The state will acquire 37 acres around Lumahai Beach to protect it for public use and to ban motorized tour boats in Hanalei, ending a 20-year controversy. The action, approved by a vote of the Land Board last week, points
The state will acquire 37 acres around Lumahai Beach to protect it for public
use and to ban motorized tour boats in Hanalei, ending a 20-year
controversy.
The action, approved by a vote of the Land Board last week,
points to an effort by the state government to protect Kauai’s northern coastal
regions from overcommercialization and development.
“This is a good day in
Kauai’s history, and indeed our state’s,” said Governor Ben Cayetano. “More
than ever, we recognize the value of our natural resources.”
New state
Department of Land and Natural Resources rules will ban commercial vessels,
except kayaks, from operating in the Hanalei River and Hanalei Bay and from the
mouth of the river.
The amended rules are expected to go into effect early
next year.
The beach decision ends “a bitter battle that has torn apart a
community,” said Cayetano. Future generations will benefit from the Land
Board’s action, he added.
The board also unanimously approved a subdivision
of Lumahai Beach. It is the next step in the state’s effort to acquire an
oceanfront property that is a Hawai’i landmark, Cayetano said.
The state
intends to purchase just over 37 acres extending from the ocean to a bluff
along Kuhio Highway near Hanalei. Money for the acquisition will come from the
federal government.
The acquisition of the land is being facilitated with
funds from the Trust for Public Land, a national non-profit land conservation
organization.
The organization hopes to convey the beach and uplands to the
state by the early part of 2001, according to Theresa McHugh, a project manager
for the organization’s office on Oahu.
“If a private landowner were to
retain the Lumahai property, there would always be the potential to want to
either pursue some financial gain or close it off to avoid liability,” she
said.
The collaboration of the state and the group will ensure “that this
kind of land is protected in perpetuity,” McHugh said.
The beach was a
site of the movie “South Pacific” and is considered one of the most picturesque
beaches in the world, the governor said.
Staff writer Lester Chang can
be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and [
HREF=”mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net”>lchang@pulitzer.net]
