Group News: Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, and Oʻahu
Hawaiʻi Island Group
Hawaiʻi Island Group Awards 2023 Hawaiʻi District Science & Engineering Fair
by Debbie Ward, Hawaiʻi Island Group Member | Reading time: 1 minute
Every year since 1995, the Hawaiʻi Island Group provides monetary awards and certificates to deserving young scientists who focus on an element of Hawaiʻi’s environment. We have dedicated these awards to Sierra Club members whose scientific contributions have made an historic, positive, and sometimes political impact in Hawaiʻi. As we have every year (with the exception of the pandemic years), our members met to evaluate the inspiring presentations.
We mahalo the organizing committee, and science fair judges Deborah Ward and Lanny Sinkin for their assistance. Members who would like to support our upcoming young scientists are urged to donate to our group’s Sierra Club Foundation (tax-deductible) account by mailing a check to the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, PO Box 2577, Honolulu, HI 96803, check made out to the Sierra Club Foundation, memo line: Moku Loa Group.
Congratulations to the following young scientists!
Ms. Mae Mull Award for Senior Research:
Rachel Tao
Identifying the Molecular Mechanisms of a Safer Neuroblastoma Cure Using the Native Hawaiian ‘Awapuhi
Dr. Wayne Gagne Award for Senior Research:
Beatrice Kim-Lee
Effects of carvacol, trans-cinnamaldehyde, and eugenol essential oils on the post harvest preservation of guava
Dr. Ruth Lani Stemmermann Award for Junior Research:
Mason Wissman
Looking for Heavy Metal Contaminants in Local Stream Sediments
Dr. Don Worsencroft Award for Research in the field of physical science:
Ciana-Lei Bence
Analysis of Galactic Nuclei Mass Across Varying Redshifts
Moku Loa Group Award for Research in the field of earth science:
Emily N Wagner
Exploration of Natural Storm Water Drainage Filtration
The Hawaiʻi Island Group is incredibly proud of these next generation scientists, we hope you consider supporting them too.
Nomination of Dawn Chang to the BLNR
by Debbie Ward, Hawaiʻi Island Group Member | Reading time: 3 minutes
The bill to nominate Dawn Chang to head the Department of Land & Natural Resources/DLNR is GM516.
The Senate Water and Land Committee, chaired by Sen. Inouye, will hold a confirmation hearing in early March. We urge members to call Senator Inouye’s office 808-586-7335 now, and testify when hearing is scheduled.
Ms. Dawn Chang has been nominated to be Chair of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and the Board (BLNR). Many Sierra Club members are concerned that the nomination represents a threat to protection of the natural and cultural environment, and to the rights of Native Hawaiian practitioners. Members are urged to share their concerns with their senators at the legislature now.
While Ms. Chang has been involved in a wide range of relevant areas, an examination of her record discloses a bias that disqualifies her from holding the BLNR position. Ms. Chang’s career and that of her company, Kuʻiwalu, is repeatedly characterized by decisions that ignore the mandates of history to facilitate the colonial mindset of facilitating economic exploitation, rather than acting as a protector of Hawaiʻi’s future.
Ms. Chang has been professionally involved in some of Hawaiʻi’s most controversial and divisive actions, including burials at Kawaihaʻo Church, Honolulu rail project, Mauna Kea management, homeland defense radar project and more. Her list of corporate clients, and the dubious legal advice she gave them, is the manifestation of her true professional commitments.
David Kimo Frankel, a former Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. attorney who has recently represented the Sierra Club of Hawaii, noted that Chang advised the Kawaiaha‘o Church to avoid a more thorough archaeological review by DLNR’s State Historic Preservation Division when burials were unearthed to make way for a multipurpose building project that was later abandoned. “The result of her advice was protracted litigation and the disturbance of hundreds of burials,” Frankel said in an email. “We don’t need a fox guarding the hen house.”
In 2003, the Sierra Club was a petitioner in a case regarding the University of Hawaii’s CDUA for the W. M. Keck Outrigger telescope project funded by NASA. Subsequent to the hearing on appeal, Third Circuit Court Judge Hara ruled in 2006 that before further development could occur on Mauna Kea a management plan for multiple uses in the Conservation District was required. Ms. Chang prepared a wholly inadequate plan for managing Mauna Kea that lacked basic provisions for natural and cultural management, decommissioning, and public access. Ms. Chang ignored the detailed advice provided by scientists, cultural practitioners, and DLNR staff when she prepared the document. BLNR determined that the plan was deficient, and insisted on compliance with the law lacking in Ms. Chang’s plan. The delay in approving the missing critical pieces of the plan led to delays in the Conservation District Use Permit Application for the TMT construction, and the process by which it was drafted and approved undermined the public's trust in BLNR and the University of Hawaiʻi.
