Testimonies received from BFED Committee.

Budget, Finance, and Economic Development Committee
Maui County Council
200 South High Street, 7th Floor
Wailuku, HI 96793

Subject: Letter of Support for Mālama Maui Hikina Program. To provide local stewardship, visitor management, and Uniformed Community Patrol Programs for East Maui.

Aloha BFED Committee Members,

My name is Lehualani Park. I am the mother of four boys and twin girls who are lineal descendants of Kaupō, Kipahulu, Hāna, and Nahiku. With the support of residents from Kaupō to Koʻolau, my family and I urge your collaboration in supporting a Community Economic Development Program, Mālama Maui Hikina.

With your consideration in supporting this community-led program, I propose the following points.
1. Community Empowerment: This section highlights the importance of empowering local communities to address their needs and challenges through grassroots initiatives.
a) Mālama Wailua of Mālama Maui Hikina
2. Tailored Solutions: Emphasize the effectiveness of community-led programs in providing tailored solutions that are responsive to each neighborhood or locality's specific needs and dynamics.
a) Funds for Community Transit Safety Officer Program
b) Mālama Maui Hikina Stewards receive certified training
3. Resource Allocation: Advocate for allocating a portion of the county budget to support community-led programs, recognizing their potential to achieve meaningful and sustainable outcomes.
4. Partnership Opportunities: Stress the value of forging partnerships between local government agencies and community organizations to leverage resources, expertise, and networks in implementing initiatives that benefit residents.
5. Impact and Accountability: Emphasize the importance of measuring the impact of community-led programs and ensuring accountability in using public funds to maximize their effectiveness and uphold transparency.
6. Long-Term Benefits: Highlight the long-term benefits of investing in community-led programs, such as building social capital, fostering civic engagement, and promoting resilience in the face of challenges.

Your support will foster and restore reciprocity relationships between ʻaina and Kanaka. Unveiling the potential we hold within.

Aloha,
Lehualani Park

Re: Budget Hearing

Aloha Kākou e Maui County Councilmembers,

As a director, and on behalf of Nā Mamo O Mūʻolea (NMOM), my testimony is in full support of Councilmember Sinenci’s request to allocate $20,000 of the County’s Open Space Fund for ongoing and capital improvements at Mūʻolea Point.

Through a lease from Maui County, Nā Mamo o Mū’olea has managed this ʻāina for over 15 years. In these years many improvements have been made by our all-volunteer board,ʻohana members, and neighbors, but much more is needed. For example:
• We need a water system that supplies life giving wai to the far corners of the 73+ acres
• Since so much of our time is spent clearing invasive trees and brush, we need the ability to chip and remove cleared brush and trees immediately, so we aren’t creating piles of drying green waste that is fuel for brush fires, and/or regrowth of more invasives.
• Fences and gates need to be upgraded to provide better security from feral animals
• Grading and widening access roads will make it safer for families using the area, and for first responder vehicles in emergencies.

Under the terms of the County’s ownership, and our lease agreement, we are restricted from performing any kind of commercial activity on the property, so our only source of funding for improvements is from donations and grants. Grant monies for improvements are rare, so we rely heavily on volunteers, the generosity of neighbors, and an occasional project specific grant that allows improvements to the ʻāina. We are always in search of opportunities.

To honor the pana kaulana of Mūʻolea, and the legacy of the Kalākaua dynasty it is so important to restore Mūʻolea Point to a maintainable, producing ʻaina momona landscape. Bishop Museum pictures from the 1800ʻs shows Mūʻolea in full production, installing a Native Plant Garden with canoe plants, food plants, medicinal and other useful plants is a dream and would complete our mauka to makai efforts. Unfortunately, the continued battle with invasives are just that...a battle.

Please give favor to Councilmember Sinenci’s request on our behalf, and please know you are all welcome to visit us at Mūʻolea…anytime. Mahalo!

