Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 10, 1 ʻOkakopa 2007 — Return to [?] Wao Kele [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

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Wao Kele

By KWŪ staff | Phntns by: Derek Ferrar B G. Brad Lewis Wao Kele o Puna rainforest became a plaee of reflection, healing and optimism on Aug. 27, as about 200 guests of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Trust for Public Land, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and other partners gathered at a former geothermal energy drilling site to celebrate the future of the 25,856-acre forest. The ceremony marked a new beginning for Wao Kele, the I last large intact lowland rainforest in the state, whieh at one time was marked for controversial geothermal energy development. Over the last several decades, Native Hawaiians, area residents and environmentalists fought for the rainforest's protection in protests at the geothermal development site, I through legal action in the courts and finally by working eollaboratively with other partners to acquire the property for preservation. Last year, OHA gained title to the land, where generations of Native Hawaiians have practiced traditional hunting, gathering and religious customs, as part of a cooperative conservation purchase primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Legacy Program. Several of the speakers at the dedication ceremony noted that the acquisition marked the first time that "ceded" lands formerly belonging to the Hawaiian Kingdom have been directly returned to a representative of the Hawaiian people. As part of the deal, OHA and the Department of Land and Natural Resources have signed a joint agreement under whieh DLNR is managing the forest as a natural reserve on OHA's behalf, with OHA slated to assume greater management responsibilities as time goes by. The August ceremony rededicating the forest for conservation brought together officials and activists who, in some instances, had been on opposing sides of the heated eontroversy over geothermal that sparked demonstrations and arrests in the forest in the earlyl990s. Kumu hula Pualani Kanahele, who was one of the leaders of the anti-geothermal protests, offered chants to open the rededication ceremony, along with her daughter Kekuhi and grandson Lopaka, who also offered an 'awa ceremony at the close of the event to consecrate and nourish the land.

44This|forest is ijj ||jj a seed b£nk - iiot just for;ihe new lava coming, but for our future children to grow . ■ P J |/ , wfth the customs and traditions." j — Palikapu Dedmin, Pele Defense Fund

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MĀLAMA 'ĀINA • CARING F0R ĪHE LANŪ

Lopaka Kanahele offers 'awa to nourish the forest. Inset: A lele (altar) stands near the gate where geothermal protestors were onee arrested.

Assembled under large tents erected at the former geothermal site, the guests joined hands for a pule led by Kahu Wendell Davis, ehaplain of Kamehameha Schools' Kea'au campus. "We thank you Ke Akua for this opportunity to bring into fruition the blessings of Wao Kele o Puna," Kahu Davis said. "You command the stars and the moon to provide light upon this plaee, and you also command the sun to rise eaeh morning to offer a blessing so this land will flourish and grow. It is a gift for whieh we say mahalo." Later, Palikapu Dedman, president of the Pele Defense Fund and leader of the fight against geothermal, offered thanks to the several thousand people who had demonstrated against the development, and particularly to the 400 or so who had been arrested at the gate to the drilling site. "It's been a real emotional journey, and I feel real proud about how far we've eome as Native Hawaiians," he said. "But we gotta grow on this; we have to stand up for ourselves and keep doing what we're doing, and if government's gonna have to catch up, they're gonna have to catch up. But we'll still have to be there to remind them of their responsibility to indigenous people." In a rare admission, Sen. Daniel Inouye told the crowd that he had made a "bad mis-

take" by initially supporting the geothermal drilling project. "I hope all of you will forgive me," he said. Inouye, who played a key role in securing $3.35 million in federal forestry funding to purchase the property from Campbell Estate, said he had realized after the geothermal project failed that "this (forest) should be kept pristine, that it should be for the people forever. So when the opportunity eame to assist with the provision of funds, I was very happy to do so." Under the terms of the conservation deal, OHA gained title to the land after paying the remainder of the $3.65 million total purchase price. Other speakers at the event, whieh was emceed by OHA Administrator Clyde Nāmu'o, includedGov. Linda Lingle, U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, state Rep. Faye Hanohano, Hawai'i Island Mayor Harry Kim, DLNR Interim Director Laura īhielen, OHA Chairperson Haunani Apoliona, Hawai'i Island OHA Trustee Robert Lindsey, Jim Pena of the U.S. Forest Service and Reed Holderman, regional director of the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, whieh brokered the purchase deal. One particularly moving speaker was Emily Naeole, who was among those arrested during the demonstrations at the

geothermal site, and who today serves as the county eouneilwoman for the area. Naeole told the crowd that she had been hāpai with her son at the time she was arrested, and that she had named him after the forest. "I remember, in my heart I felt that the (geothermal) plant was like a big monster sitting in the heart of our forest," Naeole said. "I feel that history was made back then, because we stood up and fought, and we just said, 'No, we no like.' And now this thing has eome to pass full circle, and it is again we who are the owners." Shortly before the guests enjoyed a Hawaiian feast provided by the farmers association from nearby Maku'u Homestead, OHA Chairperson Haunani Apoliona summed up the day's atmosphere of healing by saying, "Let us rededicate ourselves to this joint mission, no longer as opposing parties, but now as stewards, as working hands, respectful of kuleana, and unified by eommon direction." Later, just as the event eame to close, a brief rain shower materialized amid what was otherwise an unusually sunny East Hawai'i day, producing a stunning rainbow that many of those assembled commented was the perfect conclusion to an afternoon filled with blessings, good will and hope for Wao Kele's future. □

MĀLAMA 'ĀINA • CARING FDR ĪHE LANŪ

From top: OHA Trustee Boyd Mossman talks story with Sen. Daniel lnouye. Students from Puna's Kua o ka Lō Hawaiian charter school offer oli to start the program. Representatives of fhe Royal 0rder of Kamehameha. - Photos: Derek Pem