Vultures in
THE HAWAII NATURE CONSERVANCY
The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those
who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves,
is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.
- Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
Sightings from The Catbird Seat
~ o ~
October 17, 2008
Duncan MacNaughton Tapped to Lead Nature Conservancy Board
Conservancy Well-Positioned to "Usher in New Era of Conservation"
HONOLULU, HI — Duncan MacNaughton, founding partner and chairman of The MacNaughton Group, has been elected chair of the Board of Trustees for The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i, the organization announced today.
MacNaughton, who has served on the Conservancy’s board since 1994, succeeds David Cole, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Maui Land & Pineapple Co., Inc., who chaired the Hawai‘i Board for the past four years.
“It is with great pleasure that I pass the reins of the Conservancy’s Hawai‘i program to Duncan McNaughton,” Cole said. “I have great respect for Duncan’s commitment to Hawai‘i and the thoughtful, strategic approach he brings to conservation. His knowledge and leadership will ensure the success of the Conservancy’s mission for years to come.”
MacNaughton was raised in the islands and attended Punahou School and Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy. He graduated from Colorado College and began a career in real estate development in 1967 with the Dillingham Corporation.
As chairman of The MacNaughton Group, he has been involved in developing a variety of successful Hawaii-based retail and condominium properties around the State and all Blockbuster, Starbucks, Jamba Juice and P.F. Chang locations in the islands. In addition to The Nature Conservancy, he serves on the boards of Punahou School and Hawaii Preparatory Academy.
“The Conservancy has been fortunate throughout its history to have board chairs who are deeply committed to conservation and to the overall betterment of Hawai‘i,” said Suzanne Case, the Hawai‘i Program's Executive Director. “Duncan MacNaughton continues a tradition started by Sam Cooke and carried forward by Bill Mills, Jeff Watanabe and David Cole. He will be a tremendous asset both for our organization and conservation statewide.”
During Cole’s tenure, the Conservancy partnered with Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. to create the State’s third largest private nature preserve at spectacular Wainiha Valley on Kaua‘i; initiated fellowship programs in both forest and marine conservation to train the next generation of conservation leaders in Hawai‘i; and developed new innovative conservation tools, including remote sensing cameras to map invasive weeds on Kaua‘i, and the “Super Sucker” underwater vacuum cleaner to remove alien algae from coral reefs. In addition, the Conservancy established a research station on Palmyra Atoll where the world’s leading scientists can study climate change, disappearing coral reefs and other global threats.
“The Conservancy is well positioned to continue advancing the cause of conservation, especially during this time of uncertainty and change,” MacNaughton said. “Energy use, sustainability and climate change have become global priorities. Now more than ever, it is critical to have strong environmental leadership. The Conservancy’s proven track record of success puts us in a key position to usher in this new era of conservation.”
The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide.
The Nature Conservancy Press Release
August 2, 2008
Hawaii tourism chief's X-rated
e-mails may cost him his job
Adult-oriented material discovered in
Johnson's agency e-mail account
By DERRICK DePLEDGE & ROBBIE DINGEMAN, Advertiser
Rex Johnson, the president and chief executive officer of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, is being urged by the authority's board of directors to resign after adult-oriented material was found in his government e-mail account.
The board discussed the matter Tuesday in executive session and two board members later approached Johnson about his possible resignation. The board's administrative standing committee has scheduled an executive session regarding Johnson on Wednesday afternoon.
"It was a huge mistake," Johnson said in an interview yesterday. "I have apologized for my actions to the board."
Johnson acknowledged receiving adult-oriented e-mails on his government account and forwarding the e-mails to friends, whom he described as "fishing and baseball buddies" who often exchange jokes to keep in touch. He said the e-mails were not sent to business contacts.
Johnson said he understands his actions were an unauthorized use of state computers and contrary to state personnel guidelines against accessing or downloading sexually explicit material. But he said he does not believe it should cost him his job.
"I don't believe so," Johnson said. "But others may feel that it should."
Kelvin Bloom the chairman of the authority's board of directors, said he has been instructed by legal counsel not to discuss the matter because it involves personnel.
"The board has the full range of options from dismissal to 'get back to work,' " Johnson said.
