Conant, Sheila

Cox, Doak C.

Mueller-Dombois, Dieter

Smith, Clifford

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Office of the Directorniversity f H waii atEnvironmental CenterCrawford 317 . 2550 Campus RoadHonolulu, Hawaii 96822Telephone (808) 948-7361anoaRL:0383HCR 54REQUESTING AMENDMENT OF DLNR REGULATION 4TO PROVIDE FOR KOA HARVESTING FOR CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL PURPOSESStatement forHouse Committee onWater, Land Use, Development and Hawaiian AffairsPublic Hearing - 5 March 1980ByDieter Mueller-Dombois, BotanyDoak C. Cox, Environmental CenterClifford Smith, BotanySheila Conant, General ScienceHCR 54 would request the Department of Land and Natural Resources toaQend its Regulation 4 so as to provide for the havest of koa for historicaland cultural purposes. This statement on the resolution does not reflect aninstitutional position of the University of Hawaii.The rationale expressed in the resolution is that:1. Koa is the wood tradtionally used for sacred and religousobjects, ceremonial utensils ... and the construction of ~awaiiancanoes;2. Among these uses canoe construction continues;3. The present limitation of koa harvesting, under Regulation 4,to a single licensee results in a shortage of koa 109S forcanoe construction.4. Through informal assessment, DLNR has identified a number of koatrees suitable for canoe construction; and5. It is reported that ha rvest of these trees wi 11 not cause undueenvironmental damage.That the use of koa for canoe construction is traditionally important,and that a special quality of koa timber is required for canoe constructionare certain. However, the resolution does not :AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYERHeR 54 2a. indicate the extent of which trees of this quality may be harvested ~ythe present licensee ;b. cite the assessment through which trees of this quality have beenidentified nor the evidence that their harvest will cause no undueenvironmental damage;c. provide ar. estimate of the sustainable yield of kca of canoe quality:ord. provide estimates either of the de~and for koa of canoe quality orthe gap between the demand and the supply.There is a 1976 ~ocument that is pertinent to some of these matters, tutit is not a critical assess~ent, it provides no background documentation of itsconclusion, and it does not take ecological considerations into account.It may be that, before 1790, an ecological balance between the harvest oflarge koas and koa reprowth had ~ore or less been established, although this isnot certain. Mowever, harvest of large koas at the pre-1790 rate cauld al mostcertainly not be sustained now because of tr.e ecological charges that raveresulted from the importation of competing plan species and plant r.iseases.We urge that missing i nformat i on of the ty pes to which we callattention be acquired and made accessible before t he DLtlR is asked t o amendits Regulation 4 for the purpose incicated in this resolution ; and that, ifand when such an amendment is appropriate, it define the Ii cultural andhistorical ~urposesll for which the koa harvest may be expanded carefully so tratthe harvest will not be expanded for "commercial uses . " P.ny harvest of koa forcanoe construction should be subject to environ~ental assessment to assurethat no detriment to encangered species will result from the harvest.

HCR 54, Requesting Amendment of DLNR Regulation 4 to Provide for Koa Harvesting for Cultural and Historical Purposes - Statement for House Committee on Water, Land Use, Development and Hawaiian Affairs Public Hearing - 5 March 1980

http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/31309/1/RL0383.pdf

HCR 54, Requesting Amendment of DLNR Regulation 4 to Provide for Koa Harvesting for Cultural and Historical Purposes - Statement for House Committee on Water, Land Use, Development and Hawaiian Affairs Public Hearing - 5 March 1980

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