The Department of Land and Natural Resources, headed by an executive Board of Land and Natural Resources, is responsible for managing, administering, and exercising control over public lands, water resources, ocean waters, navigable streams, coastal areas (except commercial harbors), minerals, and all interests therein. The department’s jurisdiction encompasses nearly 1.3 million acres of State lands, beaches, and coastal waters as well as 750 miles of coastline (the fourth longest in the country). It includes state parks; historical sites; forests and forest reserves; aquatic life and its sanctuaries; public fishing areas; boating, ocean recreation, and coastal programs; wildlife and its sanctuaries; game management areas; public hunting areas; and natural area reserves.
Given the kuleana and tremendous responsibility of the DLNR, the selection of a Chair should be guided by the highest principles. There is ample evidence that the selection of Ms. Chang does not demonstrate an adherence to that fundamental requirement.
Latest Hu Honua Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Hearing
by Stephen Holmes, Former U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Champion | Reading time: 4 minutes
Since 2008, the Hu Honua biomass plant proposal has been bogged down in controversy and what seems to be a forever and complex regulatory and legal fight over its proposed electricity costs, environmental, climate, and long term sustainability.
The recent legal saga of Hu Honua versus Hawaiʻi has been notable and was highlighted by insightful remarks during the hearing before the state Supreme Court. Justice Mike Wilson noted that the Hawaiʻi State Legislature has declared a Climate Emergency and has since enacted a decarbonization law with strict new targets, further complicating Hu Honua’s viability, and the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC), in presenting the public and ratepayer interests, is required to review power purchase agreements in light of the new legislative changes.
Justice Wilson further pointed out that the PUC has an affirmative duty to follow the Public Trust Doctrine which is written into Hawaiʻi’s State Constitution. All government agencies have an affirmative duty to follow it. It protects Hawaii’s natural resources. Our coral reefs, for example, are under immediate threat from climate change impacts driven by rising global greenhouse emissions. The change in law sets a much higher bar of review for Hu Honua and other power plant proposals in the state.
We may see these elements included in the Supreme Court’s opinion expected in March. This could have significant precedent-setting value in linking the new State Climate Emergency and Decarbonization law to projects coming before the PUC. Attempts to backslide and do fuel-switching for instance to protect existing “firm” power plants must be reviewed by this new standard. An emergency declaration means business as usual is not acceptable.
The attorney for Hu Honua (aka Hu Honua Bioenergy, LLC ) tried to tell the high court that the PUC had no right to consider the cost of their project on remand after the HELCO II decision.
This did not go over well with justices.
It is important to understand in legal terms that the burden of proof is on Hu Honua entirely.
The original HELCO I ruling by the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court also gave specific instructions on remanding back to the PUC. This went beyond just a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) analysis, but also raised other legal responsibilities including the constitutional requirements. This was also true in the Hawaii Gas decision and the MECO opinion where the PUC also received clear directions from the high court. Hu Honua's attorneys should have seen the clear direction of the court. Precedence had already been established in these other cases. The handwriting was on the wall.
The Hu Honua attorney went on to make a veiled (threat) reference to vested property rights, but pulled back when pressed by the Court, by simply replying “…that is a discussion for another day.” It was an ugly moment. The implication was clear to the Court, Hu Honua sees the case far from finished, and may initiate further litigation in what appears to many as a forever legal battle that Hu Honua has already lost.
During the hearing, Sandra Wong, attorney for Tawhiri (which operates a wind farm at South Point), pointed out that if Hu Honua is allowed to go forward with its required “10 MW minimum generation dispatch contract” with Hawaiian Electric, that will result in a projected 60% curtailment of cheaper and less polluting renewables available on the grid. This is a shocking number. Wong further raised significant issues over Hu Honua’s GHG analysis used to justify their operation – issues and points specifically raised and addressed in earlier remands before the high court. HELCO only compares GHG emissions from Hu Honua to fossil plants, rather than cleaner and less expensive renewable energy.
Hu Honua also failed to include emissions from harvesting, transporting, or chipping the fuel. Even the Supreme Court justices picked up on Hu Honua taking credit for emissions after the 2045 deadline for 100% renewables which hugely cheats the numbers. Given the new state law on decarbonization, the PUC is required to go beyond such a flawed analysis.
