State says Military Training at Pohakuloa Not Compatible with Conservation Land!
Hurrah! Bravo! Finally! Better late than never! Bombing and desecrating the aina at Pohakuloa has got to stop. It’s been going on far too long. Now the State of Hawaii Dept. of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is saying what activists have been saying for decades.
The DLNR statement was made public by Hawaii News Now reporter Mahealani Richardson. According to the news report, the DLNR’s Office of Conservation and Coastal Land issued a June 7 document in response to the Army’s draft EIS statement. The Army wants to renew its 65-year lease, which expires in 2029. Currently, the Army is paying a grand total of $1 for the 65-year lease of 23,000 acres of State land at Pohakuloa. The OCCL document said, “Military use that involves maneuvers, ammunition, artillery and mortar systems, depleted uranium, explosives, firing points, hazardous materials and waste, live fire, unexploded ordnance, and weapons systems do not appear to be consistent with the Conservation District.” It added, “The OCCL was alarmed at the number of previous dump sites on the state-leased land. It is inappropriate to conduct this type of warfare practice upon Conservation District land adjacent to areas designated as critical habitat for the palila; and a recreational campground for the people of Hawaii.” The state documents said the Army’s draft EIS does not meet requirements and has major gaps. https://tinyurl.com/5urwa4py
Over the years, live fire at the 133,000-acre Pohakuloa Training Area, located in the dry, windy, Saddle Area in the center of Hawaii Island, has been the source of numerous brush fires. What toxins are blowing in the wind, dust, and smoke of those fires? For decades, Malu Aina has been calling for high-tech air filter monitors (at military expense) around PTA to see what military toxins are coming off the base. To date, nothing has been done. It’s time for action!
Besides canceling, or not renewing, the PTA state lease, it is also time to cancel the Presidential Executive Order of 1964 that gave the military 84,000 acres of land at PTA for zero cost. Canceling the Presidential Order in 1990 for military lands on Kaho’olawe, after years of Hawaiian protest, is what officially stopped the bombing there and resulted in Kaho’olawe being returned to the State.
Stop the Bombing! Shut Down PTA! Clean Up the Military mess!
1. Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject violence & war as solutions. 3. Defend civil liberties.
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5. Seek peace through peaceful means and work for justice in Hawai`i and around the world. Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola'a (Kurtistown), Hawai’i 96760 Phone (808) 966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org to receive our posts. For more information http://www.malu-aina.org
August 19, 2022, Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet – week 1090– Fridays 3:30-5PM downtown Post
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