Several state lawmakers, including state House Speaker Calvin Say, D-20th (St. Louis Heights, Palolo Valley, Wilhelmina Rise), state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha), and state Senate Vice President Donna Mercado Kim, D-14th (Halawa, Moanalua, Kamehameha Heights), have given their support to Johnson even though they disapprove of his actions.
Board meeting urged
Mercado Kim said through a spokesman that she personally contacted five board members, including Bloom, and asked them to hold a meeting of the full board where Johnson could explain himself. At least two other senators either personally or had their staff contact board members on Johnson's behalf.
While embarrassing, lawmakers said, they question whether Johnson's actions warrant his resignation or firing given his experience and the challenges facing the tourism industry during the economic downturn.
"I believe that he is definitely entitled to due process," Hanabusa said. "I believe that he should have this discussion with his full board.
"Yes, it showed bad judgment, but the question becomes whether this is something that whoever it is that's pressuring him to resign — whether it's the whole board or bits of the board or whatever it may come out to be — whether this is something that warrants that decision."
Tourism advocate
Say said Johnson has been an effective advocate for tourism at the Legislature. The speaker said the board should consider allowing Johnson to continue, given the slump in tourism. "At this point, step back, breathe in a little," he said.
State Rep. Ryan Yamane, D-37th (Waipahu, Mililani), the chairman of the House Tourism and Culture Committee, said he questions whether changing leadership now is the right move but, like Say and others, said he is not trying to unduly influence the board.
"As chair, I would like to know how they plan to respond to or deal with the loss of somebody like Mr. Johnson as the head of HTA. You cannot, during this time in our industry, you can't just remove somebody and think that putting somebody else in their place is going to start them off where they left off.
"There's a learning curve."
Ongoing probe
Johnson's e-mails were discovered by the state auditor as part of an ongoing investigation of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and an audit of the HTA's major contractors.
The tourism authority is under the DBEDT umbrella, but is governed by an appointed board with 12 voting members and four nonvoting members; Gov. Linda Lingle's tourism liaison and the directors of the state Department of Transportation, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.
The e-mails, which contain X-rated movie clips, slideshows and photographs of adult nudity, fall outside the scope of the auditor's investigations but she reported it in late June to the Lingle administration and House and Senate leaders.
Johnson, who earns $240,000 a year, is evaluated annually by the board.
Johnson is known as a risk-taker and for his candor and he has sometimes clashed with those who prefer rosy optimism about the state's dominant private industry.
Lingle's appointment of Marsha Wienert as tourism liaison was widely seen in political and tourism circles as a way for the governor to have a larger voice on tourism, since Johnson reports to the board, not the governor.
Waihee cabinet member
Johnson previously served as the director of the state Department of Transportation under then-Gov. John Waihee and also as a leader with the Hawai'i Community Development Authority.
Just before he took over at the tourism authority in 2002, he was director of facilities at the Research Corporation of the University of Hawai'i, which was responsible for the planning and building of the university's new medical school. Previously, he had been executive director for the Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i.
In 2003, another tourism leader was criticized for personal conduct. Tony Vericella, then-president of the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau, apologized after the state auditor found that he had spent $670 in taxpayer money to pay for parking and speeding tickets, in-room hotel movies and other personal expenses.
Vericella acknowledged that the spending was improper and paid the money back. He resigned shortly after the audit.
Hawaii tourism chief's X-rated e-mails may cost him his job ...
* * * UPDATE * * *
November 5, 2008
Johnson to receive $291,000
Settlement follows his forced resignation
as chief of tourism board
By Curtis Lum. Advertiser Staff Writer
Former Hawai'i Tourism Authority chief Rex Johnson will receive more than $291,000 in severance and vacation pay as the result of a negotiated settlement with the HTA board.
The board yesterday released the terms of an amended employment agreement with Johnson, who was forced to resign on Oct. 8 after it was discovered that he had used his state computer to forward pornographic, racist and sexist e-mails.
Johnson had 10 months remaining on his contract and board members had to decide how much severance pay he would receive.
The HTA board said it would honor the terms of the contract and pay Johnson the balance owed to him through Aug. 20, 2009. He will receive nearly $10,000 a week, or $208,181, plus 722 hours of unused vacation, which will be paid at a rate of $115.38 an hour, or $83,304.
