HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

67

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING THE STATE ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL, THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES, THE SIERRA CLUB, HAWAI`I CHAPTER, THE LAND USE RESEARCH FOUNDATION, THE CONSERVATION COUNCIL OF HAWAI`I, THE ESTATE OF JAMES CAMPBELL, EARTHJUSTICE LEGAL DEFENSE FUND, THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI`I, AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES, TO ANALYZE POTENTIAL AMENDMENTS TO HAWAI`I'S ENDANGERED SPECIES LAW, CHAPTER 195D, HAWAII REVISED STATUTES, TO FURTHER THE GOALS OF PROTECTING AND PROMOTING THE RECOVERY OF HAWAI`I'S UNIQUE AND IMPERILED FLORA AND FAUNA.

 

 

WHEREAS, Hawai`i has been referred to as the "endangered species capital of the world"; and

WHEREAS, Hawai`i is home to over three hundred endangered and threatened species; and

WHEREAS, once an endangered species is pushed to extinction, it represents an irreparable loss to both Hawai`i's natural heritage and the Earth's biodiversity; and

WHEREAS, in 1997, the Legislature amended Chapter 195D, Hawaii Revised Statutes to provide private landowners with incentives to promote the conservation and recovery of threatened and endangered species and their habitats; and

WHEREAS, after five years of experience with the 1997 amendments, it is appropriate and necessary to evaluate how effective the amendments are to serve Chapter 195D's fundamental goal of enhancing the prospects for survival and recovery of Hawai`i's imperiled flora and fauna; and

WHEREAS, since the 1997 amendments were designed to encourage private landowners to protect imperiled species, they cannot and should not be mechanically applied to public entities, which have public trust responsibilities and affirmative mandates to promote species conservation; and

WHEREAS, appropriate checks and balances are essential to ensure that incentives actually promote the conservation of threatened and endangered species and to prevent the intentional or unintentional actions of landowners – public or private – from pushing species to the brink of extinction; and

WHEREAS, a working group should be established to examine potential amendments to Chapter 195D, Hawaii Revised Statutes to further the goals of protecting and promoting the recovery of Hawai`i's unique and imperiled flora and fauna; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, that the State Environmental Council, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Sierra Club, Hawai`i Chapter, the Land Use Research Foundation, the Conservation Council of Hawai`i, the Estate of James Campbell, Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, the University of Hawai`i, and other interested parties, are requested to form a working group to discuss and analyze potential amendments to Hawai`i's endangered species law, Chapter 195D, Hawaii Revised Statutes to further the goals of protecting and promoting the recovery of Hawai`i's unique and imperiled flora and fauna; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State Environmental Council is requested to report to the Legislature on the progress of the working group no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2003; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the State Environmental Council, the Director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Director of the Sierra Club, Hawai`i Chapter, the Executive Director of the Land Use Research Foundation, the Executive Director of the Conservation Council of Hawai`i, the Chief Executive Officer of the Estate of James Campbell, the Managing Attorney of the Honolulu office of the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, and the President and the Chairperson of the Board of Regents of the University of Hawai`i.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Endangered Species; Chapter 195D, H.R.S.; Effectiveness