The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be holding two public sessions on Lanai in the coming weeks to answer questions and seek additional input on its proposal to designate critical habitat for 32 plant species currently or historically found on the island. In addition, the agency is asking the public to review a recently released draft economic analysis of the proposed critical habitat.
"In response to a formal request by the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, we will be holding a public hearing on Lanai on August 1," said Paul Henson, field supervisor for the Fish and Wildlife Service in the Pacific islands. "Since the public hearing format does not allow us to answer questions, we encourage people to attend our informal question and answer sessions on July 22 and August 1 to learn more about the proposal."
The critical habitat proposal for Lanai was released for public comment on March 4. It suggests that approximately 19,400 acres of privately owned land be included within eight critical habitat units to benefit 32 of the 37 Lanai plant species listed under the Endangered Species Act. The initial 60-day public comment period ended on May 3 but was reopened on July 16 with the release of the draft economic analysis. The public now has until August 15 to submit comments on both the critical habitat proposal and the draft economic analysis.
The first informal question and answer session will be held at the Lanai Senior Citizen Center, 309 7th Street in Lanai City, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Monday, July 22. The second informal session and the public hearing will be held on Thursday, August 1 at the Lanai Public Library on Fraser Avenue. The informational session will be from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. and the public hearing from 6 to 8 p.m.
Required by the federal Endangered Species Act, the economic analysis identifies and analyzes the potential economic effects and benefits of the critical habitat designations for the 32 plants over the next 10 years. The report focuses on the costs related to the requirement that federal agencies must consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service whenever they propose a project that may destroy or appreciably diminish the value of critical habitat for the survival and recovery of the species.
The draft analysis predicts that most of the proposed critical habitat designations on Lanai would have minor economic impacts, mainly because most of the land in the proposal is mountainous and rugged and unsuitable for development, farming, or other economic uses. More than 70 percent of the land is within the State Conservation District, which limits opportunities for development or other economic activities.In addition, some existing and planned projects and land uses within the proposed critical habitat designations require no federal involvement such as permits or funding, so they would not be restricted by Endangered Species Act requirements.
However, some direct and indirect expenses could occur if the proposed critical habitat designations are finalized. The largest potential direct cost of consultation identified in the report is related to the management of game hunting on Lanai. This State-run program relies on federal funding under the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, commonly referred to as the Pittman-Robertson Act. About 16 percent of the total State-managed hunting lands (4,747 acres) on Lanai are within proposed critical habitat units.
The draft economic analysis estimates costs of consultation regarding game hunting on Lanai could be $28,000 if the critical habitat units are designated as proposed. The report further indicates that as a result of such consultation, fencing to exclude feral ungulates may be required at a cost of $2.1 million. However, this is considered to be unlikely, and the State could avoid consultation by finding alternative nonfederal funding to management State hunting units on Lanai.
Other potential consultations that may be required would include those related to conservation partnership projects funded by federal agencies, military aviation training, and civil works projects funded or carried out by the federal government such as at Kaumalapau Harbor.
These direct costs represent, in the worst case, less than 0.1 percent of the total personal income of Maui County for 1999.
The draft economic analysis also looks at indirect impacts beyond those associated with the Endangered Species Act and outside the federal government