Johnson's original contract had called for him not to be paid for unused vacation if he failed to give a 30-day notice. That clause was removed in the amended agreement.
The turmoil surrounding the agency comes as the tourism industry is experiencing double-digit declines in visitor arrivals and spending from a year ago. Last week, the state reported September visitor arrivals plunged 19.5 percent in September from the same month a year earlier. And on Monday an industry consulting group reported hotel occupancy in September was the lowest since the months following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Kelvin Bloom, HTA chairman, said he hopes the agency can now move forward with its mission to promote the state to the world.
"Recognizing the need for HTA to focus on more significant tourism issues without further distraction, the board has concluded this matter as expeditiously as possible," Bloom said in a statement.
In August, Johnson survived an attempt to oust him over the pornographic e-mail, but the HTA board cut his annual pay by $40,000 to $200,000 and shortened his four-year contract to one year.
But when the existence of the racist and sexist jokes was uncovered, Johnson and the HTA board faced harsh criticism from civic groups, community leaders and Gov. Linda Lingle, who demanded that Johnson resign or be fired.
Following hours of closed-door meetings, the board last month accepted Johnson's resignation. The former director of the Department of Transportation in the Waihee administration had headed the HTA since 2002.
A day after his resignation, the HTA named its chief administrative officer, Lloyd Unebasami, as interim president and chief executive officer. The search for a permanent president began immediately and the next step was to determine Johnson's severance pay.
May 30, 2008
Maui offers land tips to Chinese
A delegation uses a tour to learn
how to manage resources
By Gary T. Kubota, Star-Bulletin
HALEAKALA, Maui » A Chinese delegation visited an East Maui watershed and Haleakala National Park on the last part of its month-long tour to learn about conservation efforts in the United States.
Lucy Yu, representing the Beijing office of the Nature Conservancy, said China recognizes the importance of preserving its natural and cultural heritage.
"It's one of the main objectives for the whole nation," she said. "They are totally focused on it."
Yu said the objective of the tour was to learn about conservation practices and to develop a close partnership with various conservation groups in the United States.
Some 30 nature reserve managers from China hiked yesterday morning into the Waikamoi Preserve, a 5,230-acre watershed that is home to an ohia forest and native birds including the amakihi, apapane and iiwi.
The group later visited Haleakala National Park, where they learned about efforts to control alien species and restore native areas.
Earlier this month the group toured a number of parks and reserves on the mainland, including the Adirondacks in northern New York and Yosemite National Park in California.
China forestry official Guo Hongyan, chief of the Chinese delegation, said she was glad to be in the United States and to learn about the country's conservation efforts.
Guo said China has been making strides in protecting nature areas but was aware it needed to learn more to acquire the skills and knowledge to manage its resources.
She said the group was deeply impressed with the U.S. legal framework of environmental laws.
During the tour at Haleakala, park officials emphasized the need to preserve a native ecosystem, including plants.
Ron Nagata, chief of the park's resource management, said part of the strategy included the elimination of alien species plants that would block the growth of native plants.
Nagata said once the alien plants are eliminated, the native plants begin to flower and attract native insects and birds.
The visit is part of the China Protected Areas Leadership Alliance Project, a training partnership involving the China State Forestry Administration, the Nature Conservancy China Program, East-West Center and Tsinghua University's School of Public Policy and Management.
The Chinese government has set aside 15 percent of its land as "protected areas," including nature reserves and national parks. China has some 2,369 nature reserves, Yu said....
http://starbulletin.com/2008/05/30/news/story09.html
COMMENTS:
Richard Swann, Tempe, AZ
Some of the landslides in the recent Chinese earthquake may have been caused by deforestation. A lot of damage is still done in the USA by logging companies clearcutting on steep slopes.
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The Whistler, Winchester, KY
Yep. The Chinese really need our help conserving their "protected areas" -- not to mention supplying them with uranium and building their nuclear plants and supplying them classified information for their rocket programs.
For more of our "helping hands across the seas", book a flight on Northwest Airlines for a look at The Nature Conservancy:
http://www.kycbs.net/Nature-Conservancy-Hawai...
Mahalo!
~ ~ ~
More “protected areas”?...
