Report Title:

Hawaii Caves Task Force

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

94

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

requesting THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO ESTABLISH a task force to gather public input and recommend statutory cave law.

 

WHEREAS, Hawaii has an underlying network of complex volcanic tubes that are as unique as the Islands' external beauty; and

WHEREAS, some of these caves were used by pre-contact Hawaiians as burial caves, are marked with petroglyphs, and show evidence of other cultural uses; and

WHEREAS, these caves are home to unique ecosystems and forms of life, including endemic and endangered species, that have adapted to the environment; and

WHEREAS, unlike other states, Hawaii has no statute regarding cave law that prevents them from being damaged or misused; and

WHEREAS, without statutory protection, this unique resource of complex volcanic tubes containing delicately balanced flora and fauna and irreplaceable cultural features may be forever destroyed; and

WHEREAS, issues such as property rights and liability need to be resolved; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's caves are being increasingly used as tourist attractions, and this type of use may be incompatible with environmental and cultural preservation; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Land and Natural Resources has expressed its interest in providing greater protection to these sites but is uncertain of its authority to control or limit access, especially when the tubes cross various property lines and the activities do not involve land use changes or development; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Land and Natural Resources has expressed its willingness to convene a Hawaii Caves Task Force, provided that the Historic Preservation Division's budget, LNR 802, is fully funded according to the administration's budget request; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to establish a task force of stakeholders to devise a workable statutory plan for ownership and use of Hawaii's caves; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Caves Task Force is requested to include:

(1) The Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources or the Chairperson's designee,

(2) An environmentalist from the Department of Land and Natural Resources,

(3) One member from each island's burial council,

(4) At least one owner of land overlying a cave, and

(5) Other stakeholders and experts as chosen by the Chairperson; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chairperson or Chairperson's designee is requested to convene the first task force meeting no later than thirty days after the last day of the Regular Session of 2001; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Caves Task Force is requested to travel to the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii to seek public input on appropriate cave law, and submit a report of their findings to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2002; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report is requested to include, but not be limited to, considerations of cave ownership and related property rights, the interests of the State and the Hawaiian community, as well as questions of access, trespass, and liability; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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