Claudia Kalaola - Director
Nā Mamo o Mū’olea
04/21/2024

From: Jessie Kapeka Kekiwi-Aweau <kapekaaweau@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, April 19, 2024 8:46 PM
To: County Clerk <County.Clerk@mauicounty.us>
Cc: Shane M. Sinenci <Shane.Sinenci@mauicounty.us>; Kauwila Hanchett <haleholani@gmail.com>; Sunnie Makua <sunniemakua@gmail.com>; Jerome Kekiwi Jr. <kanakakalo@gmail.com>; Jessie Kapeka Kekiwi-Aweau <kapekaaweau@gmail.com>
Subject: Support Letter for the Mālama Maui Hikina Project

Aloha e BFED Committee Members,

My name is Jessie Kekiwi-Aweau and I am in support of the Mālama Maui Hiikina project to provide local stewardship and visitor management at three wahi pana of East Maui (Wailua, Waioka, and Kaihalulu). I believe that this project can help educate visitors and residents on the significance of our historic and cultural wahi pana which are threatened by the impacts of mass tourism and must be protected.

My ʻohana are lineal descendants and generational ʻohana of the Koʻolau moku and we have observed the negative impacts of tourism on our natural environment (mauka to makai), our cultural and subsistence lifestyle, and on our small kalo farming villages of Keʻanae and Wailuanui. There have been crop production impacts resulting from water contamination by visitors swimming upstream, and residents are overwhelmed by the number of visitors in certain areas and by visitor behavior such as trespassing on private property.

There are times when visitors donʻt listen to the residents' warnings and the visitors need to get help or be rescued by the residents who often risk their own lives to save a stranger's life. I think that the way visitors enter and spend time in our spaces must change to preserve our natural and cultural resources and our ʻāina centered way of life for future generations.

Again I urge you to fund the Mālama Maui Hikina Project and support our community-led efforts to restore pono, balance, and natural order, to these treasured wahi pana.

Mahalo for your time.
Jessie Kekiwi-Aweau

From: County Clerk <County.Clerk@mauicounty.us>
Sent: Monday, April 22, 2024 8:56 AM
To: BFED Committee <BFED.Committee@mauicounty.us>
Subject: FW: Mālama Maui Hikina Project

From: Jessie Kapeka Kekiwi-Aweau <kapekaaweau@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, April 19, 2024 7:09 PM
To: County Clerk <County.Clerk@mauicounty.us>
Cc: Shane M. Sinenci <Shane.Sinenci@mauicounty.us>; Kauwila Hanchett <haleholani@gmail.com>; Sunnie Makua <sunniemakua@gmail.com>; Jerome Kekiwi Jr. <kanakakalo@gmail.com>; Jessie Kapeka Kekiwi-Aweau <kapekaaweau@gmail.com>
Subject: Mālama Maui Hikina Project

Aloha Everyone,

Jerome Kekiwi, Jr. - President
Norman Martin, Vice-President
Kupa’a Luat - Hueu - Treasurer
Jessie Kekiwi-Aweau - Secretary
Radford Kaʻauamo - Sgt. at Arms
Kanani Fredrick
Earl Inouye
Jennifer Kekiwi-Brown
Guy Mahilani Namahoe

DATE: April 19, 2024

Budget, Finance, and Economic Development Committee
Maui County Council
200 South High Street, 7th Floor
Wailuku, HI 96793

Subject: FY 2025 Letter of Support for Mālama Maui Hikina project to provide local
stewardship and visitor management at three wahi pana of East Maui.

Aloha e BFED Committee Members,

On behalf of Na Moku Aupuni o Ko‘olau Hui (Na Moku) I would like to urge you to support the Mālama Maui Hikina project to provide community-based tourism management and place- based stewardship for three wahi pana in East Maui. These historically and culturally significant wahi pana are threatened by the impacts of mass tourism and must be protected.

The board and membership of Na Moku are approximately 200 households in Ke‘anae and Wailuanui, situated in the middle of a 33,000-acre East Maui watershed. The area was known in ancient times as a breadbasket, a provisioning stop for voyagers and travelers renowned for its lo‘i kalo (taro patches). Most residents are native descendants who trace their genealogy before Western contact. Through board leadership and community mobilization over a sustained decades-long effort, Na Moku succeeded in restoring water that had been diverted out of the area for commercial purposes. We also acquired stewardship of Ke‘anae Uka, state owned facilities previously managed by the YMCA, and have recently completed a strategic plan.