May 15, 2008
China anger over 'shoddy schools'
BBC News
The shoddy construction of school buildings may be to blame for the high number of child casualties in China's earthquake, according to state media.
Tens of thousands of people have been buried in collapsed buildings following Monday's quake, many of them children.
The China Daily newspaper said questions needed to be raised about the structural quality of school buildings.
There have been frequent allegations of corruption in China's boom-fuelled construction industry.
Regulations
China adopted strict building codes after more than 240,000 people died in an earthquake in Tangshan in the country's north-east in 1976. There few buildings had been built to withstand earthquakes, and thousands were destroyed.
But BBC correspondents in China say there is concern about corners being cut to siphon off money in the construction industry - especially in rural areas.
In Dujiangyun hundreds of students are feared dead in the rubble of the Juyuan Middle School, where more than 50 bodies have been pulled out.
The school collapsed, but other nearby buildings withstood the earthquake.
One man told the AFP news agency: "I'll tell you why the school collapsed. It was shoddily built. Someone wanted to save money".
One mother told reporters there were doubts about the construction of the school.
''It was built in a very short time. They added one floor at a time, and continued building as they had money for it. So the base was not made for several floors. It was too weak."
"The whole building collapsed, straight down, hardly without shaking, even,'' she said....
Parents and grandparents mourn their children
And a newly-built primary school nearby also collapsed, leaving 100 children and teachers dead or missing.
Julian Bommer, Professor of Earthquake Risk Assessment at Imperial College, London told the BBC that the issue was one of enforcement.
"Countries in earthquake zones need rigorous inspection regimes to monitor the building regulations they introduce," he said
The state-run China Daily newspaper told readers in an editorial that if the school collapses were due to shoddy compliance with building codes the authorities should act with "firm resolve".
"We cannot afford not to raise uneasy questions about the structural quality of school buildings," it said.
The BBC's Dan Griffiths, in Sichuan, says that one effect of China's rapid economic growth is that some areas of the country have been thrown up with little regard for normal building codes.
And the grief of parents is all the greater, he says, because of China's one-child policy. "In some town's an entire generation may have been lost", he says.
The state news agency Xinhua reported that at least 1,000 students were dead or missing at the Beichuan Middle School in the city of Mianyang.
And at another school in Sichuan province's Qingchuan county where school children were taking a nap when the earthquake demolished a three-story building, 178 children were confirmed dead in the rubble and another 23 were missing, Xinhua said....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/7400524.stm
From: "Carole Williams"
To: "Bobby Harmon"
Subject: MI Uranium to be used in Chinese nuclear plants? (U.P.)
Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:47:06 -0400
FYI... This might help you connect some more dots, particurlary as to why some of the players in the Kamehameha Schools Trust Fund "intrigue" wanted to get their hands on a lot of acreage in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan so it could eventually be flipped to the State and then to the Nature Conservancy.
http://www.michiganmessenger.com/userDiary.do?personId=7
~ ~ ~
April 14, 2008
Michigan uranium to be used
in Chinese nuclear plants?
by: Eartha Jane Melzer
Cameco Corp., the Canadian uranium company that is partnered with Bitterroot Resources Ltd. and Trans Superior Resources Inc. to explore for uranium in Michigan's western Upper Peninsula, is negotiating with China to supply uranium for power plants.
Desperate for energy and struggling with air pollution from coal-fired power plants, China plans to build 14 new nuclear reactors in the next five years, according to Steve Halpern of http://www.thestockadvisors.com .
Nuclear power development is an "unstoppable trend," Halpern wrote, and "more than any other company in the world, Cameco is the most direct beneficiary of the build-out of nuclear plants."
On Wednesday Bloomberg reported that shares of Cameco rose after Chinese officials with China National Nuclear Corp. met with Cameco to discuss Canadian acquisitions and partnerships. Cui Jianchun, general manager of the CNNC Finance Co., reportedly said that China is considering takeovers and uranium supply agreements that range in value from ``several hundred million dollars to more than a billion.''
