We’re a busy society. However, your decision to take the time to pen a note to BLNR made the difference. The state is opening the trail to limited access as the result of “US,” all standing together, fighting for people rights and public access.

This is a tough fight. Haleakala Ranch refuses to open access despite the overwhelming evidence of a public trail. The state refuses to protect the people’s rights. We will continue to need your support, as well as others, so please stand firm, and also share the story with others.

Stay tuned and we’ll keep up the good fight on our side. A lot of work is happening as we move toward trial set for January 2013.

May 13, 2012

State Establishes First Access to Haleakala Trail in Decades

At its meeting on Friday, May 11, 2012, the Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources approved a memorandum of agreement with landowner Haleakala Ranch Company (HRC) to restore limited access to the public.

The MOA will provide a minimum of two hiking events each year “on such dates and during such times as the [HRC] shall determine in coordination with DLNR.” The MOA requires the state to protect HRC and its employees from liability. It also requires DLNR to establish a hike information and reservation system for the hikes.

BLNR received written testimony from at least 60 people, almost all objecting that the MOA did not provide sufficient access. Attorney Tom Pierce, representing PATH, stated in written testimony, “In essence, DLNR’s Request is asking BLNR to abdicate its statutory duties and violate its own rules, including asking BLNR to put the rights of HRC ahead of the public’s rights – something that has already been occurring for at least a decade.” Access proponents, among them members of the Oahu-based Hawaii Trail and Mountain Club, gave similar oral testimony during the lengthy hearing.

Access proponents also challenged the safety concerns raised by DLNR staff and HRC employees, such as roving cattle, rough terrain, and activities related to removal of gorst, an invasive weed. PATH responded in its written testimony that the trail was engineered by the Territory of Hawaii to provide safe access for inexperienced tourists, and that numerous public trails run through cattle ranches, without problem.

During the hearing some BLNR members expressed their concern with the two hikes per year minimum and encouraged DLNR and HRC to assure that those interested in hiking would be given the opportunity to do so. It remains to be seen whether DLNR and HRC will take the members’ request to heart.

Meanwhile, the pending lawsuit filed by PATH against the state and HRC continues with trial scheduled for January 2013. “On Maui, the state is closing many more trails than it is opening,” explained PATH president, David Brown. He summarized, “This case is about requiring BLNR to follow its legislative mandate to protect public lands, and obtaining respect from private landowners who deny public access over clearly public trails.”

For more information, go to: http://pathmaui.org/, or email PATH at pathmaui08@gmail.com, or follow PATH on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pathmaui.

The MOA would permit only a handful of people to hike the trail per year at a time designated by the Ranch. Does that sound like public access? We don’t think so. DLNR says this kind of limited access is okay because it believes nobody much is interested in using the trail. Do you disagree? Do you want to hike this trail? If you do then, we need you to say so and prove DLNR wrong. But you have to speak your mind this week. Here’s how, and it only takes a minute:

Submit written testimony to BLNR clerk by no later than May 10 at this email address: Adaline.F.Cummings@hawaii.gov

Or, show up for the hearing at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, May 11, at the DLNR Board Room 132 on the first floor of the Kalanimoku Building at 1151 Punchbowl St. (The Board Room is located on the makai (ocean) side of the building.)

Tell BLNR they need to make this trail a priority, that the state should not let a private landowner trample on the public’s rights. (Also look at the other talking points below)

Do you want more info?

Check out the interview of Tom Pierce discussing the fascinating history of Haleakala Trail (start at part 2 if you want to cut to the chase)

Check out DLNR’s recommendation to BLNR to permit a handful of people a year the right to walk a trail that should be open to everyone.

Peruse the information in the drop down menu above, labeled “Haleakala Trail”

TALKING POINTS

• This is not a question of whether the state owns the trail. The state decided this over a decade ago. The only question now is whether the trail should be open, and the answer is a resounding “yes.”
• The trail is readily verifiable on the ground.
• Statistics on how few natural trails we have in Hawaii – especially in comparison to other states.
• This also not a question about sympathy for the Ranch based on a new encumbrance to their property. The Ranch made the bed it is sleeping in 130 years ago. Back then, when the Ranch’s representatives (including Lorrin Thurston) purchased the land, the trail existed and the title expressly reserved trail access rights “to the people.” Moreover, Ranch executives thereafter encouraged the Kingdom of Hawaii and the Territory of Hawaii to expend government funds on the trail. The Ranch should not be permitted to pick and choose during the course of its corporate existence when the trail is public and when it is not. But, that is what it is trying to do.
• Isn’t the state supposed to be worried about the economy? Opening this trail is an economic issue. Tourists come here for natural and historic opportunities, not for mega malls. Denial of the trail is denying economic opportunities to small businesses, and ultimately to the state’s tax rolls.
• This trail poses no environmental risks. It has been in essentially the same area for hundreds of years. It is over-trodden with the Ranch’s cattle who pose much greater environmental risk than people.
• This trail poses no safety concerns. The trail was designed by a Territory of Hawaii engineer in 1905 to safely provide access to the 1000s of tourists destined for the crater, and it did so until the 1930s.
• The trail is historic. People should have a right to walk on the same trail used by ancient Hawaiians, and famous early visitors, such as Mark Twain and Jack London.
• The trail is sustainable. People want to experience Maui naturally. This trail is one such opportunity.
• The Ranch’s concern about liability to its cattle or to people from the cattle is a sham concern. The Ranch raised the same concern to the National Park Service in the 1920s. And, guess what: the Ranch’s cattle roam across Haleakala Crater Road daily. If there is a risk, it’s the risk of a car or bicyclist colliding with a cow, not a hiker. Not to mention the many other trails and roads in Hawaii where hikers and cows cross each other daily without incident.
• The Ranch says it has dangerous guard dogs. Another sham objection. Where are they? Why are they not a menace to the thousands of camera snapping tourists parked on the side of Haleakala Crater Road?
• The Ranch says the trail will interfere with its ranching operations. The Ranch should have thought about that 130 years ago. But, it’s another sham objection.
• The MOA contemplates access to a few handfuls of people a year after going through bureaucratic red tape to get a slot. This is not meaningful public access and it is an outrage considering the facts and history surrounding this trail.
• Of course DLNR’s staff is concerned about budgets. That’s what BLNR has told them to be concerned about. BLNR now needs to be a leader for better access. Your staff will support your decision. The public will have greater confidence that you are fulfilling your public mandate.
• The state can find the funds, especially where the economic benefits are great. It’s the same decision the state makes every day with respect to roads. Roads don’t in themselves generate income. However, the people who use them do.