
OHA Administration submitted testimony to the Maui County Council Planning Committee in support of advancing the Moloka‘i Community Plan Update draft to public hearing, and supporting the continued inclusion of the East End Policy Statement, West End Policy Statement, and provisions recognizing the importance of community-based subsistence fishing areas to the subsistence lifestyle of Moloka‘i.
Excerpts from OHA’s testimony:
“OHA greatly appreciates the countless hours of dedicated work put into the development of the current Plan draft, and commends the Planning Department, the Moloka‘i Community Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC), the Moloka‘i Planning Commission, and the people of Moloka‘i for their efforts in developing the Plan over the last three years. OHA further appreciates the Plan’s acknowledgement of the importance of maintaining Moloka‘i’s unique rural character, and of the need to protect the island’s natural resources, cultural resources, subsistence opportunities, open spaces, fishponds, and agricultural lands and activities. As a comprehensive reflection of the needs and desires of the communities of Moloka‘i, OHA believes that the Plan will serve as an invaluable guide to future policies, decisions, and actions that can best suit the island and its residents.
As reflected in OHA’s previous testimony on the Plan, OHA particularly supports the Plan’s continued inclusion of the East End Policy Statement in its entirety. OHA emphasizes the continuing importance of the East End Policy Statement to the people of East Moloka‘i, as a detailed and long-standing vision for their place. Originally established in 1981, the East End Policy Statement represents the culmination of a broad-based, community-driven effort to document the Mana‘e community’s vision for its future. The statement was developed over a number of years, with extensive input from the majority of area residents, including respected kūpuna who have since passed on. In the words of the Statement, the mana‘o of these kupuna continue to serve as a guide for the next generation. OHA notes that the enduring relevance and significance of the East End Policy Statement to the communities of Mana‘e and East Moloka‘i are well-evidenced in the many testimonies provided to the CPAC, the Moloka‘i Planning Commission, and to the Planning Committee itself.
Similarly, OHA further supports and urges the Plan’s continued inclusion of the West End Policy Statement in its entirety. OHA understands that the West End Policy Statement was developed through numerous meetings and countless hours of research, reflection, and discussion by Maunaloa and Kaluako‘i residents over the past two years, and as such captures the highly unique character, needs, challenges, and desires of the people of West Moloka‘i. Like the East End Policy Statement, the vision, information, and recommendations in the West End Policy Statement will serve as an invaluable and detailed guide to future policies and actions that can best reflect the mana‘o of those most intimately familiar with West Moloka‘i’s unique resources, sites, and ways of life. OHA especially appreciates the Statement’s high level of specificity and abundance of contextual information, which may prove essential to fully-informed and appropriate decision making for the future of West Moloka‘i.
Finally, OHA supports and urges the Plan’s continued support of community- based subsistence fishing areas (CBSFAs) as a key means of protecting and perpetuating the critically important subsistence resources and practices of Moloka‘i communities, including the Mo‘omomi CBSFA management plan and rules that have been approved for public hearing by the Board of Land and Natural Resources.”
Moloka‘i, your OHA meetings are this month. The Community Meeting will be Wednesday, August 8. The Board of Trustees Meeting will be Thursday, August 9. Both meetings will be at the Kūlana ‘ōiwi Hālau. Look forward to seeing you there!