~ ~ ~
Other links of interest
http://www.kaiserbottomfish.com/s/Trackers.asp?ReportID=89301&_Title=Tracker-2004-06-Bitterroots-Michigan-uranium-play (map included of Bitterroot's Michigan "play")
http://www.savethewildup.org/facts/?id=403 NIMBY report (Not In My Back Yard)
http://www.newswithviews.com/Williams/carole4.htm info about Bitterroot and Cameco's joint venture in the western U.P. Trans Superior Resources is a subsidiary of Bitterroot. I'm sure the Silver River Reserve is part of the "Voyager Lands".
* * * * *
Google for more goodies...
www.google.com/search?en&q=nature+conservancy+hawaii+earmarks
www.google.com/search?en&q=nature+conservancy+catbird+seat
www.google.com/search?en&q=hawaii+nature+conservancy+kurren
www.google.com/search?en&q=hawaii+nature+conservancy+savio
www.google.com/search?en&q=hawaii+nature+conservancy+paulson
www.google.com/search?en&q=hawaii+nature+conservancy+oha
www.google.com/search?en&q=hawaii+nature+conservancy+kamehameha
www.google.com/search?en&q=hawaii+nature+conservancy+lingle
www.google.com/search?en&q=hawaii+nature+conservancy+cayetano
www.google.com/search?en&q=hawaii+nature+conservancy+waihee
* * * * *
January 29, 2008
Bills in Legislature aim
to protect Ka Iwi Coast
By Kim Fassler and Suzanne Roig, Honolulu Advertiser
MAKAPU'U — A controversial proposal to build vacation cabins across from the Ka Iwi Coast is spurring legislative measures designed to preserve the land from development.
The bills target two parcels: a valley behind the Hawai'i Kai Golf Course and the land across from the entrance to the Makapu'u Lighthouse trail. Developer QRM LLC wants to build 180 cabins on the parcels, which are across from the Ka Iwi Scenic Wilderness area.
Measures introduced this session in the state House include a bill that asks the state Land Use Commission to reclassify the area from urban to conservation land. Another measure would set aside money to purchase the remaining undeveloped land in Hawai'i Kai and preserve it as open space.
Hearings have not been set yet on any of the measures before the House and Senate.
The legislation is part of a "multipronged approach" to prevent East O'ahu from becoming "a tourist attraction," said state Rep. Gene Ward, R-17th (Kalama Valley, Queen's Gate, Hawai'i Kai), who introduced several bills to stop the Ka Iwi development.
"Nobody wants this, and there's no reason this should be a reality," said Ward.
State Sen. Clayton Hee, D-23rd (Kane'ohe, Kahuku), chairman of the Senate Water and Land Committee, introduced a measure to extend the park boundaries to include the two pieces of land by using the Legacy Lands fund or public-private partnerships.
"When you look at the exponential development on O'ahu, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that people will cherish open spaces," Hee said. "On an island like O'ahu, open space is becoming so much more of a precious commodity."
OTHER LAND BUYS
Buying land and preserving it as open space is not without precedent along East Honolulu, the only open and accessible coastline except for Ka'ena Point on O'ahu. The city in 2003 paid $5.4 million in cash and a land swap for two parcels, totaling 32 acres, across from Sandy Beach.
And after disputes dating back to the 1970s, the state paid $12.8 million to Kamehameha Schools to purchase 600 acres along the south shore at Queen's Beach.
Dollar figures were not included in the current Ka Iwi bills. But QRM's attorney, Bill McCorriston, said the land is worth about $20 million.
McCorriston, reacting to the legislative proposals, said, "It seems like everyone's against something without any concrete proposal to work something out."
QRM Inc. wants to build 181 800-square-foot vacation cabins with lanai, recreational centers, pools and tennis courts. All would be secondary use to recreation, the primary land use allowed on preservation-zoned land.
FIRST PLAN REJECTED
This is the second time the developer has put forth plans for 181 acres, called Queen's Rise and Manu'uwai.
The first plans were rejected by the city in 2006. The developer plans to reapply with the city after the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board discusses the issue at 7 tonight at the Haha'ione Elementary School cafeteria.
Several residents and visitors said they support preserving the area.
"I've lived here all my life and I've seen so many changes, just in Hawai'i Kai alone," said Rielle Rasmussen, a Hawai'i Kai resident. "It's enough. This is the last bit of open space."
