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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, April 5, 2005

Big Isle preservation sought

Visitors witnessed the emergence of 35 hawksbill turtle hatchlings in October at Punalu'u Black Sand Beach on the Big Island. U.S. Rep. Ed Case is seeking federal protection for the Big Island's Ka'u coast, including Punalu'u Black Sand Beach and miles of pristine shoreline.

William Ing • AP via Hawaii Tribune-Herald

Advertiser Staff

HILO, Hawai'i — U.S. Rep. Ed Case is worried the Ka'u coastline has caught the attention of developers, and is urging the federal government to consider whether the area along the southern edges of the Big Island should be included in the national park system to preserve it.

A Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park ranger held two hawksbill turtles after their hatching last October. Case has asked the National Park Service to survey about 80 miles of coastline.

William Ing • AP via Hawaii Tribune-Herald

Last week Case, D-2nd Dist. (Rural O'ahu, Neighbor Islands), asked the National Park Service to survey about 80 miles of coastline. That kind of survey and study is a "standard first step" toward incorporating land into the park system, according to an announcement from Case's office.

"This beautiful inspirational coastline is largely pristine — unspoiled, undeveloped, and uninhabited," Case said in a letter last week to Jonathan B. Jarvis, regional director of the Pacific West Region of the National Park Service. "It contains a wealth of Native Hawaiian archeological and historical features, endangered species, magnificent beaches (including the famous Punalu'u Black Sand Beach), and spectacular vistas."

Case requested in his letter that the survey catalog and describe major archaeological and historical sites. He also asked that coastal resources be studied, including endangered species such as the hawksbill turtles that nest in the area.

Case suggested all or portions of the southern coastline could be designated as a National Seashore or some other designation under the National Park Service. He also asked the department to consider including the coastline in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, which is already 217,000 acres.

The area has a "unique natural, scenic, historical, cultural and ecosystem combination found nowhere else in our world," Case wrote. "It is also under tremendous development pressure, and these resources will in all likelihood be lost if we don't move to protect them soon."