Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 16, Number 6, 1 Iune 1999 — Reviving Kahoʻolawe [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Reviving Kahoʻolawe

ALOHA MAI nō, e nā 'ōiwi o Hawai'i. This is my 34th article in a series of 46. On April 5, six volunteers (Lora, Martha, Kekai, Fred, LorrieAnn, Haunani) lead by Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commissioner Colette Machado, headed for Kaho' olawe. We were joined by KIRC's Paul, Andre and Bill. Our mission was to plant 2,000 'āweoweo, 'aki'aki, 'a'ali'i , lama and alahe'e seedfings in two days. And we did. We were told the systematic eleanup on Kaho'olawe, consistent with the restoration plan, required the island be mapped out in 12,000 GMU (grid map units). Teams have specific "kuleana" defined by grid. The first team clears brush. The next assesses the grid for eultural significance and ordnance. Onee assessment is complete, a team of experts - if cultural the K1RC, if explosives, the ordnance experts - intervenes. Exploded metals are sorted and airlifted to the Hanakanai'a base eamp for boxing and shipping off-island. In areas clear of ordnanee, reforestation efforts have begun,

consistent with the restoration plan. The KIRC, the lead in this "kuleana," is open to volunteers. In his eomposition " Mele o Kaho 'olawe," memoriaIizing the spirit of the work initiated by Hui Alaloa and the Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana, Unele Harry Mitchell says, "Aloha ku'u moku o Kaho'olawe, mai kinohi kou inoa o Kanaloa, Kohemalamalama lau kanaka 'ole, hiki mai nā pua e ho'omalu mai" ("Love my island

Kaho'olawe, from the beginning your name was Kanaloa, you

are the southern beacon barren and without population, until you were visited by nine people and they granted you peaee.") Lua Makika was the site we planted. Gasoline augers, hand-held, created holes eight-inches deep. The volunteers, backs bent or kneeling, separated fragile seedfings from their dibble sticks and laid them into the ground slanted away from the direction of the wind. We repeated these actions 1,250 times on Day One.

is unfimited.")

On Day Two, the | remaining 750 seedlings were planted and we added eompanion car- | tons of "dry water." Our two days of work recalled Unele Hany's words, "Alu like kākou, lāhui Hawai'i, mai ka lā hiki mai i ka lā kau a'e, | kūpa'a a hahai hō'ikaika | nā kanaka, kau li'i | mākou nui ke aloha no ka 'āina." ("Let us band together people of Hawai'i, from sun up to | sun down, stand together I and follow, be strong, we are few in number but our love for the 'āina

On Dec. 4, shortly after the OHA BOT reorganization under Chair Akana, Trastee Machado cited her role representing OHA as a member of the KIRC. In her memo, Machado stated, "I intend to fully commit my time and energy to the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission in fulfillment of my four-year term as its commissioner. My commission began in November 1997

and will end on June 30, 2001." Ironically, in a letter to Gov. Cayetano dated Dec. 10, Chairperson Akana wrote, "As the Board of Trustees Chair, I am sending the name of Trastee Clayton Hee for appointment to the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission to serve as the representative from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs." On Dec. 24, Gov. Cayetano responded, "Thank you for your letter of Dec. 10 recommending Trastee Clayton Hee be appointed as OHA's representative on the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC). I regret to inform you, however, that the OHA seat on the KIRC is not currently available. Trastee Maehado was appointed by me and confirmed by the Senate for a term to expire June 30, 2001. It is my understanding pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 6K and section 26-34, HRS, that Trastee Machado may serve until the end of her current term." As one of the April volunteers to Kaho'olawe, I extend my mahalo to Trastee/Commissioner Machado for her commitment to Kaho'olawe. If you have interest in the on-going work to renew Kaho'olawe, contact the KIRC or Commissioner Machado. I MUA NA PUA, LANAKILA KAHO'OLAWE. (Seethe photo on page 5.) ■

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