Eve Anderson, a member of the Save Queen's Beach and Save Sandy Beach groups, said: "We have to protect it somehow. We need to preserve natural open space."...
Looking at the view, Liz Watson, who was on vacation from Lake Tahoe, said any development in the area would mar the scenic beauty.
"It would be a shame to have something like vacation cabins on this side of the island," Watson said.
"It's quiet, pristine and beautiful. It's so important to preserve open space for hiking and biking and just for fun."
House Finance Chair Marcus Oshiro said his committee will need to weigh the request against others, including Gov. Linda Lingle's proposed purchase of Turtle Bay on the North Shore, where five hotels are being planned with 3,500 rooms and condominium units and four public parks....
Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.
www.kycbs.net/Ka-Iwi-Coast.mht
< < < NON-PARTISAN FLASHBACK < < <
WILLIAM J. CLINTON FOUNDATION
Speech: William J. Clinton’s remarks at the Goldman Sachs & Company 2004 Global Conference
December 3, 2004
New York, NY
Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, Hank, for that wonderful introduction. I probably should quit while I’m ahead. [LAUGHTER] And thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for the warm welcome.
I admire Hank Paulson very much for many things. His interest in Asia and our long-term relationship with the Asian Pacific community and particularly his leadership of the Nature Conservancy, some of you may not be familiar with it, but it is the principal private organization facilitating the preservation of precious natural land in the United States, and increasingly, in other places on the globe. I don’t think I ever told Hank this. But when I was the Governor of Arkansas, we used the Nature Conservancy more than any other State in the country.
I also want thank the people at Goldman Sachs, many of whom have contributed to the work of my Foundation, and the work we do around the world to try to fight AIDS and extend economic opportunity, to promote education and citizen service and to try to bridge the racial and religious divides that still bedevil the world. And I want thank Goldman Sachs for hiring at least a dozen people, who worked in the White House and other places in the administration. I was worried about what all those young people were going to do when we left office. [LAUGHS] So I am deeply in your debt....
www.kycbs.net/Clinton-Speech-2004-Global-Conference.htm
Kamehameha Schools and Nature Conservancy
Team Up to Protect Lumaha‘i Valley on Kauai
Honolulu -- The Nature Conservancy has signed an agreement with Kamehameha Schools to manage the native forest in the back of Lumaha‘i Valley on the north shore of Kaua‘i. Kamehameha Schools owns the property, which contains some of the best remaining native lowland forest in the state.
“This agreement is our first with Kamehameha Schools, and it’s one that we highly value,” said Suzanne Case, the Conservancy’s Executive Director in Hawaii. “Lumaha‘i Valley is incredibly beautiful and worthy of serious conservation efforts. Our shared goal is to ensure the long-term survival of this natural and cultural treasure.”
“Preservation of Hawaii’s native environment is critical to the understanding and perpetuation of Hawaiian culture,” said Neil Hannahs, Director of the Land Assets Division at Kamehameha Schools. “At Lumaha‘i, we have a chance to demonstrate how conservation and culture overlap.”
Lumaha‘i is one of the large windward valleys on the island of Kaua`i, extending far into the island’s undeveloped central region, the Alaka’i plateau. The valley’s terminus above 1,300 feet elevation represents some of the most well preserved native lowland wet forest in Hawai‘i. ‘Öhi‘a and dozens of other species of native trees cover the valley walls, while mämaki and other native shrubs and ferns clothe the stream banks.
According to Sam Gon III, Director of Science for the Conservancy, Hawai‘i has already lost more than half of its original native lowland forest, defined as forest below 3,000 feet. “The back portion of Lumaha‘i is as close to pristine as any lowland forest and stream system can get in the Hawaiian Islands,” he said. “There are very few places remaining where you can stand at low elevation in a river valley bottom and see native forest running from river edge to ridge top. This is Lumaha‘i. Its conservation value is immense.”
But the need to bring protective management to the site is great. Invasions of aggressive lowland weeds such as Australian tree fern, clidemia and strawberry guava coupled with the upward movement of goats and pigs from the lower valley threaten what is currently a gem of biological diversity.
“The back of the valley is in many places nearly 100% native forest and shrubland,” said Kalani Fronda, Asset Manager for the Land Assets Division at Kamehameha Schools. “Habitat modification is only in its early stages, but the time to stop it is now.”
