Regush environmentalist of year

LIHU‘E — Rayne Regush was honored as Environmentalist of the Year at the Kaua’i Group Sierra Club annual picnic on Saturday at Hanama‘ulu Beach Park, a news release states.

“Rayne Regush has been a leader in conservation efforts to preserve Kaua‘i’s rural character, coastal areas, cultural resources, mauka-makai public access, and agricultural lands,” said Judy Dalton of the Sierra Club Kaua‘i Group, Hawai‘i Chapter, the island’s largest environmental advocacy organization with approximately 450 members.

“On any given day, she is working on a letter or testimony on behalf of the Sierra Club to the County Council, or the Planning Commission, or the Department of Land and Natural Resources and other governmental agencies, to protect the environment and preserve our rural way of life,” Dalton said in the release. 

Regush has served on the Kaua‘i Group’s Executive Committee since 2004 and has been the Kaua‘i Group representative on the Hawai‘i Chapter Executive Committee since 2008. 

“Countless hours of volunteer work scrutinizing numerous permit applications and rule changes, and participating at public hearings on Kaua‘i and before the State Legislature on Oahu, has forged her reputation as a Kaua‘i environmental advocate,” Dalton said.

She commits enormous amounts of time to careful research and analysis and can present the facts in a clear and logical manner to help persuade decision-makers to make environmentally correct choices, the release states.

Regush, who spoke at the gathering, noted that although Hawai‘i has good environmental laws, it requires constant public oversight to ensure that these laws are not abused. 

“Without public participation, laws can be sidestepped, land use applications can be approved with misinformation, and legislative bodies can be swayed by economic need; all these scenarios diminish our environmental protections,” she said.

For more information visit www.hawaii.sierraclub.org/kauai.