Editor’s note: This is the second in a three-part series on the master plan for Koke‘e and Waimea Canyon state parks. Yesterday, the plan was described. In today’s report details of the plan are listed. Look for the reaction of
Editor’s note: This is the second in a three-part series on the master plan for Koke‘e and Waimea Canyon state parks. Yesterday, the plan was described. In today’s report details of the plan are listed. Look for the reaction of a long-time Koke‘e resident to the plan in Sunday’s issue.
Details of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources plan for Koke‘e have been unveiled in four proposals aimed at enhancing Koke‘e and Waimea Canyon state parks over the next 20 years.
The state park complex encompasses 6,182 acres and is one of the biggest visitor draws on the Island.
Honolulu-based consultant R.M. Towill Corporation is backing a “remedial improvement plan” for the parks.
The remedial improvement plan makes some key recommendations:
- Erect an entry gate near mile-marker 6.9 within the Waimea Canyon State Park boundary immediately north of the junction of Waimea Canyon Drive and Kekaha Road for the collection of fees. A support building will be constructed immediately makai of the new gate;
- Permit recreational bicycle riding on improved and unimproved roads through the parks;
- Permit off-road vehicles and street-legal offroad motorcycles on unpaved roads;
- Repair and resurface the length of Koke‘e Road and Pu‘u o Kila Road to the Pu‘u o Kila Lookout;
- Install guardrails along Waimea Canyon Drive and Koke‘e Road where shoulder pullovers are located near a canyon rim or by steep slopes;
- In general, improve the condition of and signs for the Kukui/Iliau Nature Trail, Canyon Ditch Trail system, Halemanu Koke‘e Trail, Nu‘alolo Trail, Kaunuohua Ridge Trail system, Awa‘awapuhi Trail and Pihea Trail. Plans also call for the development of interpretive trails for the physically impaired, as a way to highlight the four main forest types found in the state park complex.
A fifth interpretive trail also is proposed to interpret the Aka‘akai/Neke plant community by the Waineke Stream;
- Retain current boundaries and government regulations for hunting;
- Expand the fish stock program at Pu‘u Lua Reservoir;
- Develop monitoring and management plans for people who gather mokihana, maile and ferns;
- Coordinate efforts with Hui o Laka, the Koke‘e Leaseholders Association and other groups to control the spread of invasive species;
- Try to prevent trampling of sensitive native plans;
- Develop a new park visitor center next to the existing Koke‘e Lodge and Koke‘e Natural History Museum buildings.
The visitor center would be staffed by uniformed park personnel who will provide services, including manning a one-stop location for all park permits for camping, gathering, fishing, hunting and commercial trail use;
- Relocate the current park headquarters building to serve as the park entry gate support building, which would be located makai of the new entry gate;
- Restore the Kanaloahuluhulu Ranger Station;
- Continue using the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp as temporary housing for researchers and volunteers;
- Renovate the existing baseyard in the historic CCC Camp complex;
- Build a new baseyard site on Koke‘e Road east of the “Water Tank Road” intersection;
- Maintain existing state rental cabins located by the lodge and museum, but have a private or nonprofit group manage them;
- Improve parking and create a new baseyard by the Kanaloahuluhulu Meadow;
- Replace cesspools with septic tanks or composting toilets; improve informational, directional and interpretive signs; improve landscaping and upgrade railings, in general, for the Waimea Canyon Lookout, the Pu‘u Hinahina Lookout, the Kalalau Lookout and the Pu‘u o Kila Lookout;
- Build a lookout at mile marker 4.5 on Waimea Canyon Road to provide views that span from the coastal regions to the canyon and toward the green uplands of the Alaka‘i wilderness and Mt. Wai‘ale‘ale.
The placement of the lookout will enable the public to “see the complete visual history of Koke‘e and Waimea Canyon,” the consultant reported;
- Improve picnic facilities at Kanaloahuluhulu Meadow, Waipo‘o Falls and various lookouts;
- Improve utility systems and infrastructure, including renovating electrical-system distribution lines and relocating poles and communication equipment away from areas where they can be seen, and expand the Kanaloahuluhulu leach field to handle heavy rainfall;
- Expand the Waimea Canyon State Park by adding land along Waimea Canyon Drive for a parkway with scenic overlooks and viewpoints;
- Create a Koke‘e Regional Authority under the DLNR to incorporate functions of all agencies that operate the parks and adjacent wildness areas;
- Have a review of park services to determine whether they should be privatized, apparently as a way to make the best use of state funds;
The aim of the remedial improvement plan is to “meet regulatory standards” and to “enhance the park users’ experience by improving orientation, service, and safety and by eliminating incompatible and obtrusive elements within the parks,” according to an executive summary in the draft master plan.
Excerpts from the master plan are available at www.malamaokokee.org, while the entire 333-page plan can be viewed on www.state.hi.us/dlnr/welcome.html.
Please call Anna Ramos of Kauai Business Services in Lihu‘e at 245-3460 for a paper copy of the plan.
A CD of the plan may be obtained from Emily Miller at Data Space Industries, 245-1695.
Lester Chang, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@ pulitzer.net.