The lineal descendants and generational ‘ohana of the Ko‘olau moku have observed the negative impacts of tourism on our natural environment (mauka to makai), our cultural and subsistence lifestyle, and on our small kalo-farming villages of Ke‘anae and Wailuanui. Kalo farmers have noticed crop production impacts resulting from water contamination by visitors swimming upstream, and residents are overwhelmed by the number of visitors in certain areas as well as by visitor behavior such as trespassing on private property.

Often in emergency situations, local residents must step in to help, rescue, or even save a visitor in trouble—often risking their own lives. These same residents must live with the visitor-related tragedies that forever remain in our memories and stories and can color our relationships with the places where these tragedies occur. We recognize that the way visitors enter and spend time in our spaces must change to preserve our natural and cultural resources as well as our ‘āina-centered way of life for future generations.

Once again, I urge you to fund the Mālama Maui Hikina project and support our community-led efforts to restore pono, balance and natural order, to this treasured wahi pana. We look forward to the lessons that will be learned from this project and continue to build our foundation for community-based tourism management in the Ko‘olau moku.

Sincerely,
Jerome Kekiwi, Jr.
Jerome Kekiwi, Jr.
Board President
Na Moku Aupuni o Ko’olau Hui

Real Property Tax Certification

The Budget review by the Council is a great way to learn about all the County does. Every year, I learn more about the responsibilities, staffing and costs of the various County agencies and non profits that the County supports or contracts with to provide services to the community.

There is no document that is more informative in this Budget review process than the annual report from RPT about the RPT certification. From accurate counts of how many properties are in each district, how the different tax classifications break down across the districts and the County to where the tax revenues come from, that allow the County to operate. This document is required reading for making any well informed decision about tax rates, tax classifications, and tax policy to achieve specific goals.

This year’s version is perhaps the most informative that I have ever seen. As it includes important information about the effects of the wildfires on the tax base, such as what properties were affected, how the decisions that have already been made have impacted the tax base, and what properties are now being used as temporary rentals for the fire survivors.

I do hope that the chair will provide enough time for the department to fully present all of the important information contained in this report and that the members will carefully consider this information, not only on the Budget decisions you are in the process of making, but also in assessing the potential impacts of any future policy decisions.

Some of the many observations I make from reading this report include:

Real property tax revenues have increased by 130% over the past 9 years compared to a cumulative rate of inflation of 31.6% over the same period.

That 80% of Maui County tax revenues come from South and West Maui, with 92.5% of those taxes coming from visitor accommodations in these areas, including Short Term Rentals, Non owner occupied second homes, Time Shares, and to a much lesser extent hotels.

10.2% of owner occupied properties pay the minimum tax of $300.

That 400 homeowners were provided tax relief via the circuit breaker program.

That 26,911 owner occupants were provided with a total of $174 million in tax relief thru the $300,000 home owner exemption and lower Owner Occupied tax rate (while only 147 owner occupied property owners were denied any of this relief because they hold a permit to allow them to share their homes with visitors) Why this discrimination?

That Hotel assessed values did not increase from 2023 to 2024. Presumably because there were no hotel sales.

That the Long term rental exemption and lower tax rate established by this Council has been pretty successful with 3880 property owners being granted an average tax reduction of $4224 each for renting at least one of the dwellings on their properties long term.

There are Four charts showing the distribution of property values in the Owner occupied, non owner occupied, Long term Rental and Short term rental tax classifications. These charts can be very helpful when determining how many property owners would fall into each tax rate tier. I have thought on how the tiers could be set to achieve a progressive taxation while negatively impacting the fewest taxpayers.

The report on the wildfires is eyeopening and will be very helpful in informing future decisions in this area. The 1902 properties granted a tax abatement for renting long term to fire survivors shows this was successful legislation.

The bonus in the report this year is very informed information about the various transient rental properties and hotel units. This information while perhaps not 100% complete, is much more accurate than the uninformed estimates often cited by those attempting to demonize the visitor industry. This information should be thoroughly reviewed before making any future considerations about existing or new visitor accommodations. While this is not immediately relevant to the Budget committee, this information needs to be revisited outside the budget review period.

