David Y. Ige

KIHEI, MAUI – Gov. David Ige today signed HB 2034 (ACT 72) that provides funding for the Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission for clean-up, restoration and preservation projects on the island.

Kaho‘olawe was used as a bombing range for years. Today, the island remains littered with unexploded ordnance and was found to have extensive erosion and other ecological problems. However, the island is also home to thousands of archaeological and other cultural and historic sites.

HB 2034 provides the commission with $450,000 in general funds for fiscal year 2016-17 to restore and preserve the natural, cultural and historic resources on Kaho‘olawe. The bill also requires the commission to submit a financial self-sufficiency and sustainability plan at least 20 days prior to the start of the 2017 legislative session.

Since 1994, the Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission has been primarily funded  by  the federal government, allowing the commission to establish innovative restoration projects that emphasize ancestral and traditional knowledge.

However, the federally funded Kaho‘olawe Island Conveyance Commission’s final report to Congress in 1993 said that federal funds will provide the bulk of the program’s support in the short-term. The report said state revenues will be needed in the long-term to continue to enhance the activities that were initiated with federal funds.

Photos of the bill signing ceremony are posted on the governor’s website: https://www.flickr.com/photos/govhawaii/albums/72157667213553393

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Media Contacts:

Jodi Leong

Deputy Communications Director/Press Secretary

Office of the Governor

Office: 808-586-0043

Mobile: 808-798-3929

[email protected]

 

Cindy McMillan

Communications Director

Office of the Governor

Office: 808-586-0012

Mobile: 808-265-7974

[email protected]