ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS
A RESOLUTION
No. 2018 – 35
EXPRESSING SUPPORT OF EFFORTS TO RESTORE WAI‘ANAE KAI FOREST RESERVE AND WATER FLOW IN WAIʻANAE WATERSHED STREAMS FOR TRADITIONAL AND CUSTOMARY NATIVE HAWAIIAN PRACTICES
WHEREAS, the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs passed a resolution of expressing support of efforts to restore water flow in the historic, natural waterways of Hawai‘i for traditional and customary Native Hawaiian practices (AHCC Resolution 2017-32); and
WHEREAS, the Waiʻanae Watershed is defined by the geographic area encompassed by the Cityʻs “Waiʻanae District” boundaries and roughly coterminous with the traditional boundaries of the Waiʻanae Moku (Waiʻanae Watershed Management Plan, page ES-4); and
WHEREAS, the Waiʻanae community has shown a strong interest in restoring stream flow in order to provide for native aquatic species habitat, local small-scale farming and irrigation, and the revitalization of cultural practices (2009 Waiʻanae Watershed Management Plan, page 2-13); and
WHEREAS, in 2016, the Waiʻanae Coast Neighborhood Board unanimously accepted and passed the ʻAʻaliʻi Resolution presented by students from Nānākuli High School regarding water management in Waiʻanae; and
WHEREAS, the August 2018 Waiʻanae Kai forest fire burned 1,500 acres of native forest which degraded forest cover and decreased water percolation into the perched aquifers; and
WHEREAS, there has been community-based conversations on the need for restoring the Wai‘anae Kai Forest to promote Wai‘anae Watershed health; and
WHEREAS, ensuring a healthy Wai‘anae Watershed will lead to continuous mauka-to-makai streamflow; and
WHEREAS, that continuous stream flow will catalyze the spawning of native stream and nearshore aquatic species, including endemic species of ‘o‘opu, ‘ōpae and other fish like ‘anae, promotes limu growth, and is critical for the perpetuation of traditional and customary practices such as loʻi kalo restoration; and
WHEREAS, the Constitution of the State of Hawaiʻi, Article XI, Section 7 establishes that the “State has an obligation to protect, control and regulate the use of Hawaiʻi’s water resources for the benefit of its people”; and
WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the State of Hawai‘i established the exercise of Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices as a public trust purpose, along with the maintenance of waters in their natural state, in In re Water Use Permit Applications, 94 Hawai‘i 97, 9 P.3d 409 (2000) (Waiāhole I).
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at its 59th Annual Convention in Kalapaki, Kauaʻi, in the malama of Welehu and the rising of ʻOlepau, this 17th day of November 2018, expressing support of efforts to restore Wai‘anae Kai forest reserve and water flow in Wai‘anae Watershed streams for traditional and customary Native Hawaiian practices; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) continue to effectively manage the Waiʻanae Kai Forest Reserve with native trees and shrubs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that DOFAW restore the recently burned forest areas from the August 2018 fire with native trees and shrubs in collaboration with the ‘Aha Moku o Wai‘anae throughout the forest restoration process; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to Commission on Water Resources Management, Division of Forestry and Wildlife-Administrator, Board of Water Supply-Manager and Chief Engineer, Cultural Learning Center at Kaʻala, Hoʻomau Ke Ola Treatment Center, as well as the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i, President of the State Senate, Speaker of the State House of Representatives, Chair of the State Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the State House Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources & Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and all County Mayors.
The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted in the malama of Welehu and the rising of ‘Olepau on the 17th day of November 2018, at the 59th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Kalapaki, Kaua‘i.
Annelle C. Amaral, President
