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Long-time NWHI Advocate Louis "Uncle Buzzy" Agard Calls for True Commitment to Pu'uhonua in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Founding KAHEA Board member Louis "Buzzy" Agard is a revered kupuna (elder) who lived and fished in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands for many years. He is a former commercial fisher, who served on the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Wespac) for over a decade. In 2001, he was honored by President Clinton at the establishment of the NWHI Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve. Today, Uncle Buzzy still serves on the citizen advisory council to that Reserve.

In Sunday's Gathering Place in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Uncle Buzzy called for renewed public attention to the NWHI:

"Today more and more people are going up there for research, education, even sightseeing. Anytime you set something off limits, people want to go there; this is the irony of our success in establishing protections for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Already this year, permits have been granted to allow unlimited numbers of people to go to the Northwestern Islands to do any kind of dredging, discharging, and taking, even recreational fishing. Researchers have violated their permits and we have seen little will for enforcement. This is wrong. We must change our attitude about this place entirely--there should be no human footprint up in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands."

Read more here.

PARTICIPATION WORKS!
KAHEA Recommended as Party to NWHI Enforcement Action Against HIMB Research Permit Violations

We got official word on February 22, 2008 that the state-appointed hearings officer for the Board of Land and Natural Resources has not only recommended that KAHEA be party to a landmark case, but also expanded the scope of the case, as KAHEA had requested. The case concerns the first-recorded research permit violations of the state's stringent Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Refuge.

The hearing officer's findings cited landmark cases such as PASH vs. Hawaii County Planning Commission and Pele Defense Fund v. Paty, and pointed to KAHEA's consistent involvement and advocacy for NWHI protections over the last eight years. For eight years, armed with good facts and *your* testimony, KAHEA has been there at every meeting, at every hearing, advocating for the strongest possible protections for this uniquely Hawaiian place.

Mahalo piha to everyone who has ever participated in a call to action to protect this unique and fragile place. Your participation made the difference! Learn about the case.

KAHEA is blogging!
Yes, we're getting all web 2.0 up over here at KAHEA! Out of our little offices in Honolulu, we're blogging news items, observations, ruminations, and funny business--all part of keeping a vigilant public informed! E komo mai! Come check out our blog at: http://blog.kahea.org.

The strength of grassroots movements is in informed people, and what makes the difference is YOU!

Choice bits: We've got Miwa's thought's on KAHEA's recent efforts to fully enforce protections for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It's all about respect, man.

KAHEA'S Legislative Watch 2008
The Hawaii State Legislature is now session. Here are a few of the issues we're watching. Good governances relies on a vigilant public! You can participate by submitting your testimony in support of much-needed protections for all we love about Hawai`i nei:

SAVE HALOA: Click here to get information on the proposed moratorium on the genetic modification and patenting of Kalo (taro).

`Ae Kai! Malama Our Shorelines: Click here to learn more about the proposals to address the loss of public pathways to the beach and to public trust resources throughout the islands.

NEEDED: MONUMENTAL VIGILANCE
Developing Plans to Protect & Manage Papahanaumokuakea
The world's largest marine protected area was established in 2006 after years of overwhelming public support for the strongest possible protections. Today, we need to follow through on this public victory, by continuing to stay engaged in the process to develop plans to protect this rare coral reef ecosystem.

Please check back regularly for updates about the Monument Management Plan, the Natural Resources Science Plan, and efforts to mitigate expanded naval war games in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Support Responsible Science for the NWHI: Research in the NWHI must be conservation-driven, culturally appropriate, and protective of this fragile public trust resource!
Learn more about how you can support Responsible Science!

A MUST READ: "Uncertain Peril" is a powerful reminder that what’s at stake right now is nothing less than the nature of the future.

“If we want to save places, people, or plants, we have to remember their stories. In their stories are the details of their natural and social history and, most importantly, the meaning they have for our lives...The reason traditional cultures are so important to the world right now is that they still know how to remember their stories. ” - C.H. Cummings, chapter 10.

Learn More Here.

Sign on to the DEFEND SCIENCE Statement and express your commitment to fair and unbias research and the freedom of scientists to speak their minds. Politics should not interfere with science.

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