The plans got a chilly reception Wednesday from Jim Coon, president of the Ocean Tourism Coalition and co-owner of Trilogy Excursions.

"Basically, it puts the Molokini operators out of business for that day," he said.

Also, the Jan. 30 tentative date to close the island for a radius of one nautical mile does not give snorkeling and scuba tour operators enough time to notify visitors, many of whom already have booked reservations for Molokini snorkeling tours on that date, Coon said.

"We can't change our schedules with people we've made commitments to weeks and weeks in advance," he said.

A compromise could be to schedule the ordnance cleanup after noon when nearly all of the tour boats leave Molokini to return to Maui, Coon said. Possibly the work could be done over two days instead of one.

Barbara Maxfield of the Fish & Wildlife Service said she understood that the state Department of Land and Natural Resources' boating division had notified all permit holders for commercial operations at Molokini that the area would not be available for as much as 10 hours during the ordnance cleanup work.

The work probably would be done during morning hours, but Maxfield said she wasn't sure.

Questions such as those could be addressed during a public meeting to discuss the cleanup project from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary office in Kihei.

Coon said there are 42 commercial permits for tour operators to take approximately 1,000 visitors to Molokini each day. Trilogy sails to Molokini once a day, taking 35 to 45 visitors per trip. No one sets foot on the island itself, he said.

Because trade winds usually kick up in the afternoon, boats begin visiting between 7 and 8 a.m., and usually all of the boats are finished by noon, Coon said.

Coon said customers would not generally be receptive to moving snorkeling tours to an alternative diving site.

"Molokini is an attraction that is just unique," he said. "People want to go to Molokini. Period. This is the place where they book specifically."

When weather doesn't permit a trip to Molokini, most customers reschedule a visit to the island rather than choosing another site, he said.

According to the Fish & Wildlife Service, the unexploded ordnance was found during surveys by Navy personnel of the island in December 2006 and March 2007.

Three objects were located about 300 feet above sea level — a 250-pound bomb, a 105-mm projectile and a 5-inch rocket. Because of the age and condition of the ordnance, the Navy disposal team is treating the objects as hazardous explosives. The team determined that the safest and most effective action would be to burn the bomb in place and detonate the other two items within a crater on Molokini.

No impacts on humpback whales or other marine animals are anticipated, although underwater sound levels will be monitored.

The service is proposing to establish Molokini islet as an "overlay unit" attached to the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge. The designation would protect Molokini's large colony of nesting seabirds and help with restoration work of native plant species.

The islet, the crescent-shaped rim of a volcanic crater, would remain under U.S. Coast Guard ownership, and the service would continue to work with the state to monitor the seabird colony.

The overlay refuge would include only the land itself, and the state would continue to manage the surrounding Molokini shoals as a state marine life conservation district. Disposal of the ordnance must happen before the overlay district can be established, officials said.

"We have overwhelming support from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Land and Natural Resources in removing this unexploded ordnance," said Glynnis Nakai, refuge manager for the Maui National Wildlife Refuge Complex. "We recognize this will be a short-term inconvenience for residents and commercial entities who normally visit Molokini to snorkel and dive, but in the long term this action will ensure the safety of people involved in restoration efforts on the island as well as the wildlife that inhabit it."

The island serves as a breeding grounds for as many as 3,200 adult wedge-tailed shearwaters, or uau kani, that nest on it from March to mid-December. A smaller population of ou, or Bulwer's petrels, also nests on the island. Other seabirds, such as iwa, great frigatebirds, and various noio, or noddies, use the island for roosting.