Land Board postpones Hilo logging decision
By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
HILO, Hawai'i — The state Board of Land and Natural Resources ran out of time yesterday before it could make a decision on whether to grant a license to harvest logs on nearly 9,000 acres in the Waiakea Timber Management Area near Hilo.
Fewer than a dozen people testified yesterday, and dozens more were waiting their turn as the crowd spilled over into a hallway at the State Office Building. After a daylong session that included other agenda items, land board Chairman Gilbert Coloma-Agaran said the hearing would resume at a later date on the Big Island.
Tradewinds LLC, an Oregon-based operation, wants to launch a $40 million- to $50 million-operation that it says would employ 400 workers. The 8,875 acres of state land it is seeking to use was planted with six species of exotic trees 40 years ago for the purpose of logging.
Eventually, Tradewinds would like to harvest trees planted on more than 20,000 acres of former sugar lands. The site of a mill that would turn out veneer has not yet been chosen.
Testimony on the permit was split. The most outspoken critic was activist Jim Anthony, who described as "fatally flawed" a report by state forester Mike Buck that recommends permit approval.
Anthony, who has taken part in such past controversies as Waiahole Ditch on O'ahu and the Kohala water pipeline on the Big Island, also questioned Trade-winds' ability to carry out its plans.
"Who is Tradewinds? What is its business record? Where's the bond?" Anthony asked the board. The last was in response to a $500,000 performance bond the developer would be required to provide the state.
Most business and forestry groups urged quick approval of the license, noting the 3 1/2-year study and previous meetings on the subject. "Tradewinds' proposal is sound ... the public benefits are many," said Andrew Gill of the Hawai'i Forest Industry Association.
James Friday, a state extension service forester, said the Society of American Foresters supports the plan because much can be learned from "the very unique" Waiakea forest that was planted in 40-acre blocks to be harvested.
The Big Island Business Council, representing 12 business groups from hotels to Realtors and chambers of commerce, also backed the proposal.
So did Hawai'i County Councilman Dominic Yagong of Hamakua, who had proposed a Honoka'a pulp project by Oji Paper Co. that was rejected by the land board in 1997 after several long and contentious hearings.
"It's right this time," said Yagong, because the Tradewinds' proposal includes manufacturing, and that means there will be meaningful jobs for the one-time sugar workers.
Four others testifying against the license focused on concerns over runoff if the planted forest is logged and the possible impact on the native bat and hawk that are believed to live there.
Buck said no bats were found in the area during state surveys. Logging would be done at a rate of about 500 acres annually with strict replanting provisions, he said.
