So Many Ways to Support Fern for Council!

Mahalo for the huge outpouring of support so far! Our first round of mailers/walking pamphlets are printed and Fern has started going door to door in Kapahi!

We are running a grassroots campaign.

As Fern goes door to door over the next 45 days there are lots of ways you can help her make it into the top seven and onto our County Council.

  1. Make a commitment to call/text between 1-5 registered voters/friends everyday between now and the election and ask them to include Fern in their votes

  2. If you didn’t receive your Primary Election ballot or you have moved homes check/update your mailing address at olvr.hawaii.gov

  3. Check that everyone eligible is registered in your household olvr.hawaii.gov

  4. Donate and encourage others to donate to Friends of Fern to fund marketing efforts between now and Nov 8th fernholland.com/donate

  5. Share @votefern instagram and /votefern2022 facebook posts to your socials

We also have locally printed quality organic cotton VOTE FERN shirts now in stock from S-2XL thanks to the amazing guys over at Fantasy Shirts in Kapahi!

Why I Am Running & How I Will Serve

I have been an advocate for social and environmental justice my entire life. My life long community and environmental advocacy has motivated me to run for public office. My 10 years of involvement locally in State and County politics has led me to understanding that this is a way to make a difference for the betterment of Kauaʻi and our people.

I was born and raised in Kapahi and I understand the issues that matter to our islands. I am committed to doing everything I can to fight for local families. I believe that I can relate to and understand the needs of our diverse community and honor our unique and valuable history and culture while making good decisions for our future.

I am committed to addressing our drug problem in a meaningful way. I understand the major issues our community deals with related to drug abuse and addiction on Kauaʻi. We need to improve our port security and get drugs off our streets while we work to address the issue holistically with counseling programs, on island detox and treatment centers and housing first solutions.

I believe that my life experience, education and passion will benefit Kauaʻi and I will be a strong voice for our community. My environmental science background will help with important decision making around environmental issues that will need to happen in coming years.

I will be transparent, clear and thoughtful in the things I support and don't, with an explanation and an open door.

Climate Change

I will be proactive with efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change and sea level rise. In college I took courses in climate science and learned about climate adaptation and mitigation.

When it comes to accepting grants and opportunities for support I will absolutely accept and seek out federal and state support to plan for and mitigate expected impacts to our resources and communities. I believe we need to establish site specific plans for low lying areas and ensure that we are protecting and or planning a retreat for critical infrastructure.

I will work with state agencies and nonprofits to create plans for the restoration of coastal native ecosystems and indigenous land management practices that will give us more resilience from rising sea levels.

I do not support coastal hardening or sea walls, unless absolutely necessary, and understand that this defers and relocates the problem, but does not fix it. In fact, it may make it worse in some areas.

I will be a proponent of green energy and reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

Reducing imports and expanding the agriculture sector, if done correctly can be a part of how Hawaii addresses our contribution to climate change. It has become clear in recent decades that our agriculture practices and system can either hurt our climate, or help save it. Industrial food systems are energy-intensive and fossil-fuel based. Shipping food in, rather than producing it here, is also a major factor in how we, in Hawaiʻi, impact the climate. Addressing the combined impacts to the climate from ecosystem loss and destruction of environmental services, CO2 production due to transport of food through programs that support local food production and access are critical. This also makes us more resilient to climate disasters elsewhere.

Community, Culture, Access Rights & Environmental Protection

I support Hawaiian culture, rights and values. I believe that the principles of the ahupua'a land management system and Hawaiian 'āina based priorities must be incorporated in modern decision making and policy. I encourage and support the perpetuation of Hawaiian culture, language, education, food production and resource management in all aspects of our community and way of life that have a great deal of respect for the original native people of these islands.

Without community and culture we will never be able to truly conserve the environment. Only through real and open engagement with the community can we come up with successful conservation solutions to preserve our environment, native ecosystems and resources.  We need to seek balance between regulation and education and use cultural understandings and modern science to come up with real community driven solutions to preserve our ʻaina, community, culture, and environments.

I strongly support access rights and I will continue to insist that the Public Trust Doctrine is upheld and that access rights for local people are maintained and restored where ever they need to be.

Native ecosystem restoration is a priority and a passion for me. My ecology and environmental science background has taught me a deep appreciation for the values of biodiversity, healthy/balanced ecosystems, and native forests.

Responsible Management of Tourism

There are ways that we can grow our economy by channeling, appropriately managing and harnessing the tourism revenue we do have in our local economy, so a higher percentage reaches and benefits local residents and stays on island.