Budget, Finance, and Economic Development Committee
Maui County Council
200 South High Street, 7 th Floor
Wailuku, HI 96793

Subject: FY 2025 Letter of Support for Mālama Maui Hikina project to provide local stewardship and visitor management at three wahi pana of East Maui.

Aloha e BFED Committee Members,

On behalf of Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike (MKHKI) I would like to urge you to support the Mālama Maui Hikina
project to provide community-based tourism management and place-based stewardship for
three beloved wahi pana of East Maui. These historically and culturally significant places are
under threat due to tourism impacts and must be protected.

MKHKI was formed in 2001 to provide at-risk youth with a way to learn that makes sense to
them, that builds their self-esteem and shows them they have the power to change their
future. Over the past 22 years, our work has grown and evolved while remaining centered on
restoring our youth’s right role as caretakers of their community. In addition to our Building
Program, we also now steward Mahele Farm, run a robust program to restore our sacred
relationship with Hāloanakalaukapalili called Mālama Hāloa, care for our kūpuna of Maui Hikina
through food and poi deliveries, and most recently we’ve launched our Kahu ‘Ai Pono program
that engages youth in ‘āina-based culinary adventures.

MKHKI staff members were able to participate in some of the in-person and zoom meetings of
the grassroots hui of residents, lineal descendants, and community leaders from Ko‘olau to
Kahikinui that have been meeting to find solutions to the issues caused by over tourism in East
Maui. Our dialogue acknowledged the benefits of engaging the next generation in our efforts.
MKHKI is standing by to see how we can best support this collaborative community-based
initiative and exploring ways that our youth can be involved in this important work. Once again,
I urge you to fund the Mālama Maui Hikina project and support our community-led efforts to
restore pono, balance and natural order, to this treasured wahi pana.

Me ka mahalo nui,
Lipoa Kahaluahi
Executive Director

April 21, 2024

Budget, Finance, and Economic Development Committee
Maui County Council
200 South High Street, 7th Floor
Wailuku, HI 96793

Subject: FY 2025 Letter of Support for Mālama Maui Hikina project to provide local stewardship and visitor management at three wahi pana of East Maui.

Aloha e BFED Committee Members,

On behalf of the Kīpahulu ‘Ohana, Inc. (KOI) I would like to urge you to support the Mālama Maui Hikina project to provide community-based tourism management and place-based stewardship for Wailua, Waioka, and Kaihalulu. This historically and culturally significant ‘ahupua’a—which has sustained the families of this area for many generations—is under threat due to tourism impacts and must be protected.

Founded in 1995, KOI and is dedicated to the cultural sustainability of the Kīpahulu moku through educational programs and partnerships. KOI envisions families working in harmony together to preserve and enhance the traditional cultural practices of the Hawaiian people. KOI conducts cultural demonstrations, restoration projects, self-sufficiency programs, shoreline and ocean resource management initiatives, and biological diversity projects. KOI is currently spearheading the Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area (CBSFA) designation for the moku of Kīpahulu.

The proposed services will reestablish traditional, place-based models of governance that return stewardship of the ‘āina to the lineal descendants, generational ‘ohana, and residents of East Maui while gathering critical data about residents and visitors that will build a strong foundation for ongoing community-based tourism management.

Once again, I urge you to fund the Mālama Maui Hikina project and support our community driven efforts to restore pono, balance and natural order, to this treasured ‘ahpua‘a.

Me ka mahalo,

Cheyenne Kamalei Pico

April 21, 2024

Re: Open Space Funding for Mu’olea Point

To the Council of the County of Maui:

Nā Mamo O Mū‘olea (“NMOM”) is writing to support the budget item of $20,000 in FY25 Special Purpose Revenues, Open Space, Natural Resources, Cultural Resources and Scenic Views Preservation funds, to be used to support safety and security related to the management of County lands at TMKs 1-5-007-001 and 1-5-007-012.

NMOM is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was established at the request of the County of Maui in 2005 to fulfill the requirement on page 11 of the County’s deed to the Mūʻolea Point property that the County should “contract for the management of the Property to a local nonprofit corporation.”

