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.

We are also able to accept donations on-line through our PayPal account.

Coqui Problem Increasing Exponentially
County Coqui Eradication Grants are available to subdivisions that have non-profit community or road associations. The State stopped funding the program, the Federal money to the County has been reduced to $180,000 and the County has $300,000.

Puna Community Development Plan:
Those in the community who have decided to involve themselves in working on this plan have divided up into working groups for various topics, such as Transportation, Public Facilities and Services, Land Use/Planning/ Development, Recreational Facilities and Parks, Social Issues (including affordable housing, drug prevention and education, etc.), Economic Prosperity, Public Utilities (Energy, Water, Waste), Environment and Natural Resources, Arts/Culture/Heritage, and Sustainable Development. We are not keeping our thinking compartmentalized, however, as the various working groups will be interfacing and sharing. To reach the Community Liaisons call the Puna CDP Hotline at 935-3975 or email them at Puna@hawaiiislandplan.com

GOOD NEWSi

The 2% Solution UPDATE
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 coastal land owner should know. For this information follow this link Caring for Our Land 2007.

UPDATES:

Miconia: Ann, Zan and volutee.rs 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 Environmental Education, Fundraising and Events,. The Board meets monthly on the second Wednesday at 4 p.m. For more info call René at 965-2000.

Wao Kele ‘O Puna - 25,856 acres of beautiful rainforest land in Lower Puna has been bought for conservation through the Forest Legacy Program. Rene testified in favor of it being restored to the Forest Reserve System. On Monday, August 27th, there was a dedication where the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, The Trust for Public Land, the State Department of Land and Natural Resources and other partners came together to celebrate the future of the rainforest. Visit the OHA site for more information and photos.

Moratoriums on Zoning Changes:
We should be so lucky to see someone applying to change the zoning on a parcel from Industrial to Ag. Truth is, money talks and it talks its way into dramatic California-ization of our aina. Kona and Kohala have moved in the right direction with their Community Development Plans (CDPs), and so now, has Puna. The County Council passed a resolution, introduced by Councilwoman Emile Naeole, for a yearlong delay in processing Change of Zone applications until Septtember 1, 2008 or the Puna CDP becomes law.