Developing shuttle systems and lowering the traffic in rural communities and reducing trampling of important sites is an important part of preserving our valuable places and resources. We must ensure we are responsible in how we manage and mitigate the impacts of excessive tourism in areas where communities are drastically and heavily affected.

The Kauai Destination Management Action Plan (DMAP) is a positive forward step in creating a better relationship with tourism that feels less extractive to local residents. I appreciate the goal to rebuild, redefine and reset the direction of tourism over a three-year period. We need to invest the money where the plan is. I believe that the aim of regenerative tourism as outlined in the DMAP, if harnessed properly, can assist with economic diversification and an expansion of eco-tourism, true cultural experiences and more revenue staying on Kauaʻi. Seeing how the County can support and encourage, instead of discourage, locals to engage and benefit directly from tourism is something I support also.

I strongly believe we must invest in opportunities for guests to visit our key visitor locations and destinations, without having to rent a car. Maybe an alternative bus route designed around visitor needs. The more we can expand public transport, shuttles, local tour and transport services, the more we can better manage the high number of rental cars on our roads.

I believe we need to halt the building of any more hotels and vacation units and invest in our infrastructure and resources. For the last few years, I have been working with a diverse group to build a path for the former Coco Palms hotel to be established into a cultural center and resource for the community, driven and shaped by Hawaiians connected to this very sacred place. More about this vision is available at wailuanui.org. I am opposed to a hotel in this location and stand in solidarity with the many Hawaiians that want this space respected, returned and restored for the betterment of Kauaʻi, local residents, future generations, visitors and the world.

Supporting & Expanding Local Agriculture

It is extremely important that we put our attention and resources to supporting food production agriculture, ranchers, farmers and food security. In recent years especially with the COVID pandemic we have been reminded of the importance of increasing local food security and self sufficiency. We need to support local food production and also exportation markets. I believe that part of the solution is supporting land access, farmer education programs, food hubs, infrastructure for ranchers, and projects to address the gaps in our local food production and consumption systems. Efforts to support local sustainable food production agriculture will always be a top priority for me. 

I am passionate about developing a flourishing agricultural industry that provides employment in food production, processing and distribution, and that pays living wages. To do this I will support efforts to expand local food production, processing facilities and infrastructure and work with community organizations to address needs to assist with marketing and distribution of local food while we also work to support current and next generation farmers and ranchers to the land and tools they need. Expanding our local products and supporting their local consumption, as well as export markets, is key to growth for the agricultural sector. My vision includes a mix of diversified agriculture along with indigenous foods and agriculture practices. 

I understand that this is a complicated issue that has to be addressed from many different directions. Supporting efforts to expand local food production agriculture can reverse our 90% importation of food, but it must be a collaborative effort between all levels of government, community members, educators, nonprofits, farmers and consumers. On the board of the Kauaʻi Food Hub, and hosting the ʻAi Pono Eat Local Challenge these last few years, I have had an opportunity to better understand the issues that are holding up expanding local food production on Kauaʻi. As a Council Member I would be committed to addressing these things.

I believe as a County Council Member I will be able to pull together those that know the most about this topic in an effort to better understand the immediate needs and blockages that are stifling progress. I believe there are ways a Council Member can find pathways to those solutions that will support increasing local production, sourcing, processing, and distribution. I would start by looking at these areas and figuring out where the County is best suited to be able to help and how. The next step will be to develop measures that can be brought before the council as bills and resolutions that will help to facilitate the needs that are identified. Off the top of my head, I see the Council as able to potentially assist through incentives for farmers, working with partners to fill gaps in infrastructure needs, assisting with education around local sourcing, and access to local options for restaurants, while working to support and partner with those that are developing the next generation of farmers. 

Landfill & Solid Waste Management

Solid waste is one of the largest issues we face right now. I have worked on landfill monitoring projects before moving home and understand landfills and alternative waste treatment methods. I will work to address our solid waste concerns across the board.

We are out of time. The development of a landfill will likely take longer than we currently have, before Kekaha expires in five years, and we will be shipping our waste off island at a huge cost to taxpayers.

We must allocate a location and move into planning and development of the new landfill. We must ensure it meets the highest and best environmental standards and we do everything we can to mitigate impact to surrounding communities and the environment. 

We must do everything we can to focus on waste reduction and diversion tactics. We need to expand composting capacity, create diversion incentives for generators of commercial green waste and food, and address residential green waste and food waste which make up 28% of landfilled waste. Encouraging recycling and reuse of construction and demolition waste, which makes up and estimated 24% of landfill waste. Reducing our waste generation and then diverting whatever we can from the landfill will be critical in establishing responsible waste management for our small island. 

