Posted on: Wednesday, April 2, 2003

EDITORIAL
OHA, Audubon ideal Waimea park team

As a recreational venture, Waimea Falls Park has been a money loser since the late 1980s. And there's no reason to believe that trend will turn around any time soon.

Not that the spectacular 1,875-acre preserve doesn't have potential. It does. But its assets may not translate into megabucks.

In light of that, we would urge the city to find a buyer more intent on preserving Waimea Valley's botanical and cultural treasures than on making profits.

The city filed for condemnation to purchase Waimea Falls Park last year for $5.2 million. At this juncture, the city can't really afford to shell out that kind of money. So even before the deal is closed, the city is looking for another buyer.

In our opinion, a fitting buyer would be the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, whose bid of $5.2 million was previously rejected by the park's owner. Hopefully, OHA would be willing to negotiate a fair price for the property to pursue its mission to preserve Hawaiian cultural traditions, as well as Native Hawaiian plants.

While visiting the park a couple of years ago, OHA trustee John Waihe'e IV complained about such un-Hawaiian features as the African Jungle Trek and suggested a more culturally appropriate approach that would showcase authentic Hawaiian crafts and activities. Moreover, he said OHA would benefit from diversifying its assets.

These arguments continue to make sense.

Meanwhile, the Audubon Society could operate the park, which boasts a collection of some 6,000 species.

An OHA-Audubon team could resurrect the park's status as a world-class botanical garden and sanctuary where visitors observe and learn Hawaiian crafts and customs.