By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
WAILUKU, Maui — Hearings will be held March 20-22 on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed critical habitat designations for 100 plant species on the islands of Maui, Kaho‘olawe, Moloka‘i and Lana‘i.
The hearings were requested by the state.
A hearing on Kaua‘i’s proposed critical habitat designations last month drew protest from hunters fearful that hunting grounds would be closed and from environmentalists concerned about the loss of endangered species.
About 33,600 acres of mostly state and private lands on Maui and 512 acres of state lands on Kaho‘olawe are included in the proposal. About 4,800 acres on Lana‘i, mostly in the eastern part of the island, are in the proposal, while more than 15,200 acres are included on Moloka‘i, mostly in the eastern and northwestern parts of the island.
Critical habitats are areas that are considered essential for the recovery of threatened or endangered species and that may require special management. Such a designation does not create a preserve or close areas to private or state use but does limit activities such as logging and grazing that require federal permits.
The proposed rules are part of seven proposals that will address critical habitat for 255 threatened or endangered plant species in the Hawaiian Islands. When these species were listed for protection over the past decade, the service decided against critical habitat designation for a variety of reasons. But that decision was challenged in court, and the agency was ordered to take action.
The Maui County hearings will be March 20, 1 to 3 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m., Renaissance Wailea Beach Resort on Maui; March 21, 6 to 8 p.m., Mitchell Pauole Center, Kaunakakai, Moloka‘i; and March 22, 6 to 8 p.m., Lana‘i Public Library, Lana‘i City.
Public comments on the proposed designations will be accepted through April 2.
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