Posted on: Monday, April 15, 2002
Groups to address Pohakuloa expansion plans
By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
HILO, Hawai'i — The Sierra Club and other groups are expected to present their concerns about military plans to expand the Pohakuloa Training Area at hearings this week on the Big Island.
Maj. Gen. James Dubik, commander of the 25th Infantry Division (Light) and U.S. Army Hawai'i, last month announced plans to spend about $234 million on the Big Island during the next decade to improve and expand its training areas to conduct more advanced war games.
The Pohakuloa Training Area encompasses 108,890 acres in the middle of the island on the lower slopes of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. Military officials want to improve Bradshaw Army Airfield, upgrade a tank trail from Kawaihae Harbor to Pohakuloa, expand the live-fire capabilities of two firing ranges and purchase 23,000 acres from Parker Ranch northwest of Pohakuloa.
The expansion plans will be discussed at public meetings tomorrow at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel and Wednesday at the Outrigger Waikoloa. Both meetings start at 5:30 p.m.
Mayor Harry Kim has expressed support for the proposals, saying Hawai'i County has an obligation to support the country and the effectiveness of its military.
But others said it is time to shut down military operations at Pohakuloa and begin a costly cleanup.
Jim Albertini, head of an anti-war organization called Malu 'Aina, or Land of Peace, said the Army already has created "a multibillion-dollar toxic dump on our sacred mountain."
Nelson Ho of the Big Island chapter of the Sierra Club said his group is "greatly concerned" by the expansion proposal and members want more information.
Ho said issues include the risk of wildfires in a vast area that is just emerging from a four-year drought; control of feral animals such as goats; and possible damage to endangered native plants.
Meanwhile, Parker Ranch officials said they were surprised to learn for the first time in news accounts of the Army's desire to acquire 23,000 acres of ranch land.
"We were dismayed we had not been informed before those public announcements," said trustee Carl Carlson.
Since then, however, Dubik has meet with Parker Ranch leaders, and relations are now better, Carlson said.
