Hilo Listening Session
Hosted by Senators Donovan M. Dela Cruz,
Malama Solomon and Gilbert Kahele
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Waiakea High School Cafeteria
155 West Kawili Street, Hilo, Hawai’i 96720

Waimea Listening Session
Hosted by Senator Malama Solomon
10:30 am- 12:30 pm
Waimea Middle Public Conversion Charter School
67-1229 Mamalahoa Highway, Kamuela, Hawai’i 96743

Kona Listening Session
Hosted by DLNR
3:30 pm- 5:30 pm
Konawaena High School Cafeteria
81-1043 Konawaena School Road, Kealakekua, , Hawai’i 96750

If you are unable to attend but would like to send your comments, questions, and concerns to the DLNR please e-mail: DLNR2011ListeningSessions@hawaii.gov

Individuals requiring special assistance or accommodations are asked to contact the office of Senator Malama Solomon at (808) 586-7335 or 974-4000 Ext. 67335# toll free from the Neighor Islands at least four days in advance of the meeting.

HIAC_August_2011_3D_Shoot_Puu_Nene-

The aircraft to be used in the training:

CH-47 Chinook

UH-60 Black Hawk

A portion of the executive summary of the EA:

The U. S. Army Garrison-Hawai‘i (USAG-HI) prepared this environmental assessment (EA) to publicly disclose the results of an environmental impact analysis of High-Altitude Mountainous Environment Training (HAMET) for the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB), Hawai‘i. If approved, HAMET would train 90 helicopter pilots and crew for high-altitude missions in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan and to satisfy mandated annual training requirements.
The need for well-prepared aviation brigades to conduct combat operations in Afghanistan led the U.S. Army Forces Command to prioritize the development of standardized training for high-altitude (up to 14,000 ft [4,267 m]) mountainous conditions. HAMET was developed to ready experienced helicopter pilots for success in combat operations as part of their train-up for deployment under Operation Enduring Freedom. HAMET adapts the National Guard’s school for individual mountain helicopter training taught at the National Guard’s High-Altitude Aviation Training Site in Gypsum, Colorado, with helicopter training that individual Army CABs have been conducting as part of their regular training operations for the past several years.
Six alternatives are evaluated in this EA…

A map of the proposed flight path and LZ:

HAMET Map

Similar training has been done previously in 2003, 2004 and 2006. Although some of the previous training exercises involved land closure, the Army is not proposing that this time.

A video by Big Island Video News on Tuesday’s flight: Army Black Hawks over Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa

An earlier video: Military was high altitude training on Mauna Kea in 2003

The draft EA was published July 23, 2011. The public comment period is until August 23, 2011.

Comments can be made to:

NEPA PROGRAM USAG-HI,

Directorate of Public Works

Environmental Division (IMPC-HI-PWE)

948 Santos Dumont Avenue, Bldg. 105, Wheeler Army Airfield

Schofield Barracks, HI 96857-5013

or

hamet_nepa@portageinc.com

or

Phone: (208) 419-4176

Fax: (208) 523-8860

You can download the draft EA at: 2011-07-23-DEA-High-Altitude-Mountanous-Environment-Training

MKRUG will be reviewing the proposal and preparing comments. Your input will be greatly appreciated.

wayne@maunakearug.com or Mauna Kea Recreational Users Group, 447 Kalanianaole Ave, Hilo, HI, 96720

Agenda: Agenda_NAH_Statewide_AC-110728

Talk focuses on PTA expansion

Monday, July 11 1:02 am

By CAROLYN LUCAS-ZENK

Stephens Media

The Army is undertaking an environmental impact study for the expansion and modernization of Pohakuloa Training Area. It is expected to be completed by fall, said Lt. Col. Rolland “Chris” Niles, PTA commander.

Niles discussed PTA’s mission, vision, projects, partnerships and upcoming plans Sunday during the Kawaihae Local Resource Council’s monthly meeting at Hamakau Macadamia Nut Co. He also provided information about PTA’s natural resources and cultural programs, as well as presented the Army’s more than $250 million wish list of future projects, such as ammunition storage facilities, an aviation gunnery range, electrical upgrades and packaged sewer system.

Throughout his hour-long presentation, Niles stressed the need to provide home-station training for Hawaii-based troops as more return and are not deployed. He also mentioned how expensive it was to send local troops to the mainland for training.

The first proposed modernization the Army wants to pursue is the expansion of the infantry platoon battle area, which would include a course for soldiers on foot with objectives and targets, a live-fire “shoothouse,” and a 24-building military operations on urban terrain, or MOUT, site that replicates a village. The existing area is “undersized” and doesn’t meet current training requirements, Niles said.

Between 10,000 and 20,000 troops annually use PTA, including Army soldiers, Hawaii-based and transiting Marines and the Hawaii National Guard. The Army wants to be able to routinely handle a regiment or more. It’s hoping to begin construction on the estimated $29 million infantry platoon battle area in 2013, Niles said.

Increasing high-altitude mountainous environmental training for helicopter crews on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa is also being proposed. The conditions and landscape of these mountains are similar to Afghanistan, where operations routinely exceed 10,000 feet. The proposed training was determined to have “no significant impact” in an environmental assessment released in December. The training is “crucial” and helps prepare the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade for deployment, Niles said.

The Army wants to replace its 1950s-era Quonset hut barracks with energy efficient wooden structures. It’s also exploring the feasibility of a full-production well so it will have water security and won’t have to haul all its water up in trucks to its Big Island facilities — a task costing more than $3 million annually, Niles said.

Following Niles’ presentation, planner Jeff Melrose explained the process of creating administrative rules for public and commercial activities in the University of Hawaii management areas on Mauna Kea.

Two years ago, the Legislature mandated UH to establish these rules, intended to protect natural and cultural resources, as well as promote public health, safety and education. This process formalizes many operational guidelines already in effect and provides clarity on commercial activities like tours. It also will bring these rules into conformance with adjoining Natural Area Reserve and Forest Reserve rules, Melrose said.

Prior to developing administrative rules, UH created the Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan with four sub plans addressing public access, cultural resources management, natural resources management and decommissioning observatories. These plans were approved in 2009 by the Board of Land and Natural Resources and are available at malamamaunakea.org.

Melrose said the administrative rules are “data driven” and being created with the focus that “Mauna Kea is a public resource.” He anticipated the draft rules will be released early next year, also when public hearings will ocur.

Email Carolyn Lucas-Zenk at clucas-zenk@westhawaiitoday.com.

You may have seen this recent article in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald. What does this mean to you? Only time will tell for sure but there are a few points that should be noted.

Areas included:

1. Honomalino:  All lands from the shoreline to six thousand feet inland
2. Okoe:  All lands from the shoreline to six thousand feet inland.  The Honomalino and Okoe sections include approximately one thousand four hundred fifty-eight acres
3. Kaulanamauna:  The Manuka natural area reserve boundary extended to the shoreline
4. Manuka:  The Manuka natural area reserve boundary extended to the shoreline

Management objectives:

1. Preserve the extensive archaeological sites in the area, including ancient homesites, a holua slide, a heiau, and burial caves
2. Preserve and protect native Hawaiian plants and animals currently in the area
3. Provide for a wilderness area with minimal man-made structures
4. Permit limited non-vehicular access for recreational purposes, such as fishing, swimming, and exploration
5. Prevent additional development in the area

Many of the few still accessable camping and fishing areas are included in this “wilderness area”.

The bill: SB1154_CD1_

The HTH article:

BLNR meeting Agenda

This is the anticipated date.