Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 7, 1 Iulai 1995 — Bellows draft EIS: military plans to keep the land [ARTICLE]

Bellows draft EIS: military plans to keep the land

by Deborah L. Ward While a decision on whether to allow proposed changes at Bellows Air Force Station in Waimānalo, O'ahu is now being considered by federal agencies in Washington D.C., the future of the 1,457 acres of ceded lands that form part of the station is clouded, despite calls by the Hawaiian community for their return. These lands are the former crown lands of Kamehameha III, and later a part of Waimānalo Sugar Co. Bellows was acquired in 1917 through a presidential executive order for a military reservation, later becoming an air force station. The scenic heaehfront property has been used for training maneuvers as well as a camping and recreation site for military personnel. A million-dollar draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) land use and development plan was prepared by Belt Collins Hawai'i for the Department of the Navy on behalf of the commander in chief, U.S. Pacific Command

(USINCINCPAC). The plan proposed changes to provide land, beach and water areas for Marine Corps and other military training exercises; a site for 250 to 500 military family housing units; and improvements to recreation facilities. Air Force Secretary Sheila E. Widnall said last September during a visit to Hawai'i Pacific Air Forces that she doesn't foresee a return of Bellows to native Hawaiians soon. She said she understood the Marines had a valid military use for the land, for both comprehensive training as well as recreational use. At public hearings in May, the plan received overwhelming opposition from the Waimānalo community and native Hawaiian representatives, who criticized the military for "creating a need" when Bellows has been underutilized for military purposes and has mostly served a recreational purpose. Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee Klna'u Kamali'i, who chairs OHA's Land and

Sovereignty Committee, testified that Bellows should be returned to the Hawaiian people. She noted, "By the terms of annexation and under existing federal laws, all ceded lands under federal jurisdiction are impressed by a trust obligation of public benefit in the use of the lands. Onee such a national public purpose is served and the lands are no longer required, then by the terms of Public Law 88-233, such lands are subject to return to the State of Hawai'i. And as set forth in state resolutions, such returned ceded lands are then to be held in trust for the Hawaiian people." Kamali'i cited two precedents for the return of lands under trust principle. One is the return of Kaho'olawe island, a former military bombing target for 50 years, and the second is the legislative-ly-ratified Hawaiian Homes Trust Settlement whieh promises the return of 200 acres to the homelands trust from Bellows — when returned — and 1,300 acres to be held in trust by the state for the eonūnueā on page 4

Bellows: military cites continued need for ceded lands from page 3

Hawaiian nation. Tony Sang, president of the Waimānalo Hawaiian Homes Association, also opposed the DEIS plan, and called for the return of all ceded lands at Bellows. He disputed the DEIS assertion that "ceded lands used by the DOD remained in fee simple federal ownership." Said Sang, "While these lands were ceded to the United States at annexation, their control and management were retumed to the Territoiy of Hawai'i whieh subsequently 'set aside' these lands for a military reservation. ... The federal government, in Public Law 88-233 promised to eventually return ceded lands to the State of Hawai'i when they were no longer needed by the federal govemment. This distinction in title is not a minor point. It is key to understanding native Hawaiian eoneem for the use of ceded lands. "For more than 40 years, as Bellows remained largely unused, this community waited for the federal government to honor that promise. We believe that the current plan proposed by the Navy in this DEIS is an affont to the promises earlier made. Given the extreme community eoneem over the status of the ceded lands at Bellows Air Force Station, the Navy should not proceed with this plan." Linden Burzell, president of the Waimānalo Neighborhood Board, said at the May 9 hearing, "... the board (has) reaffirmed its longstanding position on the future of Bellows. First, the ownership of Bellows is determinable. Second, the ownership of Bellows is clear: ceded land must be returned to the kānaka maoli. Third, the only fair and honorable point of action is the immediate retum of Bellows. All the other issues raised amount to very little."