• Buying, protecting Kaua‘i’s lands Buying, protecting Kaua‘i’s lands The flurry of real-estate sales and rapidly escalating prices of land and homes on Kaua‘i have threatened to overshadow news on the acquisition of lands for preservation. A U.S. House bill
• Buying, protecting Kaua‘i’s lands
Buying, protecting Kaua‘i’s lands
The flurry of real-estate sales and rapidly escalating prices of land and homes on Kaua‘i have threatened to overshadow news on the acquisition of lands for preservation.
A U.S. House bill now on its way to the U.S. Senate in Washington would open the door to federal acquisition of over 200 acres of land for expansion of the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. The bill is the work of U.S. Rep. Ed Case, D-Neighbor Islands-rural O‘ahu, and has widespread support in the Kilauea area.
With the many changes to the face of the North Shore landscape, setting aside some choice acreage for future generations to enjoy in its natural state is a breath of fresh air. The lands wind mauka up to Kilauea Falls, a compact, scenic waterfall. The banks of the Kilauea Stream that the waterfall feeds appear to once have been lined extensively with taro lo‘i, and returning this area to a habitat for water birds would be another benefit.
While this land-preservation bill moves ahead, an eye-opener of a Web site produced in California gives a vivid picture of how extensive coastal growth can be, and how it can change the look and feel of once-pristine areas. The Web site is www.californiacoastline.com. It was created by a Central California photographer named Ken Adelman, and provides a bird’s eye view of the coast of California from the Oregon border to the Mexican border taken about two years ago using thousands of images shot from a helicopter. The photos can be compared to ones taken in 1972 by a California state employee. The change is striking, in some areas shocking.
In reference to Kaua‘i, the Web site stimulates one’s desire to preserve what we are still able to preserve on Kaua‘i. Accomplishing this may be the most lasting thing one leaves behind as far as impact beyond one’s life into the future. It would be wonderful to have the children of the next century be able to see and experience the natural wilderness that has attracted people to Kaua‘i since the arrival of the first settlers.
Keeping open beach access must go along with this need to preserve natural areas. There have been grumblings that access to what’s known as Rock Quarry Beach at Kilauea would be threatened by placing the five parcels under federal control. Hopefully this situation will be resolved before the bill is passed.