I support curbside recycling and efforts to make recycling easier and more convenient for residents. I support the development of a dirty MRF that will help us divert waste from the landfill. I will also work on efforts to reduce waste production, working with local businesses and importers to figure out where there are ways we can reduce our waste generation in other ways, particularly relating to plastic. I will also support efforts to ensure TVRs are properly providing recycling and other ways we can work to limit the waste that ends up in our landfill.  

Drug Rehabilitation, Treatment & Prevention

I have watched first hand my whole life as loved ones and friends fell into the darkness, loneliness and loss that drug abuse and addiction bring. Unfortunately growing up on Kauaʻi, losing people to the deeply ingrained addiction issues in our society is not uncommon, many of us have lost loved ones. I have lost some of the closest people in my life in this way and understand the struggle family members face when dealing with drug and alcohol addiction in the home or with a loved one.

We must be committed to addressing the drug abuse issues holistically and alongside other interconnected core social issues we face. We need to provide affordable housing and reduce the cost of living that drives people to depression, illegal activities and drug abuse.

We have lost countless loved ones on Kauaʻi to overdoses, suicides, tragedies and the side effects of drug use and addiction.  For many of us there is nothing more painful than this reality and our inability to help those that we love. It is a heavy burden that our community carries and something we cannot brush aside, jail away, or ignore. We must face it together. Our situation is dire and our youth need a brighter future.

We need to do everything we can to expand mental health services and access, provide treatment and therapy to those struggling with addiction and come up with real solutions that don’t just temporarily bandaid the problem. It’s so much deeper and needs so much more energy and resources. On island treatment centers are taking so long and are limited, we need programs and safety nets in every community, we need more, much more! We need guys up stream, down steam, mid stream pulling people to safety. We need to get the drugs off the streets, out of our ports and address this fentanyl problem, as if it’s a pandemic, with all the resources it takes to save lives.

Affordable Housing

I understand how hard it is to survive here. Between 2017 and 2020 I worked three jobs and 85 (or more hours!) a week to keep my home. It’s completely unsustainable for us to have to work so hard to survive here.

Affordable housing is one of the most urgent issues we must tackle. We need to find county solutions to reduce the cost of housing. I will continue to support projects like the Lima Ola affordable housing project and support the development of additional family units and rentals on existing properties to accommodate growing families and additional rentals.

I believe we must find ways to discourage off shore vacation rental home buying, which is playing a part in pushing local families out of the market. We need to look at out of the box solutions to help offset and reduce rental costs and encourage and incentivize home owners to rent their homes on long term affordable leases to local families.

We also must tackle the needed infrastructure upgrades to accommodate these additional units and developments. We need to work with departments to understand what is holding up approved family units and address those permit blockages and infrastructure needs. If elected I will dive into the research that has been done on things that have worked in other areas and connect with the groups working on this issue to address the gaps.

Recently, the Kauaʻi County Council voted down Resolution 2022-22 which would have placed a charter amendment on the ballot for the voters to decide if we should earmark two percent (2%) of our real property tax revenue in the Countyʻs Annual Budget to provide and develop affordable housing on Kauaʻi. I supported this measure, and like many Kauaʻi local families, am extremely concerned about how we are being priced out of our home and how our friends and family members can no longer afford to live here and are being pushed off island. I support this earmark and bold and thoughtful action to address our major housing crisis.

I support this earmark because there is a huge need for substantial capital in order to effectively address the housing problem. The County needs to come up with substantial unrestricted housing development capital if we are sincere about solving the affordable housing crisis. The present county legislative/budget process is not capable of producing the amount of capital needed, or providing the consistency of funding required.

The 2% annually may seem small when compared to the money needed to meet the need, but it can be leveraged strategically. A charter earmark can support the floatation of a bond for a much larger amount of money that can be a way we leverage the money earmarked. With a boost to the Housing Development Fund we would be able to provide housing for more families in more income brackets and develop better quality projects. We can also give the County Housing Agency the ability to buy land, such as what was done to develop Kalepa Village.

I support us taking big steps to seriously address our housing needs so that local generational families, their children and the next generations can stay and return to Kauaʻi. This is a top priority for me and I see this earmark as a reasonable and serious step in the right direction.

In addition to addressing the affordable housing crisis for middle income working families, I also support housing first solutions and comprehensive plans that address the interconnected social issues our community faces around houselessness. While we address houselessness we also need to provide mental health solutions and real drug rehabilitation and support systems. As we address these things simultaneously we will have more success solving these issues rather than band-aiding them. I support efforts to help establish real housing first solutions that give people a base, an address and some stability. With stability people are able to go to classes, participate in the community, get mail and are much more likely to reestablish themselves into society and get back on their feet.

