Regarding the 鈥榣ack of progress鈥� at Pohoiki
John Burnett鈥檚 article on Jan. 11 was enlightening. What wasn鈥檛 made plain is the definition of 鈥渞estoration鈥� in the context of Pohoiki. A failed project spent $10 million-plus to dredge a boat channel through black sand and cobbles created and deposited by Pele in 2018. Seems that the wise thing to do is provide water, septic, and electricity, campsites, picnic shelters, etc., and reopen the park. Period.
If 鈥渞estoration鈥� means remove all the black sand and cobbles, reopen the boat ramp, and provide swimming as it was pre-2018, then that wa鈥榓 has sailed.
Pelehonuamea is ever-present in Puna. Her work of creating 鈥榓ina shall continue. Roads, homes, infrastructure shall all disappear under her lava. We are owed nothing.
Pele is the chief, and we are her servants.
Get over yourselves. Stop wasting tax monies. Move on.
Bobby Camara
Keaau
The Mongoose: An ecological pirate
How often have we seen this weasel-appearing rodent streaking across roads and discovered scattered feathers and cracked eggshells as graphic evidence of its voracious appetite?
The mongoose, with its high reproductive capability and continued threat to 91直播鈥檚 biodiversity, ranks high on the invasive species scale.
The zenith of the sugar cane industry by 1883 had generated widespread crop damage by the resident rat population. To combat this, state authorities acted to introduce the mongoose, native to India and known for its skill at killing cobras.
It was soon validated the two species were not mixing, as rats are nocturnal and mongoose diurnal, or daytime predators. There was little impact to the rats, and mongooses soon expanded and were destroying the native 91直播an fauna, with notable effects on island biodiversity.
Some preventive measures have occurred, but clearly more is needed. One economic impact study indicated 鈥� that up to $50 million is caused annually by mongoose destruction.
As a 91直播an Paradise Park resident raising a small number of chickens and ducks, it has been necessary to dispose of more than 60 live-trapped mongooses.
One possible deterrent could be county or state endorsement of a trial measure to offer a small bounty for mongoose tails. The bounty practice has existed for years in mainland states for specific predator types.
Who knows, a small fiscal investment might become one positive step toward helping salvage 91直播鈥檚 native wildlife.
James N. Barker
Keaau