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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted at 11:44 a.m., Wednesday, April 9, 2003

Proposed habitat for Kaua'i insects reduced

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Science Writer

KOLOA, Kaua'i — The Fish and Wildlife Service has reduced its proposed critical habitat for two underground insects from 4,193 acres to 272 acres, a 94 percent reduction.

Service officials said the reduction is both because of the extremely high cost of the designation to potential development of the Po'ipu-Koloa resort area and new information that many of the areas were unsuitable habitat for the Kaua'i cave amphipod and the Kaua'i cave spider. Both species lack eyes, having evolved for living in the darkness of underground caverns.

The new designation was published in today's Federal Register, and takes effect in 30 days.

The two cave animals are found only on the south side of Kaua'i. The spider is the only eyeless member of the wolf spider family, which is sometimes referred to as the big-eyed hunting spider. The amphipod, a tiny shrimp-like creature, eats vegetative material like roots that get into caves. The spider is a carnivore, and may eat the amphipods, among other creatures.

Landowners in the area were concerned that critical habitat designation could reduce the value of their land by reducing development potential.

"This was a big concern to us," said Grove Farm vice president Michael Furukawa, whose firm owned much of the land proposed for designation. "We dug up a lot of old drilling logs and provided them with other information that showed that the caves are pretty much confined to particular areas and not really widespread."

The habitat areas include two extensive coastal sections covering 147 acres of the new habitat, running from near the Hyatt Regency Kaua'i Hotel to the cliffs approaching Kipu Kai. Two cinder cones totalling 26 acres mauka of Makahu'ena Point are included. There are several parcels ranging from less than one acre to 35 acres in the area between and makai of Koloa and the old Koloa Mill. Two 16-acre pieces and a one-acre parcel lie within the boundaries of Alexander & Baldwin's Kukui'ula resort-residential project at the western side of the Po'ipu resort area.