How to Vote in the primary

Let’s Turn Out The Vote!

In just over a week all the votes will be counted and the Primary Election will be over!

Get your ballot in the mail by Monday August 8th! Make sure your signature matches the one you sent in to the elections office previously, they will cross check it to accept your ballot. If there are any problems with the signature they confirmed they will reach out to the voter. Make sure to complete your ballot in black ink only and carefully follow the instructions.

There are also drop boxes where you can drop your ballots! Those locations are mapped here.

You can vote in person now through election day at the Elections Office in Lihue, next door to Council Chambers, at 4386 Rice St, Monday through Saturday 8am to 4:30pm (and till 7pm on Election Day).

LIHUE IS THE ONLY IN VOTING LOCATION ON KAUAʻI ON ELECTION DAY.

Please make sure everyone eligible (18+ year old Hawaiian residents) in your household has registered to vote and has received their ballot.

If you have not received your mail ballot packet you can contact the Elections Office at 808-241-4800. Anyone can also register to vote and view/update their mailing address for the General Election at olvr.hawaii.gov.

My goal for the primary is to place strongly in the top 7 and continue to grow and build the campaign as we approach the General Election in November.

How The Election for Council Will Work and Voting Q&A

On August 13th, the top 14 vote getters for council will go on to the General Election. In November the top 7 will become your council for the next 2 years.

No, you don’t have to vote for 7 candidates, you can vote for as few as 1 and as many as 7 that you would like to see on the council.

Yes, felons can vote in Hawaiʻi, it is one of the states where prior felony charges DO NOT strip you of your right to vote.

Hawaiʻi does offer in person registration on Election Day.

Affordable Housing Charter Amendment Resolution 2022-22

On Wednesday Aug 3rd the Kauaʻi County Council is going to be considering Resolution 2022-22 which would place a charter amendment on the ballot for the voters to decide if we should earmark two percent (2%) of our real property tax revenue in the Countyʻs Annual Budget to provide and develop affordable housing on Kauaʻi.

Please submit testimony to the Kauaʻi County Council (counciltestimony@kauai.gov) by this evening, Tuesday, Aug 2nd and ask them to pass Resolution 2022-22, and put this earmark question on our ballot.

I, and many Kauaʻi local families, are extremely concerned about how we are being priced out of our home and how our friends and family members can no longer afford to live here and are being pushed off island. I support this resolution, this earmark and bold and thoughtful action to address our major housing crisis.

This resolution would put this to the people of Kauaʻi for a vote on our general ballot in November. This would not earmark the money directly, but gives us, the voters, the chance to make the call ourselves.

I understand that we need to invest in this major crisis seriously and put our money where our mouth is when it comes to the solutions. I believe the Kauaʻi voters do too and they deserve the final opportunity to vote for this earmark on the ballot in the General Election.

My position on earmarking 2% of property tax revenue:

I support this earmark because there is a huge need for substantial capital in order to effectively address the housing problem. The County needs to come up with substantial unrestricted housing development capital if we are sincere about solving the affordable housing crisis. The present county legislative/budget process is not capable of producing the amount of capital needed, or providing the consistency of funding required.

This earmark will be a step in the right direction toward providing affordable housing, Policy No. 2 in the General Plan. A key factor in the provision of affordable housing is “adequate capital”, of which this earmark would help to provide.

The 2% annually may seem small when compared to the money needed to meet the need, but it can be leveraged strategically. A charter earmark can support the floatation of a bond for a much larger amount of money that can be a way we leverage the money earmarked. With a boost to the Housing Development Fund we would be able to provide housing for more families in more income brackets and develop better quality projects. We can also give the County Housing Agency the ability to buy land, such as what was done to develop Kalepa Village.

I support us taking big steps to seriously address our housing needs so that local generational families, their children and the next generations can stay and return to Kauaʻi. This is a top priority for me and I see this earmark as a reasonable and serious step in the right direction.

We Are Off To A Strong Start!

First Round of Banners Are Up!

This last week we got 10 large banners out between Haʻena and Kekaha. We also have started getting a few smaller banners out in other high trafficked areas. Thank you everyone who offered a spot and helped get these up!

Thanks to the donations of so many of you, we are ordering our second round of banners this week! Thanks to the huge outpouring of support we still have some great locations to get them up! If you do have some high visibility, high profile locations (on private land) please let us know.

Fern doesn’t want to do road signs, she understands the seriousness of our solid waste issue and doesn’t want to add to the problem. High visibility banners in key locations and word of mouth is how we are planning on winning this election. Not with roadside plastic signs.