“The current scope and severity of damage from pigs and goats is fairly limited,” said Trae Menard, the Conservancy’s Natural Resource Manager on Kaua‘i. “However, based on experience in other forests statewide, the number of feral animals will likely increase to damaging levels quickly if we don’t act now.”
Initial management efforts will focus on controlling priority weeds. In the future, management efforts will likely include the use of community volunteer hunters to reduce pig and goat populations, and the placement of a fence to protect the most remote and undisturbed management areas in the upper portion of the valley.
Flashbacks:
Lindsey: "Chun manipulated the budget to award unauthorized financial aid such as $55,000 to the UH Study Abroad Tour in 1993, $47,000 over three years to the Nature Conservancy and overspending by $1.5 million in 1995 and $691,000 in 1996 for aid to Kamehameha and non-Kamehameha students."
Chun: As schools' president, he used "appropriate discretion" to give educational opportunities to Hawaiians and overcommitted needed funds to ensure they were used by as many students as possible.
Funds for the Nature Conservancy in 1995 and 1996 were $26,000, not $47,000, and provided financial aid to four Hawaiian student interns there. Also, $27,000, not $57,000, was spent to support 18 students in the UH Study AbroadTour; all financial aid recipients met requirements of need, Hawaiian ancestry and academic standing.
He did not "manipulate the budget" but did allow the Financial Aid Department to overcommit its budget in 1995 and 1996 based on past underspending of budgeted funds and current industry practices.
"All well-administered post-secondary student financial aid offices award an amount of financial aid in excess of the budgeted amount," Paul Phillips, director of financial aid at California State University, wrote Kamehameha Schools.
Although the financial aid budgets were overspent for 1995 and 1996, the Education Group's budget was not -- and in fact was under budget by $2.3 million and $6.7 million, respectively.
http://starbulletin.com/98/03/03/news/story1.html
August 3, 2007
Timothy E. Johns Named
Bishop Museum President:
International Search Lands Damon Estate Exec
Honolulu, HI - Bishop Museum has named Timothy E. Johns as President, Director and Chief Executive Officer, effective October 1, 2007 . The announcement was made today by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, David Hulihe‘e....
“I am delighted to announce the appointment of Tim Johns as Bishop Museum ’s new President, Director and CEO,” said David Hulihe‘e, Chairman of Bishop Museum’s Board of Directors. “Tim has over two decades of leadership experience with environmental and cultural issues in Hawai‘i , which will serve well him as the leader of Hawai‘i ’s State museum of natural and cultural history. I couldn’t be more pleased.”
Bishop Museum was founded in 1889. It maintains the world’s largest collection of Hawaiian and Pacific cultural and natural history objects and since its founding has as been a premier institution for research and public education. It is designated as Hawai‘i ’s State Museum of Natural and Cultural History.
Johns most recently served as Chief Operating Officer for the Estate of Samuel Mills Damon, a position he has held since 2000. Prior to that, he was the Chairperson of the State Department of Land and Natural Resources. He has also served as Vice-President and General Counsel for AMFAC Property Development Corporation. He has been a Lecturer in Business Law at the University of Hawai‘i and Windward Community College and has held the position of Director of Land Protection with the Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i....
Johns is very active in environmental issues. His memberships include the State of Hawai‘i Board of Land and Natural Resources and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve Advisory Council. A Rotarian, Johns is a member of the Rotary Club of Honolulu....
Johns serves on the Board of Directors for Grove Farm Company, Inc., Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., YMCA Honolulu, Hawai‘i Nature Center, St. Andrew’s Priory School , Child and Family Services, Helping Hands Hawai‘i, Diamond Head Theatre, and Hawai‘i Public Television Foundation. In June 2005, he was named a Trustee of Parker Ranch Foundation Trust.
“We are delighted the Board of Directors has chosen a candidate with a deep commitment to the preservation and perpetuation of Hawaiian culture and respectful sensitivity to cultural issues. He is well known in the community and is held in high regard, and this will surely be beneficial in many ways,” said Betty Lou Kam, Vice President of Cultural Resources for Bishop Museum .
