New habitats on O'ahu, Big Island proposed
| • | Maps: Proposed critical habitat areas |
By Jan TenBruggencate and Hugh Clark
Advertiser Staff Writers
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service yesterday proposed creating 548,000 acres of critical habitat for endangered plants on O'ahu and the Big Island, in addition to the 290,000 acres already proposed for Maui and Kaua'i counties.
Copies of the critical habitat plans and the economic analysis for the Kaua'i lands can be found on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Web site. Submit comments to Field Supervisor, Pacific Island Fish and Wildlife Office, P.O. Box 50088, Honolulu, HI 96850.
The stunning, broad swaths of rare plant protections — nearly one-fourth of the state's 4-million acre land mass — already are drawing fire statewide from landowners, hunters and even those working in the field to preserve endangered species.
Plans available
On O'ahu, the Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing designation of more than 111,000 acres in 25 parcels for 99 threatened and endangered plants. Fifty-nine percent of the land is in private ownership, 35 percent is state-owned and 6 percent belongs to the federal government, including land on several military installations.
Most of the O'ahu land is on the highlands of the Ko'olau and Wai'anae mountain ranges and is unsuitable for development, although there also are coastal parcels on both the Windward and Leeward sides.
On the Big Island, critical habitat designation is proposed for 437,000 acres in 28 parcels for 47 plant species. There, 51 percent is state land, 33 percent is federally owned or controlled, and 16 percent is privately owned.
Again, much of the habitat is in upland areas on the slopes of the island's major volcanoes, although there are notable coastal regions as well. Two of the major coastal parcels are on Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park land south of Kilauea Crater and along the rugged coast from Pololu to Waipi'o Valley.
State forester Michael Buck, at a hearing last week, said biologists at the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife say the acreages being proposed are based on "being as legally defensible as possible" and not on what is reasonably required to actually bring species back from the brink of extinction.
John Ray, a former Hawai'i County Council member who runs the Hawai'i Leeward Planning Council, also questions how the designations are determined. The planning council comprises more than 50 major Big Island landowners.
"Our group is looking for recovery plans based on good science," Ray said.
Others were less serene.
"It's stupefying, it is unbelievable, it is staggering," said state Rep. Jim Rath, R-6th (S. Kohala, N. Kona).
In a related announcement yesterday, the Fish and Wildlife Service released its first assessment of the possible economic effects of critical habitat designation.
The costs of establishing nearly 100,000 acres of critical habitat for endangered plants on Kaua'i alone could be in the millions of dollars, according to a draft economic analysis prepared for the Fish and Wildlife Service. The report was prepared by the Honolulu economic consulting firm Decision Analysis Hawai'i.
If the designation goes forward as proposed, the Pacific Missile Range Facility could spend between $830,000 and $2 million during a 10-year period to pay for consultants and modifications expected to be required on projects at the missile base.
Other Kaua'i landowners, including government agencies and private interests, could suffer losses of between $950,000 and $2.5 million.
Dramatically larger losses could be incurred if, for example, government agencies restrict development on expensive properties because of critical habitat designation.
A decision to restrict development on coastal parcels designated as critical habitat could cost landowners in excess of $10 million on Kaua'i alone in lost development potential and property value, the economic analysis said.
It is not clear that such changes in land-use designation would occur. Big Island Planning Director Chris Yuen said he does not believe that critical habitat would have any effect on that island's upcoming General Plan review.
Economic analyses are yet to be prepared for the counties of Maui, Honolulu and Hawai'i. The Fish and Wildlife Service will consider those economic costs in deciding how much critical habitat to ultimately establish, said Paul Henson, field supervisor for the agency's Pacific Islands office.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is under a federal court order to quickly establish critical habitat around the state for endangered species. Critical habitat is the property where those species now exist plus the additional land scientists believe would be required for the species to recover sufficiently to be removed from the endangered species list.
For landowners, critical habitat designation means they must consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service when there is any activity involving federal land, federal money or federal permits, and they must agree on ways to minimize effects on the endangered species.
The military could be dramatically affected on other islands, as the missile range is on Kaua'i, because thousands of acres of critical habitat are on military reservations. However, the Defense Department is trying to gain an exemption from the Endangered Species Act. Language in the 2003 Defense Bill limits critical habitat protections on military land.
Even so, officials at the Fish and Wildlife Service say most activities in the Islands should not be seriously impaired by going through the critical habitat consultation program.
"In most cases, those projects can proceed with only minor accommodations to protect the species," said Pacific Region Director Ann Badgley.
Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.
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