NMOM has been managing the Mūʻolea Point property on behalf of the County of Maui since 2005. In 2015, the County of Maui granted Nā Mamo o Mūʻolea a long-promised 50-year lease. The majority of Nā Mamo o Mūʻolea’s Board members are lineal descendants of the original occupants and land-holders of the Mūʻolea ahupuaʻa. Most have spent their entire lives near this land and have a deep and ancestral familiarity with this storied place, and a keep kuleana to care for this special place.

NMOM hosts educational programs for local schools and community groups, and also manages access for local families to be able to exercise their traditional and customary practices. In order to ensure that the area is safe for youth and families, improvements need to be made to trails and public areas need to be kept safe. To prevent the risk of fires during drought periods, invasive grasses need to be removed and replaced with native plants and trees, and other improvements for safety and security of the property.

Members of Nā Mamo o Mūʻolea’s Board have expertise in conservation land management and native ecosystem protection, native plants, agriculture, horticulture, ranching, building and construction, fencing, financial management, human resource management, nonprofit management, and Hawaiian language and culture, and have years of experience successfully managing County funds for the care of this land as well as for the Hana Limu Festival.

Mahalo,

Legario Eharis, President
On behalf of the Nā Mamo o Mū’olea Board of Directors

Re: Budget Hearings

Aloha Maui County Councilmembers,

I am writing in support of Councilmember Sinenci’s request to allocate $20,000 of the County’s Open Space Fund for ongoing improvements at Mūʻolea Point. Nā Mamo o Mū’olea has been managing this county-owned property for over 15 years. We have made many improvements to it, and many more are needed.

By the terms of the County’s ownership of Mū’olea Point, we are restricted from performing any kind of commercial activity on the property, so our only source of funding for these improvements is through donations and grants. We raised over $120,000 last year, but most of this was restricted to our ocean-related programs. We only received $6000 from the County in 2023, and that was restricted to our annual Limu Festival. Improvements to the property itself are harder to fund and we have been relying on volunteers and the generosity of neighbors, but this is not enough to accomplish the improvements that are needed for public safety and security. Some of these improvements are:

Improving fencing and gates to secure the property from invasive animals.
Creating new hiking trails.
Widening and leveling existing hiking trails and roads for safety and emergency vehicle access.
Clearing invasive brush, especially from areas that border neighboring homes.
Hauling away piles of dry, cleared brush.
Mowing invasive grasses and brush in cleared areas.
Planting native trees and shrubs to replace invasive brush.
Extending water lines to the replanted areas and to the camping area.

I hope you will approve Councilmember Sinenci’s request on our behalf, and I encourage you to visit beautiful Mu’olea Point to see what we have accomplished so far!

Mahalo!

Jan Elliott
Nā Mamo o Mū’olea, Treasurer

Re: Budget Hearings

Aloha Maui County Councilmembers,

I am writing in support of Councilmember Sinenci’s request to allocate $20,000 of the County’s Open Space Fund for ongoing improvements at Mūʻolea Point. Nā Mamo o Mū’olea has been managing this county-owned property for over 15 years. We have made many improvements to it, and many more are needed.

By the terms of the County’s ownership of Mū’olea Point, we are restricted from performing any kind of commercial activity on the property, so our only source of funding for these improvements is through donations and grants. We raised over $120,000 last year, but most of this was restricted to our ocean-related programs. We only received $6000 from the County in 2023, and that was restricted to our annual Limu Festival. Improvements to the property itself are harder to fund and we have been relying on volunteers and the generosity of neighbors, but this is not enough to accomplish the improvements that are needed for public safety and security. Some of these improvements are:

Improving fencing and gates to secure the property from invasive animals.
Creating new hiking trails.
Widening and leveling existing hiking trails and roads for safety and emergency vehicle access.
Clearing invasive brush, especially from areas that border neighboring homes.
Hauling away piles of dry, cleared brush.
Mowing invasive grasses and brush in cleared areas.
Planting native trees and shrubs to replace invasive brush.
Extending water lines to the replanted areas and to the camping area.

I hope you will approve Councilmember Sinenci’s request on our behalf, and I encourage you to visit beautiful Mu’olea Point to see what we have accomplished so far!

