A big mahalo to reporter Nathan Eagle for researching and shedding much needed light on the Na Pali issue. Important points were made: “With no natural predators, the populations of feral goats and pigs is spiraling out of control …
A big mahalo to reporter Nathan Eagle for researching and shedding much needed light on the Na Pali issue. Important points were made: “With no natural predators, the populations of feral goats and pigs is spiraling out of control … We need more hunters out there, plain and simple. The first step is reducing the number of goats and hogs … Periods of high rain stain the ocean brown. It’s all washing away … The people of Kaua‘i are losing their island, literally. It’s a very special place, indeed, it just needs a lot more care…”
Soil is the foundation for all terrestrial life. It takes thousands of years to form. When the ground cover is eaten away, the soil washes into the reefs, destroying them as well. This chain of events must be broken.
Nathan writes in his report: “DLNR officials said yesterday that (Bill Summers) could have legitimized himself by signing a volunteer waiver and securing the free hunting permits.” Great news! This is a potential breakthrough for volunteers who want to be effective as well as legal.
Surely it is evident that we all share in the pride for our world famous Kalalau Trail, and we also share in the responsibility for a poorly maintained trail that causes injuries and death. When someone like volunteer Summers takes on the task of restoring the trail to safe standards, it is all of our victories. Volunteerism and random acts of kindness are on the rise worldwide as global crises increase. Institutions benefit from accommodating and legitimizing these volunteers.
Summers has offered to train volunteers. His qualifications: 16 months on the Kalalau Trail, professional stone mason, cliff assault climbers course (Marines) for stringing cables across raging streams. Wilderness survival. First aid training. Basic camp hygiene/field camp sanitation. Professional shoreline restoration with endangered and native species. Rescue training, military and civilian … and all this for only $15,000 a year. Can you beat that? On top of this he is willing to sign the volunteer waiver.
Bill has been mentioned twice this year in the National Geographic magazine for his dedicated work. He is on Web sites (kauaiexplorer.com) and blogs (islandbreath.org).
Nathan quotes DLNR spokesperson Deborah Ward: “The state parks division is ‘under-staffed’ and ‘under-funded.’” The solution is to let dedicated volunteers take on the slack. Former trail boss for 10 years Mack Horie had volunteers working with him, and a volunteer spent a week at Christmas two years ago fixing a dangerous scree slope/mud slide. Volunteering is an honorable tradition.
Ward continues: “Our crew routinely performs trail maintenance, as needed, as they hike from Hanakoa campground to Kalalau beach during our monthly off-season maintenance trip.” Sound good? Let’s look at the facts.
The crew is dropped off in Hanakoa by helicopter and picked up by helicopter in Kalalau. Helicopters cost the taxpayer $700 an hour plus additional landing fees. Just hiking from Hanakoa to Kalalau with heavy tools takes four hours time of no trail work. That leaves only four hours per person a month of actual trail work, which is not nearly enough to keep up with erosion.
Summers spends less than these 12 maintenance outings per year to work the trail for an entire year. He has completed 16 months and spent $18,000 so far, $5,000 of which was donations by thankful hikers. The irony is that Bill was doing the trail work that DLNR was supposed to be doing when he was cited for having a bow. The cost of busting him (three helicopter landings) was more than he spends in an entire month of fixing the trail. The helicopter landed on a heliport that Summers had restored for medivac purposes.
Kaua‘i is home to the densest concentration of endangered species in the country. These Hawaiian species are our responsibility, our kuleana. They are especially vulnerable to invasive feral animals. We cannot let budget constraints lead to species extinction. In fact, the anemic budget is a call for DLNR to actively seek out volunteers.
We are all encouraging Bill Summers to continue his life-and-limb-saving work on the trail.
• Arius Hopman is an artist and avid hiker who lives in Hanapepe. He can be reached at ahopman@earlink.net