The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court will decide before Justice Wilson turns 70 and retires. It is not in the interest of the Court to keep hearing endless appeals just because an applicant doesn’t like the results of an agency ruling. It sets a horrible precedent. Instead, the Court will focus on whether the PUC met procedural steps on the latest remand, but more importantly. will always act in the public interest in their considerations. As Justice Wilson has pointed out, our Hawaii Constitution places an affirmative duty on the PUC that cannot be ignored. It is foundational to how they review all energy projects that come before them. The Climate Emergency declaration cannot be ignored. The time for action is now.
Upcoming Outings
Sunday March 19, 2023
Kalopā State Park (E)
2 miles, elevation: 2000' +/- 400
This 100-acre state park and recreation area is a bit off the beaten path, located near the village of Honokaʻa, about 15 miles east of Waimea and about 40 miles north of Hilo. We will be going uphill to start and coming down on the Gulch Rim Trail. Enjoy seeing native plants as we hike here. One option afterward is to go on the nature trail that has a pamphlet for plant identification. We recommend water, mosquito repellant, warm clothes and raingear. ROD protocol please.
Leader Sunny LaPlante, 808-964-5017
Saturday, March 25, 2023
Puʻu Oʻo Trail Day Hike (E)
South Hilo District, moderate/7 miles, elevation: 5400'
Puʻu Oʻo trail starts from Saddle Road between the 22 and 23 mile marker and meanders through kipukas of native plants and birds surrounded by old lava flows. We will hike the trail to where it intersects Powerline Road. Bring rain gear, a hat, 1 quart of water and plenty of snacks and lunch, binoculars and wear sturdy shoes. ROD protocol area.
Leader: Linda Larish, 808 657 9640
ROD Protocol:
Hawai’i Island Group Outings are subject to “ROD Protocol” which asks participants of hikes in ‘ōhi‘a forest to wear clean clothes and scrub their boots, then spray with alcohol. We will publish notice of ROD prone areas in outing descriptions. This preventative procedure is best done at home before reaching the area but leaders will have needed items at meeting places. Please help us protect our precious forests.
Maui Group
Upcoming Outings
Saturday March 11, 2023
Kapilau Ridge Beyond St. Anthony Cross
Wailuku, 3.5 miles
Begin just outside Wailuku town and hike up Kapilau Ridge Trail, a short, steep unmaintained footpath. After a view stop at the cross, we will continue, weather permitting, to the fence for the West Maui Forest Reserve Boundary. Total elevation gain about 1,000 ft.
Leader: Merrill Ranken, merrill.ranken@gmail.com
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Saturday March 11, 2023
Mākena Aupuni Trail (C/E)
South Maui (Kaʻeo Ahupuaʻa) , 3 miles
During the time of King Kamehameha III a kingdom era road (“Aupuni Road”) was constructed between ʻUlupalakua and the small sheltered Keawalaʻi Bay (present site of Keawalaʻi church in Mākena). Recent archaeological studies on Mākena Resort lands have rediscovered remains of this once popular 1830’s mauka-makai route. The “Aupuni Road is being protected as part of an 100-acre preserve on Mākena Resort lands. Join this first Sierra Club access to the preserve and the ‘Aupuni Road. Trail route is generally uphill. Terrain includes dirt roads and lava flow areas and some areas are bushy and overgrown.
Leader: Lucienne de Naie, huelogrl@icloud.com
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Saturday March 18, 2023
Hiking and Yoga at Kapalua Coastal Trail
Kapalua, 3.5 miles
Join us for a Hiking & Yoga experience along the Kapalua Coastal Trail. This will be a 3.5 mile roundtrip hike along the shoreline with beautiful views of the ocean. Although we go through an old lava flow, this is a fairly easy walk with some uneven sections. As the sun is setting Meeyoung will lead a 30-minute all levels standing yoga practice…no yoga mat or props needed. We may practice on grass or rocks, so wear sturdy shoes (sneakers Ok). Bring snacks, sunscreen, hat, and any gear you may require. There are restrooms at each end of the walk. We will meet at the D.T. Fleming Beach Parking lot at 4:30pm.
