"Hawai'i's last large intact rain forest, a 25,856-acre forest in Puna valued by Native Hawaiians for its ecological and cultural significance, soon could be in the possession of the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs and protected from development.
The Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday authorized Land Board director Peter Young to enter into an agreement paving the way to transfer to OHA several parcels known collectively as Wao Kele o Puna.
Cost of the purchase from Campbell Estate is estimated to be about $3.65 million.
The purchase would mark the end of a decades-old dispute involving Campbell, the state and Native Hawaiian groups, a dispute that led to protests and arrests in the late 1980s, when the rain forest was being eyed for development of geothermal energy. The tract is about three miles southeast of Pahoa High School on the Big Island...."
It would be a great accomplishment if this tracts of land can be turned over to a conservatorship which will protect it from development. I'm not sure OHA is the right vehicle to administer the sale, but at least it means that Wao Kele o Puna will be kept in its pristine state.
Miulang
The Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday authorized Land Board director Peter Young to enter into an agreement paving the way to transfer to OHA several parcels known collectively as Wao Kele o Puna.
Cost of the purchase from Campbell Estate is estimated to be about $3.65 million.
The purchase would mark the end of a decades-old dispute involving Campbell, the state and Native Hawaiian groups, a dispute that led to protests and arrests in the late 1980s, when the rain forest was being eyed for development of geothermal energy. The tract is about three miles southeast of Pahoa High School on the Big Island...."
It would be a great accomplishment if this tracts of land can be turned over to a conservatorship which will protect it from development. I'm not sure OHA is the right vehicle to administer the sale, but at least it means that Wao Kele o Puna will be kept in its pristine state.
Miulang
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