CANDIDATE FORUMS:
Council Race - Wednesday 8/18
State House - Tuesday, 8/24

PUNA SUSTAINABILITY EXPO
Saturday, September 25th

Please visit our page, Who We Are, for more detailed information about our aims and for a list of our Board of Directors.

Currently, donations for the Uluwehi Native Tree Arboretum is top priority on our wish list.

Thanks to Ann Kobsa, one of our board members, we are now selling organic vanilla pods. All of the proceeds will go to Malama O Puna.


ALERT - GMO Legislation:
Let your voice be heard for home rule! Lots of very important legislation recently at both the state and county levels, that will affect your quality of life and that of your children. HB1226, though it died in the Senate Energy and Environment Committee on April 10th, would have removed a lot of home rule power from the counties so that they could never again attempt to regulate GMO research and testing on the neighbor islands, such as we did to protect Kona coffee and taro – at the request of farmers, native Hawaiians and environmentalists. If legislation such as HB1226, is re-introduced and passed, it will not allow counties to offer the same protection for other crops. Considering all the times, both here and on the mainland, that open air GMO fields have contaminated other farm crops, such as papaya (despite claims of safety to the contrary), we must consider the poor track record and regard open field testing as equivalent to actually inviting invasive species onto our island. The state government has failed miserably to protect us from invasives in the first place (through port-of-entry inspections) and to adequately fund eradication programs in the second place, and so there is no way we can trust them to do so if GMO crops invade and impact our organic farms and native ecosystems. As usual, our county will have to bear the brunt of the effort and cost to counter the state’s bad decisions. How can we protect our food supply in a worst case scenario situation if GMO crops infiltrate it? We can’t. Please don’t be silent – do your research and speak out to make sure a bill like this never passes.


Puna Community Development Plan:
The PCDP has been passed 9 to 0 by the County Council. If you want to take a look at the plan go to http://www.hcrc.info/community-planning/community-development-plans/puna/

To reach the Community Liaisons call the Puna CDP Hotline at 935-3975 or email them at Puna@hawaiiislandplan.com

The 2% Solution
Open Space, Natural Resources, Cultural Resources, Public Access, and Scenic Views Preservation Fund
The County Council, recognizing that the longer we wait to acquire land for public needs, the more expensive it will be and the less that will be available for such uses, passed Bill 78 earlier this year. It set up a Commission of community delegates from each district to solicit, through a series of public meetings, nominations for special places deserving of preservation, protection and acquisition. The Commission did its work and presented a prioritized list to County government. Now thanks to your grassroots effort and your votes, it is funded with 2% of annual property tax revenues.

Councilwoman Emily Naeole introduced resolutions to start purchase negotiations for 536 acres of coastal lands in Puna. These resolutions have been approved unanimously by the Council. Two parcels at Waiele total 165 acres. The properties, which contain burials and other archeological sites, are located near the Nanawale Forest Reserve. The 364-acre Ahupua‘a of Honolulu is located between the Hawaiian Shores subdivision and the forest reserve. It is covered in native forest and is the location of the old village of Honolulu. Also included is seven acres at Cape Kumukahi in Kapoho.

The Legacy Lands Act (State HB 1308) passed and was signed by Governor Lingle in June 2005. This bill increases the conveyance tax to rase funds for affordable housing and land preservation through the Natural Area Reserves System (NARS). The increase only applies to properties selling for over $600,000. Revenues from the conservation fund will be used to make grants to nonprofit land conservation organizations and state and county agencies to purchase significant lands such as open spaces, scenic lands, and coastal and cultural lands.

Our Legislation Alert / Information Page has a list of the environmental bills passed in the State Legislature in 2005. According to Jeff Mikulina, executive director of the Sierra Club, it was the best session he has ever seen ! This information comes from "Environment Hawai‘i". They always have well-written, well-researched environmental articles. Check out the Environment Hawai‘i website

Invasive Plants:
If you have a concern about whether or not a plant could be invasive, take a look at Hawai‘i's Ecosystems at Risk Program's (HEAR) Invasive Species Pageif you have an internet connection, or give us a call at 808-965-2000.

Mangroves at Wai‘opae Tide Pools: 
This non-native coastal tree thrives in brackish and salt water, and its seeds have been gaining a tenacious foothold in the southern end of the Wai ‘Opae Marine Life Conservation District (the Vacationland tide pools area). A mangrove infestation such as this has the capability of changing the ecosystem from coral gardens tide pools to a mangrove swamp. The present marine life which thrives there now would eventually be replaced with different species, and our Puna fishery, whose fingerlings begin their life cycle there, would be impacted in years to come. The plants range from pull-able seedlings to 15 foot tall trees, and our volunteers have eradicated about 10,000 of them this year. We urge coastal property owners who have mangrove trees to contact us so that we can eradicate the seed sources and replace them with native or noninvasive vegetation.  More on Wai‘Opae. More on Mangroves.

What every new land owner in Hawai‘i should know. For some important tips - Check out Caring for Our Land.

What every new coastal land owner should know. For this information follow this link Caring for Our Land 2007.

UPDATES:

Miconia: Ann, Zan and volunteers have been working hard in Nanawale Forest Reserve. Check it out.

Board Openings:
Malama O Puna has some openings for volunteers on its Board of Directors for people interested in the environment and in building community. We have recently lost some Board members due to politics (you can’t run for office and be on the Board of a nonprofit), health issues and a move to the mainland. The committees needing chairs are, Treasurer, Membership, Fundraising and Events. The Board meets monthly on the second Wednesday at 4 p.m. For more info call René at 965-2000.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO WEED in Wao Kele ‘O Puna - 25,856 acres of beautiful rainforest land in Lower Puna has been bought for conservation through the Forest Legacy Program. Now the problem is weeds. Next volunteer workday is Saturday, August 22nd. We meet at the Pahoa Neighborhood Facility at 10 am and carpool from there. Wear appropriate roughing clothes - no slippahs.  Bring chainsaws, loppers, weedeaters, pruning saws if you have them.  Work gloves are recommended. See our native plants in their natural surroundings and help contribute to their survival by joining us as a volunteer for this project. If you belong to a group or club, we can help you make it a special project. If you are a teacher, this is a perfect work/study for your students and a civic give-back-to-the-aina opportunity. Call René at 965-2000 and let’s talk story. Visit the OHA site for more information and photos.

ALERT: Semi-slugs (Parmarion martensi) have come to Puna in a herd. They commonly carry rat lung worm nematodes (Angiostrongylus cantonensis) that, if ingested, can cause eosinophilic meningitis. This is characterized by intense headache, painfully stiff neck, muscle spasms and rigidity, joint pain, skin sensitivity and nausea, to name a few. Other snails and slugs are also carriers and have been around for quite some time - the difference is in numbers and that the semi-slugs love to climb and get on everything. Here is a National Insitutes of Infectious Diseases article that includes a photo of the slug and an interesting journal abstract on an outbreak in Okinawa. One way to kill the slugs other than slug bait (and beware some brands are deadly to pets - only get animal friendly brands) is to spoon them into a jar filled with liquid such as alcohol, salt water or vinegar - that way you get rid of the nematode also. A good trap for hunting is thick black plastic. They will be on top of it at night, and if in a shady spot, below in the day. Some people have sprayed liquid copper sulfate solution or Bordeaux mix around water tanks and the base of homes to repel and kill the semi-slug. Be careful not to get the solution into the water supply. Also copper sulfate is not approved for organic farming. As with all pesticides, read warnings and information - copper sulfate.