Mahalo!

Jan Elliott
Nā Mamo o Mū’olea, Treasurer

Re: Budget Hearings

Aloha Maui County Councilmembers,

I am writing in support of Councilmember Sinenci’s request to allocate $20,000 of the County’s Open Space Fund for ongoing improvements at Mūʻolea Point. Nā Mamo o Mū’olea has been managing this county-owned property for over 15 years. We have made many improvements to it, and many more are needed.

By the terms of the County’s ownership of Mū’olea Point, we are restricted from performing any kind of commercial activity on the property, so our only source of funding for these improvements is through donations and grants. We raised over $120,000 last year, but most of this was restricted to our ocean-related programs. We only received $6000 from the County in 2023, and that was restricted to our annual Limu Festival. Improvements to the property itself are harder to fund and we have been relying on volunteers and the generosity of neighbors, but this is not enough to accomplish the improvements that are needed for public safety and security. Some of these improvements are:

Improving fencing and gates to secure the property from invasive animals.
Creating new hiking trails.
Widening and leveling existing hiking trails and roads for safety and emergency vehicle access.
Clearing invasive brush, especially from areas that border neighboring homes.
Hauling away piles of dry, cleared brush.
Mowing invasive grasses and brush in cleared areas.
Planting native trees and shrubs to replace invasive brush.
Extending water lines to the replanted areas and to the camping area.

I hope you will approve Councilmember Sinenci’s request on our behalf, and I encourage you to visit beautiful Mu’olea Point to see what we have accomplished so far!

Mahalo!

Jan Elliott
Nā Mamo o Mū’olea, Treasurer

Jerome Kekiwi, Jr. - President
Norman Martin, Vice-President
Kupa’a Luat - Hueu - Treasurer
Jessie Kekiwi-Aweau - Secretary
Radford Kaʻauamo - Sgt. at Arms

Kanani Fredrick
Earl Inouye
Jennifer Kekiwi-Brown
Guy Mahilani Namahoe

DATE: April 19, 2024

Budget, Finance, and Economic Development Committee
Maui County Council
200 South High Street, 7 th Floor
Wailuku, HI 96793

Subject: FY 2025 Letter of Support for Mālama Maui Hikina project to provide local
stewardship and visitor management at three wahi pana of East Maui.

Aloha e BFED Committee Members,

On behalf of Na Moku Aupuni o Ko‘olau Hui (Na Moku) I would like to urge you to support the Mālama Maui Hikina project to provide community-based tourism management and place- based stewardship for three wahi pana in East Maui. These historically and culturally significant wahi pana are threatened by the impacts of mass tourism and must be protected.

The board and membership of Na Moku are approximately 200 households in Ke‘anae and
Wailuanui, situated in the middle of a 33,000-acre East Maui watershed. The area was known in ancient times as a breadbasket, a provisioning stop for voyagers and travelers renowned for its lo‘i kalo (taro patches). Most residents are native descendants who trace their genealogy prior to western contact. Through board leadership and community mobilization over a sustained decades-long effort, Na Moku succeeded in restoring water that had been diverted out of the area for commercial purposes. We also acquired stewardship of Ke‘anae Uka, state owned facilities previously managed by the YMCA, and have recently completed a strategic plan.

The lineal descendants and generational ‘ohana of the Ko‘olau moku have observed the negative impacts of tourism on our natural environment (mauka to makai), our cultural and subsistence lifestyle, and on our small kalo-farming villages of Ke‘anae and Wailuanui. Kalo farmers have noticed crop production impacts resulting from water contamination by visitors swimming upstream, and residents are overwhelmed by the number of visitors in certain areas as well as by visitor behavior such as trespassing on private property.

Often in emergency situations, local residents must step in to help, rescue, or even save a visitor in trouble—often risking their own lives. These same residents must live with the visitor- related tragedies that forever remain in our memories and stories and can color our relationships with the places where these tragedies occur. We recognize that the way visitors enter and spend time in our spaces must change to preserve our natural and cultural resources as well as our ‘āina-centered way of life for future generations.

