Big Isle planning chief opposes koa harvesting plan
By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
HILO, Hawai'i — A proposal to turn more than 16,000 acres of damp Mauna Kea forest lands near Hilo into a commercial koa logging operation is drawing fire from the county's top planning official and an environmental group.
"My response is very negative, very negative," said Hawai'i County Planning Director Chris Yuen, who yesterday characterized an environmental assessment of the project as shallow and incomplete.
David Frankel of the Sierra Club said his group is concerned about the environmental impacts of the logging operation, including potential threats to the endangered Hawaiian hawk, the 'io.
"We'll definitely be scrutinizing this one," he said yesterday.
Koa Timber Inc., headed by developer Kyle Dong of Kapolei, filed an application requesting the state Board Board of Land and Natural Resources to grant it a permit for conservation district use of the property. The board has scheduled a public hearing on the application for 6 p.m. April 11 in the County Council meeting room in Hilo.
Dong's staff said this week he was working in the Big Island forest land that his company acquired last summer and would not be available for comment.
According to an environmental assessment released this week, he is proposing to harvest dead and dying trees that would provide up to 100,000 board feet of koa a month. Ecological damage would be minimized by using a helicopter to move the logs off the property.
Harvested areas would be replanted in koa.
There is no mention of the number of jobs that would be created. Dong said his company would spend around $1 million to launch the operation, including $550,000 to acquire a helicopter.
Planning Director Yuen, a former member of the land board, said he believes the environmental assessment is inadequate. One reason, he said, is that it relies on the findings of a native bird consultant who last visited the area in the 1970s. Other consultants did not spend enough time there to determine the possible environmental impacts, he said.
Frankel said there are obvious concerns for the area's ecosystem, its endangered species, principally the 'io, and the koa itself. The Sierra Club official said he expects other conservation groups to be interested in the project as well.
Most of the land is north of Hilo, adjoining the federal Hakalau National Wildlife Refuge, all mauka of former canefields above Papa'ikou, Pepe'ekeo and Honomu.
Another Dong company, Pacific Island Woods, under the name Hawai'i Forest Preservation, purchased most of the 16,266 acres last summer from the estate of the late Ling Kai Kung of Taiwan.
Kung, a nephew of the late Nationalist Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek, owned the property for about 25 years before his death. It was sold as part of the liquidation of his estate.
The sale price was not disclosed by Realtor John Michael White, who told reporters at the time that the land was appraised at $9.1 million and that no offers under $10 million would be accepted.
Yuen said he plans to attend next month's board meeting to challenge application for conservation district use.
"This is very wet rain forest that plays an important role in our watershed," he said. "It would take a heck of a lot to convince me that this is a worthwhile project."
The area receives about 200 inches or more of rainfall annually.