Fern’s platform is being outlined on the website votefern.com. She will be expanding on these areas and her priorities for Kauaʻi more and more over the coming few weeks.

Stickers are in!

Email us at votefern@gmail.com where you are and will be over the next few days and how to reach you and we will get you a sticker. Fern will also be down at First Saturday next to First Hawaiian Bank this next Kapaʻa Art Walk and will have stickers on her for those wanting to grab one.

How to Support?

We will continue to fundraise for an island wide mailer and other costs to help get Fern elected. Please donate if you are able, share about our campaign and encourage your friends to donate and be involved. Please also share about Fern and her platform through your networks. Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook, repost our posts on social media, share to your stories and encourage others to join the campaign.

We are committed to getting Fern elected and she is looking forward to serving the people of Kauaʻi with everything she has! We absolutely can not do it without you!

Thank you for your support!

#VoteFern2022 #VoteFern #ForKauai

Raising TVR Property Tax to Fund Affordable Housing Needs

Over the last two days I caught up on the conversation around the recent proposal brought before council regarding TVR property tax rates increasing to fund affordable housing. Many people have been asking my take on the issue and how I would have voted. As a candidate for council I feel compelled to answer that and be transparent about where I stand.

I would have voted yes on the proposal and strongly support the intent.

The benefits of this seem to be:

1. Obtaining funds directly from tourism to funnel into affordable housing (officially this year and in theory for many into the future)

2. Increased affordable housing projects, infrastructure and housing needs

3. Pressure on TVRs to return to long term rentals for residents, and

4. Hopefully, although Im not too hopeful of how much, make our housing market a little less enticing with higher property tax rates for investors which hopefully results in a slow in overall investment purchases and the skyrocketing property prices, but again not so hopefully that it will be enough to do this.

My thoughts are that we are in an extremely dire situation (lack of housing) and while no measure will be perfect (as public policy is often broader strokes) we have to do what we can within our limited tool box of options as a County Council. This is one of them, and I think it’s needed and appropriate.

A raise in TVR property tax rates will not deter the rich from buying here, or tourism overall.

We have some of the cheapest property taxes in the US overall and the lowest for TVRs of any county in Hawai’i. Feels like we are basically encouraging people from other states to buy up properties here with these low rates, why?

The money would be well spent if dedicated to infrastructure and housing for local families that are literally being pushed off island with no housing, one-less affordable housing, options.

As is normal with business, those tax increases will simply be passed on to the visitor regardless.

I am not yet clear on the claim that nearly half of the Kaua’i TVRs are associated with local resident addresses and what that truly means in the sense of how many are actually owned full time residents of Kaua’i, my understanding is even if the TVR was owned by a local resident, they could choose to pass on that increase to their transient guests or move the house into long term leases for local families and not pay the higher tax rate, which is part of the goal to make it more enticing to rent to families rather than transient accommodation.

Even if the TVR investor tax increase is significant, because all costs are passed on to the tourist who is renting, I don’t see how it would cause anyone to lose their home. I invite anyone who feels like this would impact them in this way to please reach out and help me understand how and why.

For those homes that are owner occupied, they would be excluded, so those that are living in the home, and TVRing part of it, would not see any increase. If you are a local who owns multiple homes and are short term renting one or more of them, I feel that the higher tax rate for that property is justified, and likely just be passed on.

I believe we need a role, either in the county or in a proposal like this (and maybe it exists and needs promoting) that helps local families through exactly what the brackets are, what the triggers and requirements are, etc, with the goal to provide clear assistance that guides people relating to this issue and ensuring they aren’t caught out in a higher bracket not meant for them. This will help the few that may be negatively impacted or mislabeled in the wrong bracket. Hopefully this would also help generational family properties to ensure their taxes do not increase even when properties around them do.

People that are mislabelled or missing something to qualify for the less tax bracket should just be helped and the increased charges waived. If there is a problem with assistance or appeals lets fix it. If there is a problem in implementation, then we fix it, but we dont not implement it right? Addressing a system to help people not slip through the cracks, do the paperwork etc is critical clearly regardless of changes or exisiting situations, people need guidance and a grace period.

When it comes to the debate about permanent earmarking of the money beyond this year, I get the concern. While to me if it’s intended for this and our council is held accountable by the Kaua’i constituents and affordable housing is the largest concern again next year, it seems expected that a good council would respect that and continue to allocate those funds to affordable housing. If they didn’t, like everything in the budget, the council should be held accountable by voters for how those funds are spent and if there is something more dire eventually that we need to spend it on so be it, but it’s part of ensuring all our funds are well spent. However that isn’t a guarantee, clearly, so I understand the desire and the concern about including that it is permanently earmarked. My understanding is that can only happen via a charter initiative and to do that we would first have to generate the funds (which this measure does) then come back and permanently earmark through charter amendment (which no the measure doesn’t do). So it sounded like to get the charter amendment on the ballot and approved we would first have to generate those funds to earmark during a proposed measure such as the one that failed last week. Or we pass the charter amendment, come back the following year and approve this proposed change to TVR rate.