Once again, I urge you to fund the Mālama Maui Hikina project and support our community-led efforts to restore pono, balance and natural order, to this treasured wahi pana. We look forward to the lessons that will be learned from this project and continue to build our own foundation for community-based tourism management in the Ko‘olau moku.

Sincerely,
Jerome Kekiwi, Jr.
Jerome Kekiwi, Jr.
Board President
Na Moku Aupuni o Ko’olau Hui

Letter of Support for Malama Maui Hikina project to provide community-based tourist management and place-based stewardship for 3,000 wahi pana in Ease Maui, Wailua Waioka and Kaihalulu. With environmental conditions due to natural disasters and tourism both imact our resources and jepordizes rural local lives and safety. The Hana Highway which narrow and winding has been over used by vehicular traffic and tourists causing high risks (by parking cars and entering private land to site see and swim) to local residents. Please support the Malama Hikina Project which will continue the stewardship of our beloved aina. As a resident of Kahikinui Hawaiian Homestead we support our East Maui Ohana because we may one day have to steward our land due to the same factors that impact all of us.

Mahalo Nui

Remember Malama Maui Hikina project is the driving force and the catalyst to malama our aina.

Respectfully submitted

Donna Sterling
Lot 41 Nawini Road
Kahikinui, HI. no zip

Subject: FY 2025 Letter of Support for Mālama Maui Hikina project to provide local stewardship and visitor management at three wahi pana of East Maui.

Aloha e BFED Committee Members,

On behalf of Hōlani Hāna I would like to urge you to support the Mālama Maui Hikina project to provide community-based tourism management and place-based stewardship for three treasured wahi pana in East Maui—Wailua, Waioka, and Kaihalulu. We understand that the wellbeing of our community is inextricably tied to the ‘āina (land, that which feeds us) as most East Maui families rely on the land and sea for sustenance. As generational residents, we have watched as our ‘āina has been overburdened, our resources diminished, and our beloved and sacred places overwhelmed by Hawai‘i’s extractive visitor industry. We recognize that the cumulative and ongoing negative impacts of tourism threaten our very way of life as well as the inheritance of future generations.

East Maui is accessed by a single road which is narrow and vulnerable to landslides, rock falls, flash flooding, extreme weather events, and wildfires. It is not uncommon for our roads to be closed or unsafe due to these natural hazards, sometimes for prolonged periods of time that can span months or even years. This road provides our community’s sole access to essential goods, services, and employment opportunities. As visitors have increased, this roadway has become increasingly congested exacerbating local access issues and resulting in visitor/resident conflicts.

These natural hazards also impact areas frequented by visitors resulting in numerous visitor injuries and fatalities. Many East Maui residents have stories of dangerous situations they put themselves in to come to the aid of a visitor in trouble. When a visitor is hurt or dies here, the repercussions are felt by residents for many, many years. East Maui has limited emergency personnel and if our first responders are attending to a visitor, they are unavailable to come to the aid of locals—in our isolated community, this can be the difference between life and death.

In general, the rural Hawaiian communities of East Maui bear much of the burden of Maui’s tourism industry while receiving very little of its benefits. “Heavenly Hāna” and “The Road to Hāna” are major draws that many visitors come to Maui to experience. However, there is little to no engagement with the local community and little, if any, cultural awareness. We recognize that as a native community rooted in ‘ike kūpuna (ancestral knowledge) we are well positioned to help lead Hawai‘i in its shift from extractive tourism—that diminishes Hawai’i’s natural beauty and residents’ quality of life—to regenerative tourism that restores pono (balance, natural order).

Hōlani Hāna is currently supporting lineal descendants and generational ‘ohana of Wailua to implement the Mālama Wailua initiative under the East Maui Tourism Management Pilot Project in partnership with MVCB and HTA.

Our kūpuna recognized that each place emitted its own unique pana, beat or vibrational frequency, this pana then informed place-specific pono which instructed kānaka in how they entered, acted, interacted, and moved within this place. Certain places emitted a more powerful pana and thus were recognized as wahi pana, wahi kapu, and wahi kūpuna. Mālama Maui Hikina is founded on this understanding, recognizing that when we as kānaka attune our inner rhythms to the pana of a place, aligning our behavior and actions with its unique pono, then both the land and people flourish. When we are out of alignment with pono, and emit a dissonant beat, the land, the people, and the myriads of expressions of ola (life) that share Hawai‘i as our home are unwell.

