Noon ceremony signifies transfer of Kaho'olawe
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Navy legally gave the state control of Kaho'olawe at the stroke of midnight Nov. 11, but today's noontime ceremony will mark the handoff with all the pomp and circumstance expected of an occasion that has been decades in the making.
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Gov. Linda Lingle and members of the state Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission — the island's new managers — will meet with Navy officials at 'Iolani Palace for the transfer of responsibility of the island.
Kaho'olawe long was used in military bombing exercises before it became a symbol for the fledgling Hawaiian sovereignty movement in the 1970s and 1980s. The bombing stopped in 1990, and an agreement giving the Navy a decade to clean the island was struck in 1993.
The Navy will remain on the island through March 12, completing some final ordnance cleanup tasks. Under a memorandum of agreement nearing completion, the Navy then will convey some equipment, facilities and a trust fund estimated at $7 million to $10 million to help pay for continuing costs of ordnance removal.
Stanton Enomoto, acting executive director of the Kaho'olawe commission, said the agreement also will outline how the Navy will continue to assist if undetected ordnance turns up.
That agreement still hadn't been signed before yesterday's holiday, but the basic accord appears to be intact, said Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis: If the ordnance poses a threat to the safety of people using the island, the Navy will immediately send a team to clear it, using active-duty personnel if necessary.
And if the explosives appear more remote, they will be monitored for later removal by a contractor, he said.
"The reasoning is basically to make the most efficient use of (trust fund) money that is held over," Enomoto added. "If we're calling the Navy over every time we see a bomb, then they'll burn through that money very quickly."
Today's ceremony also will include representatives of the Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana, an organization that has served as civilian steward of the island since 1980. The group has, with Navy permission, hosted many visits to the island, including cultural observances and educational excursions.
On Nov. 20, Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana will be the first group to visit Kaho'olawe after the transfer, for its annual ceremony marking the start of the makahiki season, Enomoto said.
For the first several months while the commission gains experience managing the island, the 'ohana will be among the few visitors besides the remaining cleanup crews, he said.
The commission also is authorizing occasional visits by its volunteer restoration team, which works on replanting projects and other improvements, and twice-monthly access by fishing boats. Only trolling from a slow-moving boat will be allowed, to avoid exposure to unexploded ordnance in the near-shore waters, Enomoto added.
About a half-dozen 'ohana representatives were allowed access for a midnight ceremony marking the time when the island legally changed hands, said Davianna McGregor, an access coordinator for the group. Another contingent scheduled to join them was prevented from going because of high wind and rough seas, she said.
Although today's celebration is an important rite of passage, McGregor said, the blustery weather is being seen as symbolic of uncertain times ahead.
"We, too, will be in for some turbulent times," she said.
Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8053.
