Encompassing a stretch of over 175 miles of 91直播 Island’s western and southern coasts, the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail system has expanded in recent years as the National Park Service has acquired more land to preserve cultural and natural resources along the route.
NPS is now seeking input from the community on how to manage one of those acquisitions: Kauleoli, a 95-acre area on the South Kona coast. NPS is in the early stages of developing a long-term management plan for the land and is seeking to actively involve local communities.
“Kauleoli is a place with deep history and meaning for many families in South Kona,” Aric Arakaki, superintendent of the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, said in a statement. “We hope this planning process will bring people together to share their knowledge, perspectives and ideas for how this special place should be cared for into the future.”
Arakaki told the Tribune-Herald that members of the community — many of whom have ancestral ties to the land — were the ones pushing for NPS to acquire the unit.
“We support them, we support these families, we support these acquisitions,” he said. “We put information to these families on cultural, natural resources on the land, so that they can make a case for it, and then also preserve and protect what they have.”
He said one of the goals of acquiring land like Kauleoli is to prevent development on culturally significant sites.
“It’s all about valuing our antiquities, valuing our history, and the places associated with that history, the places where the history was made … we need more of that,” Arakaki said.
While Kauleoli is bordered by Ki‘ilae Farms, an existing gated community, Arakaki said NPS was able to purchase several of the subdivision’s lots and that the developer has been a “good partner” in supporting their efforts.
Due to the location of Kauleoli, it can currently only be accessed by the public on foot, something which Arakaki said has pros and cons.
“Because you can only walk through it, that’s already helpful in terms of keeping that ambience and managing that area,” he said. “Some of the challenges are that we would like to be able to get school kids down there, get kupuna down there. … So how do we do that? What do people in the community want to see in the future?”
He said he views community involvement as key to developing a successful management plan for Kauleoli.
“It’s so important to establish trust, and that’s only when you engage with communities, and it takes time, as they say, things move at the speed of trust,” he said. “Long-term relations is really the key to working with communities and being around and being in for the long haul.”
NPS held a community meeting in April to share ideas for Kauleoli and gather input. He said that around 20 people attended and were largely in favor of maintaining the land as it is, but also opening it up for educational purposes.
“People don’t want to see much change. People want to see the sites preserved and protected, but people do want access,” Arakaki said. “But again, we’re just … gathering information.”
Arakaki said NPS will be hosting another virtual meeting at noon on May 13. Information on how to join will be posted on the project website.
Those interested can also submit public comments online through the project website, which will be open until May 15. However, Arakaki said NPS is always receptive to community feedback and stressed that the plan is in preliminary stages and there will be more opportunities for public comment as it moves forward.
A draft of the management plan is expected to be completed by August.
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Email Grace Inez Adams at grace.adams@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