Once again, I urge you to fund the Mālama Maui Hikina project which will help to restore pono stewardship to three beloved wahi kūpuna in East Maui.

Me ka Mahalo,
Kauwila Hanchett
Executive Director

I support the full $150,000 line item amount for Maui Nui Botanical Gardens in the FY2025 proposed budget. Although I am submitting this testimony during a different committee discussion, there are multiple areas in which Maui Nui Botanical Gardens (MNBG) contributes to the community.
I first learned about the gardens when my husband and I learned about invasive species and made a longterm goal to replace invasive species in our yard with native plants. MNBG became both a valuable educational resource and affordable nursery. Then when I joined the volunteer program, I learned more about how extensive MNBG reaches our community with its event space, plant giveaways, and service programs with students.
After the wildfires, the volunteer program has been an outlet for ecotourism with an increase of out-of-state volunteers, including families with children. MNBG serves both the local population while also attracting visitors that are respectful and eco-conscious.

Thank you,
Gina Hsieh
Haiku, HI

Dear BFED Committee,

I am writing to request that you add $285,000 to the Lāna'i Feral Animal Control line item in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget and award it to the Lanai Cat Sanctuary so they can continue to provide feral cat services on the island.

Recently students from our school on 'Oahu went on a week-long educational experience to both Maui and Lana'i to learn more about the threats to endangered and native birds, the impact of free roaming cats, and how we can collaborate to help BOTH. The Lanai Cat Sanctuary was by far the most well-run organization of all of the organizations we visited. These are some of the impacts the LCS had on our students:

Learning about how the Lanai Cat Sanctuary rescues so many cats, as well as maintains care for each and every one of them was very interesting. It was especially impactful to see how every member of the staff contributes so much to the sanctuary, and work so hard for the cats. It is also interesting to think about how a system like that could be when implemented on Oahu.

It was impactful to see a cat sanctuary on a large scale. They are the home to over 800 cats. This is a goal that many non-profit organizations hope to reach. This includes the Pōpoki Place Oahu Cat Sanctuary. They take in street cats (and maui fire cats) and provide them with a comfortable home to live and thrive with other cats just like them.

It was nice to see what a cat sanctuary on Oahu could be by seeing one on the Lanai on oahu could be by seeing one on lanai. It was good to see how their system works and how they do things with how many cats they have. It was nice to see how all the cats are well fed and cleaned.

I was impacted by this i term because it was important as a kid who as always lived with cats either owning or fostering. To see how to prevent cats from affecting the natural world of Hawaii in a bad way and how to help the endangered birds. We not only learning important lessons about cats but also learning in a fun way and seeing how our campus takes part in these precautions for the cats and marsh and taking all that in was impactful for me.

Throughout the course of the I-term, I not only learned more about a topic I've always been interested in, but also learned about myself. As a junior, I have recently been thinking about college, and trying to decide what I want to study. I've always had an interest in all animals, so Zoology or Veterinary services were always a choice in my mind, but this trip really cemented my decision, because seeing all of these animals in need made me realize that I could be a part of the solution.

The Lanai Cat Sanctuary has not only reduced the feral cat population on Lāna'i, but we saw first hand on our tour of many different organizations that they are the leader in the industry for their progressive approach to saving endangered birds by providing humane solutions for cats predating in protected areas.

Unsterilized female cats in Hawaii that are 6 months or older can have up to 3 litters a year, with 3-5 kittens per litter. Without the Lanai Cat Sanctuary, feral cats would overrun the island of Lāna'i.

If the Lanai Cat Sanctuary does not receive the funding needed to continue accepting all feral and unwanted cats, it will severely impact the progress the island of Lāna'i has made in controlling the feral cat population and protecting the native and endangered birds on the island. Also without this funding, students such as ours will lose a valuable educational resource - we all, and particularly our youth, need to learn about the most effective ways to deal with the free roaming cat crisis on all our islands.

Thank you,

Erin Tseu
Secondary Science Teacher