A Wailua resident was angry enough Friday to call the mayor’s office, the newspaper and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources after a planned hike to the “Blue Hole” was stopped before it began. The man, who has
A Wailua resident was angry enough Friday to call the mayor’s office, the newspaper and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources after a planned hike to the “Blue Hole” was stopped before it began.
The man, who has lived on Kaua’i for almost 10 years, said he and other local residents were stopped about a quarter-mile from a gate across Kaapoko Trail by a DLNR enforcement officer just before 7 a.m. Friday.
The officer “stepped out and said you can’t access the trail. They are filming,” said the complainant, who sought anonymity.
The man said he had called the state a week earlier and was told his planned hike was okay.
“This really rubs me the wrong way. They are taking away one of my freedoms. Aloha’s gone bye-bye,” the irate hiker said.
The film in question is “Dragonfly,” starring Kevin Costner.
A deal brokered between the motion picture company NDE and DLNR originally closed off the area from Jan. 1 to Feb. 23, but the movie officials didn’t enforce the closure until Feb. 1.
“We’re not doing anything out of the ordinary. For a certain period of time, we will allow film companies” on state lands. “The other thing we do is negotiate pretty hard,” said Ed Petteys, DLNR branch manager.
“They are improving the road for us. And when they leave, their staging area will be left as a parking lot,” Petteys said. “We couldn’t afford to do most of this work. We’re coming out of this ahead.
“This company was very willing to work with us to arrange the area of exclusivity. There was no money paid. It was a trade-off” for improvements.
Petteys defended DLNR enforcement agents’ actions on the site.
“Does a movie company’s private security have the legal authority” to exclude the public? he said. “That’s the catch. And we’re also there to make certain the film company behaves. DOCAR (Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement) was there protecting the resources and the state’s interests.”
Petteys said NDE has tried especially hard to accommodate the public.
“Dragonfly” is budgeted at $75 million, and Kaua’i is a stand-in for Venezuela where the movie supposedly takes place.
“Jurassic Park” was filmed in the same area that “Dragonfly” has closed off from hikers for the next two weeks.
“We all felt this was very fair,” said Judy Drosd, Kaua’i County film commissioner. “This benefits the people of Hawai’i. They (filmmakers) are not arbitrarily shutting anyone out. They have the right to film on Kaua’i without having to worry about anything else.”
When asked what he thought would be gained by his objections to the trail closures, the Wailua hiker said, “I just want people to know we are losing our freedoms. This land belongs to the taxpayers and I am a taxpayer. Who are these people to take my rights, away?”
Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net
