Lana'i unaware of Marine copters
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
The U.S. Marine Corps has been conducting helicopter exercises in a remote area of northwest Lana'i for a dozen years, but apparently few on the island knew anything about it.
The operations came to light yesterday in the Environmental Notice, the state's environmental notification bulletin. The publication included the Marine Corps' federally required notice of completion of an environmental assessment examining the training's impact on the environment.
The study, conducted last year, concluded that the exercises pose no significant impact.
Maj. Chris Hughes said yesterday that helicopters primarily from Kane'ohe Marine Base use a 15-square-mile area for the night low-altitude flight and landing training perhaps a dozen times a year.
Pilots follow the contours of the terrain using night-vision goggles and land in designated areas, where they simulate the dropping off and picking up of ground forces. The typical exercise involves a team of four helicopters, with only one operating at a time, Hughes said.
The environmental study was completed recently following a Corps-wide directive in the mid-'90s calling for a formal review of all training areas that have the potential for environmental impact.
"We haven't kept it secret. It's not classified or anything," Hughes said.
The activity has been allowed with the consent of landowner Castle & Cooke, company spokeswoman Sheila Donnelly Theroux said yesterday.
But few others on the island apparently were aware of it.
Maui County Council member Riki Hokama of Lana'i, a former Pineapple Island land manager, said he was unaware of the military activity, as was community activist Ron McOmber of Lanaians for Sensible Growth.
Brian Valley, the manager for six years of the Nature Conservancy's Kanepu'u Preserve — near the training area — said he thought he had heard about plans for military training nearby but wasn't sure if it was happening.
Hughes said the fact that few on Lana'i even knew about the training is a good thing.
"We're always looking for that high-value training with a low impact on communities," he said. "We need this training. We need to be prepared and ready for war.''
It was not clear if the activity would be affected by the recently proposed designation of lands in the area as critical habitat by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
