Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 12, 1 Kekemapa 2021 — Military Land Use Plan Reveals Challenges and Opportunities [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Military Land Use Plan Reveals Challenges and Opportunities

By Kyle Kajihiro, Ph.ū. The United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) recently unveiled a new Hawai'i Military Land Use Master Plan (HMLUMP). This document provides an overview of current military land use in Hawai'i and a snapshot of plans for the next 25 years. Kānaka Maoli have a stake in these plans because they involve the fate of large tracts of Hawaiian trust lands (the so-called "ceded lands") occupied by the U.S. military.

The report documents the military's vast footprint in Hawai'i but also contains a number of surprises and proposed changes that could present cause for concern and opportunities to make changes. According to the HMLUMP, military-controlled land in Hawai'i increased by 9% from 200,967 acres in 2002 to 221,981 acres in 2021. In 1994, after years of struggle by

the Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana, the Navy returned the island of Kaho'olawe (28,800 acres) to the State of Hawai'i to be held in trust for a Hawaiian governing entity. However, this win was offset by subsequent military land acquisitions. During the Stryker Brigade expansion of the mid2000s, the Army acquired 25,000 acres of land, including 22,000 acres at Ke'āmuku and 2,000 acres on O'ahu in the Honouliuli area. In 1999, the Army purchased 8,214 acres of formerly leased land in Kahuku ffom the liquidating Campbell Estate. The Army also released 12 acres at Kapālama and 8 acres at Fort Ruger. Between 2002 and 2019, the Navy returned 1,915 acres at Kalaeloa (the former Barber's Point Naval Air Station). History of HMLUMP The 2021 HMLUMP is the second such study by USINDOPACOM. The first HMLUMP was produced between 1993 and 1995. Previously, military land use planning was done separately by eaeh branch. However, Kanaka Maoli

political gains in the early 1990s alarmed military proponents. The Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana stopped the bombing of Kaho'olawe in 1990 and won the return of the island in 1994. In 1993, the centennial of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, mass Kānaka Maoli political mobilizations and the U.S. apology to Native Hawaiians by President Bill Clinton sparked calls for the return of Hawaiian trust lands. Meanwhile, the end of the Cold War led to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) legislation. In 1992, U.S. Representative Neil Abercrombie introduced legislation aimed at closing parts of Bellows Air Force Station (AFS), whieh occupies trust land in Waimānalo. Admiral Charles Larson, the commander-in-chief, Pacific Command, initiated a joint land use planning process. In 1992, U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye appropriated $750,000 for an inventory of military lands in Hawai'i. Subsequently, Inouye appropriated an additional $900,000 for the first HMLUMP and $1 million to produce an environmental impact study for continued military use of Bellows AFS, whieh effectively blocked efforts to recover these lands. Hawaiian Trust Lands in the Balance Hawaiian trust lands make up the majority of the land occupied by the U.S. military in Hawai'i. If the military released any of its trust lands they would automatically revert to the State of Hawai'i. The Hawai'i Admission Act (1959) required trust lands to be accounted for within five years. In 1964, the State of Hawai'i and U.S. military settled on non-extendable 65year leases that expire in 2029, with the military paying a total of $1 per lease for the full term. Large tracts of trust lands leased by the state to the military for nominal fees will expire in 2029. The expiring leases include Army leases at Pōhakuloa, Kahuku, Poamoho, and Mākua, for whieh the Army is currently conducting an environmental impact statement. Although puhlie scoping comments are closed, comments may still be submitted to the cultural impact assessment addressing how the military's continued use or return of these lands would affect Kānaka Maoli eultural resources and traditional and customary practices.

Less well known are expiring Navy and Air Force leases on Maui, Kaua'i and O'ahu. It is unclear how the publie ean participate in decision-making or environmental review processes for these other leases. There are several new revelations about military expansion plans. For example, at Pōhakuloa, the Army proposes to acquire 413 acres of land near the main gate as a "security buffer," an additional l000-acre site off-base for relocating endangered species, and a 2-kilometer land use control buffer (66,718 acres) around the entire installation. To extend military land use control beyond actual installation boundaries, the HMLUMP proposes using land use zoning mechanisms and conservation buffers such as the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) and Sentinel Landscapes. While these partnerships may provide some environmental benefits, they also enahle long-term destructive impacts on adjacent lands while politically compromising groups who heeome beholden to military interests. The HMLUMP states that the military's top priority is to retain training lands and, thus, prevent the return of leased Hawaiian trust lands. Nevertheless, the expiring leases provide an opportunity to seek the return of these lands, and to re-examine the state's obligations as stewards of Hawaiian trust lands. ■ The Hawai'i Military Land Use Master Plan ean he viewed at: https://drive.google.eom/file/d/lUovoHevmHk-fMG-ma-iEzxYgECHue67aY/view To submit comments addressing how the military's continued use or return ofthese lands would affectKānaka Maoli cultural resources and traditional and customary practices contact the Cultural Impact Assessment team at eommunity@honuaconsulting.com or eall 808-392-1617.

Kyle Kajihiro, Ph.D., is a memher of Hawai'i Peaee and Justice and Koa Futures. He lectures in the departments of Geography and Environment and Ethnic Studies at the University ofHawai'i at Mānoa. His activism and research focuses on U.S. itnperialformations, militarization, and decolonization/demilitarization social movements in Hawai'i and the Pacific Region.

MILITARY LAND USE IN HAWAI'I IN ACRES

*OTHERS includes easements, government/private agreements, and other interests in real property. Source: Service Components updates in March 2021. SEE MILITARY LAND USE ON PAGE 21

J HA'I MANA'O V ^ OPINION *

MILITARY LANŪ USE Continued from page 20

MILITARY LAND LEASES EXPIRINC IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS Army

Data from HMLUMP 2021, Table 7 - Expiring Leases and Easements, p.9.

Kyle Kahihiro, Ph.D.

SERVICE FEE "CEDED" LEASED OTHERS* TOTAL Army 36,744 102,969 29,349 5,482 174,544 Navy 16,793 7,446 9,546 7,830 41,615 Air Force 409 0 474 235 1,118 Marine Corps 2,968 1,727 0 9 4,704 TOTAL 56,914 112,142 39,369 13,556 221,981

Pohakuloa Trainng Hawaii 22,971 2029 Saddleback Area (PTA) Road Lease Kahuku Training Area O'ahu 1,150 2029 Parcel lease Kawailoa Training O'ahu 4,390 2029 EastWahiawa Area (Poamoho) Parcel Lease Makua Military O'ahu 782 2029 Wai'anae Parcel Lease Navy PMRF Kaua'i 391.65 2029 Main Base Leases PMRF Kaua'i 7,445.41 2029/2030 Main Base Easements PMRF - Offshore Kaua'i 7,680 2029 Ocean Right of Way Lease Kamokala Ridge Kaua'i 88.83 2029 Lease East of PMRF Kaua'i 0.29 2029 Water Well Main Base Lease Makaha Ridge Kaua'i 203.1 2030 Lease Makaha Ridge Kaua'i 42.21 2030 Easement Miloli'i Ridge Kaua'i 0.015 2030 Lease PMRF Ni'ihau Kaua'i 1,167 2028 Test Vehicle Land Recovery Site Lease Air Force Ka'ena Point Satellite O'ahu 86.72 2029 Lease Tracking Station Ka'ena Point Satellite O'ahu 51.47 2029 Easement Tracking Station Air Force Station O'ahu 1.8 2028 Lease Air Force Station Kaua'i 8.45 2030 Lease Remote Maui Maui 6.17 2021/202; Leases Experimental Sites Space Surveillance Site Maui 5 203 Lease