Bottom line is we have to do something to turn the tide on our housing crisis and this is a place to start. I would have supported the proposal.

We Are Building Team Fern 2022!

Mahalo to all our supporters!

Today we announced on social media for the first time that I will be running for Kauaʻi County Council in the upcoming 2022 election. Our website votefern.com (fernholland.com) is live (and under construction with more coming in the next few days) and our donations have started coming in! Mahalo!

I have been laying out the groundwork to run a strong campaign, #forkauai, but to do that I also need your support.

If you believe you can take an active roll in Team Fern, please step forward. I am looking for help with event planning, help with placing banners, social media post generation & management, fundraising and a lot more! Let me know by responding to this email if there is something specific you would like to do to support.

For some of you I have your answers completed on my volunteer survey and someone will be in contact soon about any specifics you included there. If you haven’t completed it but want to volunteer and be involved, please do.

We need a few more high visibility banner locations along the highway, on all sides of the island. If you have any suggestions for locations please let us know.

This week my focus is to fundraise for the banners and start up costs for the campaign. Please donate for these if you are able. Please also share our campaign, follow us on Instagram and Facebook, repost our posts on social media, share to your stories and encourage others to join as supporters, and if interested an active role in Team Fern.

I am looking forward to serving the people of Kauaʻi (and Niʻihau) with everything I have and I absolutely can not do it without you. It is the Team that will get me elected and a voice on our county council.

I am honored to fight for a better, brighter future for our island and our people.

Thank you for your support!

Access Issues at Waipahe'e

This morning while I was getting ready to jump in the car, I was preparing myself. Preparing myself to be shaken to the core, heartbroken, potentially even arrested.

When I heard that the Waipahe'e slide and natural waterfall structure had been destroyed my brain couldn’t even wrap around it. What does that even mean? I had to see it for myself. My heart sunk to think that right under our noses we could let this happen! How?

When I got up there I was immediately informed and reassured that the waterfall is intact and fine and not been damaged in any structural way. In-fact some of the guys concerned had been invited up to see for their self a few days prior.

Phew! The waterfall is still there!

Those working for the land owner and refusing to open the gate, plead their case explaining that the rumor was started intentionally because of the amount of people coming up there, tourists and locals alike, the liability was too great.  Locals were drinking partying and were doing illegal activities up there, and potentially dumping waste. This happens island wide and it needs to be addressed in many capacities, through addressing the lack of ability to dump certain waste and cars on Kaua’i, community education and watchdogging, but it is not a reason to block access to public lands or native inhabitants.

As the day progressed and the conversations (respectfully being carried out between locals, friends and `ohana on both sides of a depressing jail looking electric gate) continued, it became clear that there are many problems and concerns with this site.

Access

We start with the gate. According to current government maps the road is marked as a public government road. The gate is a violation of public access, just as much as it would be for anyone to decide they wished to place a gate for their own private interests across a public road.

The access was the issue of the day.  As uncle Liko arrived with the maps fresh out of the Department of Land and Natural Resources files it became even clearer that there were additional concerns with the access rights and land ownership of this area.

Land Ownership & Use

It is not private land at all. It is mapped as a Forest Reserve.  This is in opposition to the claims being made by workers refusing access that the land was ‘sold’ from the plantations and currently privately owned by their boss, Tom Mccloskey. However, the maps suggest that the land is actually a Forest Reserve being leased at a cost of $1.7 acre/year.  That is one dollar and 70 cents, per acre, per year.

This immediately raises concerns about the agricultural designation process and raises further concerns.

Access for Native Inhabitants

Precedent has been set with multiple previous cases that clearly establish native people have access to natural resources for hunting and gathering and other purposes. Kanaka cannot be denied access to these areas. This is a violation of multiple laws and conventions for native inhabitants.  However despite this, today the land occupier repeatedly insisted that his workers refuse access to Hawaiians attending the site to hunt gather and maintain their ‘aina and water sources. Multiple Hawaiians were denied their rights today to not only access a site, that we now know is a forest reserve, but also access to a US government public road. These are clear violations of their rights under many levels of law, including international.