Leader: Meeyoung Lepore HikewithAloha@gmail.com
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Sunday March 19, 2023
Hanaʻula Ridge Hike and Service Outing (C/E/S)
Māʻalaea, 1 miles
Help Maui Cultural Lands maintain native plant habitat on state land near Kaheawa Wind Farm. Hike to ʻōhiʻa forest nearby. Panoramic views. More information from our host here. Covered shoes, long pants, clothes you don’t mind getting dirty, rain jacket. Dress for cold, you can always unlayer. Bring lunch and gloves. Meet 8:30am at Mā‘alaea Ocean Center parking lot (Carl’s Jr. end). You will need to print and bring with you the completely (front/back) signed waiver found here. Four wheel drive vehicles needed for access, please contact leader if you have 4WD. If we do not have sufficient 4WD vehicles (have to fit into the cab), we will rent and all participants will split the cost. Limit 19.
Leader: Rob Weltman, robw@worldspot.com
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Saturday March 25, 2023
Hāmākua Mālama Service Outing (C/E/S)
Ha‘ikū (Kaupakulua Ahupuaʻa), 2 miles
Help clear away abandoned rubbish from gulches in Ha‘ikū’s Hāmākua Coastal Preserve and re-plant native species. Tools, snacks, trash bags etc will be provided. Co-sponsored by Mālama Hāmākua
Leader: Lucienne de Naie, huelogrl@icloud.com
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Sunday March 26, 2023
Paʻuwela Point Lighthouse and Tide Pools (C/E)
North Shore, 4 miles
Moderate, with some steep muddy sections. Dramatic coastal views and tidepools. Meet at 8am at Haʻikū Community Center. Bring lunch, water and footwear good for slippery rocks. There may be an opportunity to bathe in the pools. Bring a plastic garbage bag if you would like to help collect trash along the way. Limit 15.
Leader: Rob Weltman, robw@worldspot.com
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Oʻahu Group
Upcoming Outings
Sunday, March 12, 8am-12pm
Mālama Tree Crew: Pālehua Akupu Enclosure
Join us in the Gill Ewa Lands to water, weed, and clear debris around 25 newly planted native trees in the Akupu Enclosure and 300 trees at the Mālama Learning Center site. The Gill Ewa Lands encompass 1,600 acres in the southern tip of the Wai‘anae mountains dedicated to preserving the land's important biological, cultural, economic and historical resources. The Akupu Enclosure provides habitat for endangered ʻelepaio to nest. Meet at 7:45am at Makakilo Community Park, near the top of Makakilo Drive. We will work from 8am-12pm. Tools, gloves, and refreshments provided. Bring snack, lunch, water, and insect repellent. Reservations required at least 2 days prior to makikirandy@yahoo.com
Thursday, March 16, 7:45am-2pm
Pālehua Seeding Collection
We will be collecting seeds of various species in season. Meet at Makakilo Community Park at 7:45 am. Bring your own snack/lunch, water, and protective gear from the elements. RSVP to makikirandy@yahoo.com.
Sunday, March 19, 9am-12pm
Wāwāmalu Beach Service Project
Help return Wāwāmalu Beach to its native/natural status after years of off-road abuse and inattention. Seed collection and sowing, as well as removal of invasive plants on tap. Personal pickaxes welcome. Bring closed-toe shoes/boots, gardening gloves, sunscreen and water flask (iced refill available, no plastic water available). Meet 9am at western access area just left off eastern driveway for Sandy Beach Park. RSVP to leader Reese Liggett at wliggett@twc.com. Co-leader Suzan Harada.
Sunday, March 26, 8am
Mālama Tree Crew: Ala Mahamoe Tree Maintenance
1,000+ trees were planted in this area by volunteers led by Professor Mora, in partnership with The Outdoor Circle, Mālama Learning Center, Ko‘olau Mountain Watershed Partnership, and the Garden Club of Honolulu in 2018. Most of them are still alive but need your help! We will be watering, weeding, and clearing debris from around these recently planted trees. Meet at 8am at the gate between 1800 and 1812 Ala Mahamoe St. Tools and refreshments provided. Bring long pants, long-sleeve shirt, water, hat, sunscreen, gloves. Reservations required at least 1 day prior to makikirandy@yahoo.com.
Sunday, April 2, 2-4pm
Single Cotyledons - The Monocots: Walk and talk with Clyde Imada, Research Specialist, Bishop Museum Botany Department
Native Hawaiian grasses and sedges are generally seen as anonymous elements of planted Hawaiian landscapes. Join Bishop Museum’s Botany Research Specialist Clyde Imada on a tour of the Bishop Museum’s Hawaiian Garden to learn more about these poorly understood plants—how to tell them apart, how to identify them, how to incorporate them into your garden landscaping and more. Tour limit 15 - RSVP to Suzan via email here by March 27. Meeting location and parking details will be sent after reservation is confirmed. Light refreshments after the tour. Sierra Club members: free, non-members: $30/person.