its vital and traditional role in the ahupuaa of Kailua as a source of free-flowing fresh water and a place of abundant agriculture and rich cultural resources; and

 

        WHEREAS, Governor David H. Ige has declared a state goal to double local food production by 2020, which is in line with Maunawili's legacy as historically fertile ground to produce food crops; and

 

        WHEREAS, Hui Maunawili-Kawainui members have met with representatives of HRT Realty, LLC and are now working in partnership with The Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit organization that has helped to protect lands throughout Hawaii, to identify ways to acquire HRT properties in Maunawili; and

 

        WHEREAS, this is a rare opportunity to secure Maunawili's irreplaceable resources for the health and welfare of the people of Hawaii today and for future generations; now, therefore,

 

        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, that this body affirms support for the purchase, preservation, and restoration of agricultural and conservation lands in Maunawili Valley, Oahu, and for the protection and preservation of important ancient and historic sites and trails and waters in Maunawili; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body believes that it is in the best interest of the people of the State to bring to fruition a larger, community-based vision of restoring Maunawili to its vital and traditional role in the ahupuaa of Kailua as a source of free-flowing fresh water and place of abundant agriculture and rich cultural resources; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body urges the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, and other relevant state entities, as well as the City and County of Honolulu, and Hawaii congressional delegation, to work with The Trust for Public Land and the Hui Maunawili-Kawainui in their efforts to acquire these important and rich agricultural, cultural, and historic lands; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to Hawaii's congressional delegation, the Governor, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture, Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, Chairperson of the Honolulu City Council, Councilmember of District 3 of the City and County of Honolulu, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of

Hawaiian Affairs, members of Hui Maunawili-Kawainui, and Hawaiian Islands State Director of The Trust for Public Land.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:  

Maunawili Valley; Preservation; Restoration; Agricultural Lands; Conservation Lands