Water Diversions

What’s actually happening with the water diversions on site? According to Hawaiians on the front line this site has recently been diverted with evidence of new concrete diversions. Where are the permits for this process and the environmental assessment of these diversions, if they exist? Are these diversions in violation of more recent water catchment laws or have they been entirely inherited from sugar? Are these old diversions impacting ecosystems downstream, robbing the system of sustenance?

Tourist Access & the Blue Book

The ‘Blue Book’ destroys lives. We need a collaborative meeting with those responsible to clearly outline places that tourists are in no way to be brought or encouraged to go, especially alone. We need to put lives and culture above profit and the tourist industry. We can do this by taking key places off brochures and out of things like ‘the blue book’.  We can work with stakeholders to get the right information into tourists hands and provide specific areas, where oversight and education is provided, that are tourist encouraged and advertised sites. These sites can be well funded and kept to manage capacity, but we can not be encouraging self guided missions to places that are dangerous, sacred and kapu. This is simply unacceptable. Some system like this would establish places where local families could feel comfortable going occasionally but tourists are unlikely to even hear about. Locals shouldn’t be paying the prices for poorly and misguided tourists who make bad decisions.

Trash, Drugs, Crime and Degradation of the Site

It is clear from the conversations that the people on both sides of the fence are acting from the love for and the desire to protect this place and this is a strong common ground we share.  Those on the other side explained the thousands they have spent, often out of their own money to clean and restore the area after cars, waste and degradation of the site has occurred. This is a problem island wide and it needs to be addressed systemically and holistically, because it is unacceptable anywhere, but it is a separate issue.

Police Oversight Costs

As police surrounded a handful of us and listened to the conversation take place, it became apparent that the KPD had, once again, been put between the public interest and the private. I think they handled today incredibly well; their approach to non violent and thoughtful policing was exceptional. How much did that cost our taxpayers today to deny our rights and who pays for this?

There Can Be No Conservation Without Community

Tonight I listened to fishermen concerned with the expansion of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Moment. I attended their rally and meeting and went to hear their concerns. They have real concerns with process and communication, and are deeply concerned that their access will be further limited in the future.

They bring up good points about the military use in this area and why they are being cut out while military expands.

They bring up good points about enforcement and the foreign illegal unregistered ships that will still take from the monument (due to lack of enforcement funding and abilities) while Hawaiian ships are denied access.

I think smaller scale fishermen should be exempt from the closure and should be allowed to continue to fish near the northern weather bouys and into the northern waters as is needed.

It's the industrial longline fishing and purse-seine net fishing which isn't sustainable and what threatens marine stocks. It isn't cultural and it isn't responsible and these are the concerns of marine conservationists and Hawaiian cultural practitioners.

I understand the desire to take out industrial fishing, and I have a well founded science based understanding of the impacts of these non discriminatory types of industrial fishing practices, their bycatch and the ecosystem impacts they leave behind.

I understand that our fisheries, our predators and our marine resources are collapsing and I understand that we have to ensure the perpetuation of these stocks into the future.

Tomorrow I will go to the meeting in support of expansion to even better understand this situation, the concerns and justifications.

I believe we need real and meaningful management of our oceans but it has to engage and involve small scale fishermen, who should be allowed access to these areas, as they continue to fish pono.

The expansion of the monument needs to come with exemptions for Kaua'i and smaller scale local fishermen, of which it sounds like very few actually go this far north, so don't deny them access.

There can be no conservation without community. Without stakeholder engagement this process will never be done from the bottom up and it will therefore never be based in community, respect, and understanding.

We can not close out our local fishermen and expand the Department of Defense occupation of these areas at the same time and expect people to accept this as conservation. If it's conservation it should be conservation, not military testing and millions of approved takes.

Let's start with enforcement on the current illegal fleets and foreign ships that are already poaching in our waters and get serious about protecting these areas into the next generation.

I know that together we can find real meaningful solutions that provide opportunities for local fishermen and conserve and protect this incredibly special area and the amazing resources it holds.

Want Some Perspective on Pesticides? Talk to the Swiss

Switzerland no longer allows the use of many chemicals that are still sprayed on American fields.

After five days in Basel Switzerland, where chemical corporations were birthed, I prepare to return home with a greater understanding of the situation we face in Hawaii and across the world.

We have learned first hand the impacts that chemical industries have had here in Switzerland, both to the environment and their people.

We have heard from historians and scientists about the chemical waste leaked from these corporations into their rivers and air. We have learned that the chemical plants that created DDT and their associated landfills are still contaminating the rivers here.  In fact, DDT still leaks from chemical landfills 40 years after it was banned in Switzerland and is still found in both the Rhine River and the breast milk of mothers here.