Johns was selected after a seven-month executive search by the international search organization Morris & Berger from Glendale , California. Founded in 1984, Morris and Berger is a generalist executive search firm that has developed a specialty practice serving the nonprofit sector, including performing and visual arts and institutions of higher learning....
Members of the Executive Search Committee included Bishop Museum Trustee Dr. Charman J. Akina (Chairman), David C. Hulihe‘e, Isabella A. Abbott, Ph.D., Haunani Apoliona, H. Mitchell D’Olier, Russell K. Okata, Gulab Watumull, Walter A. Dods, Jr., Allen Allison, Ph.D., and Amy Miller Marvin....
Johns will assume the top leadership position for the largest museum in the State of Hawai‘i in the midst of an unprecedented era of renovation and revitalization. Bishop Museum is presently undertaking a $21 million renovation of its iconic Hawaiian Hall complex with the support of world-class museum designer Ralph Appelbaum and Associates of New York.
In 2005, Bishop Museum opened the Richard T. Mamiya Science Adventure Center , an award-winning $17 million, 19,000-square-foot interactive science and cultural exploration center. Major traveling and cultural exhibitions are presented in the Castle Memorial Building year-round. Bishop Museum hosts nearly 400,000 visitors and students each year. Bishop Museum also administers the Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in Captain Cook, Hawai‘i and the Hawaii Maritime Center in Honolulu .
“I am thrilled and honored to be given the opportunity to join this wonderful institution. The Museum has long been one of Hawai‘i ’s most important and cherished treasures. It is blessed with a wonderful staff, great board of directors, and widespread support throughout our community. This is a dream job for me, “ says Timothy E. Johns, newly named President, Director and Chief Executive Officer of Bishop Museum.
http://www.bishopmuseum.org/media/2007/pr07081.html
From http://www.hawaiithreads.com
Miulang
September 25th, 2005
Oprah Winfrey (http://www.mauinews.com/story.aspx?id=12762) just announced that she would be purchasing a large tract of land from Hana Ranch and turning it into a preserve so that no one will ever be able to develop it. She has plans to put only one house on the 63 acres near Hamoa Beach, which means that 5 multimillion dollar minimansions will not be built. If she also allows locals to continue to use the area, that would be a big win for the people of Hana, who have seen many outsiders snap up land in the area and deny access to the places that locals have always been able to visit.
"...Winfrey will buy six lots covering 63 acres at Mokae, adjacent to Hamoa Beach, and she is expected to build a single residence there. The joint conservation project will be in the neighboring Haneoo and Hamoa districts.
In addition, the ranch is in ongoing discussions with Winfrey, the land trust and other landowners for a separate project adding 26 or more acres to an existing 42-acre conservation easement at Makaalae.
In a letter distributed to the Hana community on Friday, Hana Ranch Chief Operating Officer Dan Omer and Chief Executive Officer William Newsom said the arrangement would be “one of the most important private conservation efforts to occur on Maui.”
If the deal goes through and Winfrey builds at Mokae, she is expected to forego plans to build on a 102-acre Lehoula property she bought in 2002 with her friend and personal trainer Bob Greene.
The ranch’s announcement of its deal with Winfrey was greeted with elation by members of the Hana community contacted by The Maui News on Friday...."
If rich people have to buy up land in Hawai'i, let it be people like Oprah and Jason Scott Lee (on the Big Island), who want to preserve large parts of Hawai'i from development.
Miulang
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onocoffee
October 8th, 2005
I was chatting about Oprah awhile back with a friend on Maui and it seems that because Oprah paid so much for her property there it was causing a very dramatic rise in property taxes. So much so that it might force lifetime residents of Hana out because they can no longer afford the taxes.
Anyone know more about that situation?
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Miulang
October 8th, 2005
It's not Oprah per se and her purchases in Hana that are causing the problem because she will be turning the area into a conservation area so it can't be developed; it's all the other people who are moving in and buying up land to put their minimansions on them. Her land up in Kula is the same way; it was ranchland that she has kept undeveloped for the last 3 or 4 years....
Because of its relative isolation, the possibility of overdevelopment is reduced considerably, but what you will get instead are rich people moving in because they like the isolation....
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Rickyrab
October 13th, 2005