Options for preserving Big Island trail considered
Associated Press
KAILUA-KONA, Hawai'i — Parts of it may be paved over or even under lava, but the ancient Ala Kahakai trail still has many miles left in it. And the National Park Service is taking steps to preserve it for future generations.
Established by the federal government in 2000 for the preservation, protection and interpretation of Native Hawaiian culture and natural resources, the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail is a 175-mile corridor dotted with cultural and historical sites.
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It passes through six districts on the Big Island, from 'Upolu Point in North Kohala to the Waha'ula heiau in Puna, and through 220 ahupua'a, or traditional sea to mountain land divisions.
Culturally significant sites along the Ala Kahakai, or Path by the Ocean, include heiau, or religious sites, house site foundations, fishponds, petroglyphs and stone slides.
Natural resources include ponds, reefs, estuarine ecosystems, migratory birds, sea turtle habitats and several threatened and endangered species of plants and animals.
The federal government owns about 17 percent of the land, while slightly more than one-half of the trail land is in public hands. The remainder is privately held.
Parts of the ancient trail may no longer exist, as development, weather and alien plants have affected the island.
For example, Ali'i Drive in Kailua-Kona follows the coastline, just as the ancient trail did.
About a dozen Big Island residents turned out Saturday morning for the first in a series of meetings on the alternatives worked up by Superintendent Aric Arakaki and project planner Mike Donoho following a series of public meetings last year.
The five plans include one recognizing the trail segments that lie within national parks, but does nothing to develop them. Another calls for a continuous walking path, extending along the coastline for about 175 miles.
Another plan calls for trail clusters to be developed in the areas surrounding Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park, Kaloko-Honaunau National Historic Park and Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site.
A fourth seeks to determine and designate every trail possible, including mauka-makai connectors and swimming or canoe trails, while the final one would designate only trail segments and canoe routes that could be authenticated, and would not necessarily result in a continuous path on land.
Concerns include how best to protect sacred sites. For example, caves with human remains might be fronted by warning signs, camouflaged to hide them from hikers, or their contents catalogued and the entrances then sealed.
Among the topics under discussion in this round of meetings, which conclude June 19, are trail alignment considerations, seeking landowner consent, gathering historical information and identifying cultural and natural resources.
Arakaki said the project is community-based and has benefited from input from Native Hawaiians, private landowners, and state and local government agencies, as well as the general public.
Because it is focused on preserving the culture, he told the audience at Kona Outdoor Circle that it is important to involve as many divergent opinions as possible.
"The trail is an access to the perpetuation of the culture. We don't have a bandwagon," Arakaki said. "We want to jump on your bandwagon."
The draft Comprehensive Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement is expected to be available for public review by the end of the year. At that time, the community will be invited to discuss access points to the trail, management and maintenance needs, facilities and financing.
No part of the Ala Kahakai trail is yet open to the public.