The Swiss were appalled by what chemical companies are doing to stop efforts to force more disclosure of what’s being sprayed and when.

We have met with specialists, historians, politicians, unions, university students and concerned citizens. We have gained an understanding of the experiences and reasons GE experiments and pesticides like Atrazine, Paraquat, Permethrin, Methomyl, Triazine and others sprayed on Kauai are not approved for use here in Switzerland. Despite Syngenta being a Swiss-based corporation, these products of theirs are banned in their home country, and for good reason.

We came to share our story and to gain the support of members of government and the Swiss people, and we have done so.  Political leaders have been appalled to hear our story, to know how hard we have fought, and to know that we even succeeded in passing government initiatives to obtain disclosure, buffers and studies — only to be sued by Syngenta and the “chemical cartel.” They are appalled to know that we are only asking for disclosure, so we can know when to shut our windows. The Swiss have repeatedly expressed their disgust that we would even need to consider this.

When we present the list of chemicals applied by Syngenta, and others, you can see the surprise and the concern. It is obvious that the Swiss people and the science are clear, and their minds have been made. These chemicals are damaging to life, of all kinds, and there are legitimate reasons to avoid their use in open-air applications.

We have been reached out to, been given heartfelt apologies and sympathy that the home that we love has became the research center for these chemical corporations, which leave destruction and pollution in their wake. We have had political leaders, organizers and students reach out with the desire to help advance our efforts. Official requests have been made to Syngenta, by the Swiss government here, that they abandon their lawsuit, abide by our laws and provide better protections for our people.

It has been an honor and an amazing experience engaging the people here, sharing our story, learning about theirs and gaining more inspiration about how we move forward as a collective worldwide community to better the health and life of our environment and world.

This was published in Civil Beat on April 15th 2015: http://www.civilbeat.com/2015/04/want-some-perspective-on-pesticides-talk-to-the-swiss/

Organic Agriculture Can Feed the World

Despite GMO supporters’ claims in Hawaii, the “Chemical Agriculture Age” is not essential to producing enough food for all the planet’s inhabitants.

A recent opinion piece in the Maui News blog opposing organic agriculture and in support of biotech GE (GMO) research in Hawaii accused organic agriculture of being a reason people are starving.

It was ridiculous and over-reaching and perpetuated more fear. Fear that if you in some way oppose GE chemical agriculture you also oppose feeding the starving.

In the 2014 study conducted by University of Berkeley Institute of Food, researchers demonstrated that organic agriculture could satisfy the world’s appetite. Organic agriculture can compete and potentially even create higher yields and more food over a longer period of time.

Organic agriculture: Could it produce enough food for everyone?

GE chemical dependent mono-crop industrial agriculture has resulted in many impacts that are never weighed evenly against the “positives,” which are often exaggerated future projections. There are countless pollution events, environmental damages, deaths, cancers, diseases, dust bowls, super weeds and bugs that have resulted in farm losses, reduced quality of food, chemical “tread milling” and possibly irreversible damage to communities and environments around the world.

GE organisms have not been independently shown to produce higher yields, increase production, environmental tolerance or nutrition! This simply isn’t true. Even our kids’ current science textbooks acknowledge that the promises of GE crops has never actually come to fruition.

Instead, the technology has mostly been applied to the development of pesticide producing and herbicide resistant crops and boosting chemical and biotech sales for corporate interests. This is an industry driven by chemicals, corporate agenda and profits, not efforts to feed the starving.

The problem is not yield or production. We already (by a significant amount) produce enough food to meet the world’s needs.  We produce nearly enough food annually to feed 10 billion to 12 billion people, and there are only about 7 billion on Earth.

Then why are people starving?  They starve and go hungry because of over consumption in developed (first world) countries and under distribution (because of greed and politics) in underdeveloped (Second and Third World) countries.  Corporate and government agendas and profit margins prevent feeding the starving.

The “Chemical Agriculture Age” will no doubt soon be looked back on as a barbaric and foolish answer to the production of food, a mistake and a learning curve in agricultural advancements. As our understanding of the natural world, ecology and agriculture grows we look more at the chemical age as obsolete. We have moved beyond it.

Recent advancements in agriculture have found reliable alternative pest control measures that utilize healthy functioning ecosystems to increase yield and produce quality food. It is these, agro-ecological approaches that will make it possible for nations to feed themselves (healthy and well) into the seventh generation.

So next time someone tells you organic agriculture can’t feed the world, let them know that it can, and it will.

You can read this publication printed in Civil Beat at: http://www.civilbeat.com/2015/01/organic-agriculture-can-feed-the-world/