13. Permanently Protect the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

WHEREAS the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), also known as “Na Kupuna Islands”, or ancestors to the main islands of Hawai`i, hold great historical and cultural significance to the Hawaiian people, and are featured in ancient Hawaiian `oli and mele; and

WHEREAS this chain of islands, encompassing the Island of Nihoa, located to the northwest of Kauai Island, through and including Kure Atoll, stretches for more than 1,200 square miles and remains almost entirely uninhabited; and

WHEREAS the cold waters of the NWHI and the limited nutrient cycling make the NWHI ecosystem extremely delicate and vulnerable to disturbance; and

WHEREAS on May 13, 2005, the Hawai`i Board of Land and Natural Resources proposed administrative rules that would prohibit all extractive uses in State-regulated waters from 0 to 3 miles around the NWHI, while protecting the traditional and cultural practices in the area; and

WHEREAS on May 16, 2005, United States Representative Ed Case introduced H.R. 2376, known as the “Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Marine Refuge Act of 2005”, designating the NWHI and their associated waters “as a fully protected national marine refuge to preserve in perpetuity their unique and fragile ecosystems, habitats, and communities of flora and fauna, as well as areas of traditional Hawaiian cultural significance”; and

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Democratic Party of Maui directs its Elected Officials to support:

• Administrative rules that would prohibit all extractive uses in State-regulated waters around the NWHI, while protecting the traditional and cultural practices in the area, as proposed by the Hawai`i Board of Land and Natural Resources on May 13, 2005, and urges Governor Linda Lingle to approve them; and

• The “Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Marine Refuge Act of 2005”, which would designate the NWHI and their associated waters “as a fully protected national marine refuge to preserve in perpetuity their unique and fragile ecosystems, habitats, and communities of flora and fauna, as well as areas of traditional Hawaiian cultural significance”, and urges the United States Congress to pass H.R. 2376; and

• That certified copies of the resolution be transmitted to the Honorable Linda Lingle, Governor of the State of Hawai`i; the Honorable Daniel K. Inouye, United States Senator; the Honorable Daniel K. Akaka, United States Senator; the Honorable Ed Case, Member of Congress; the Honorable Neil Abercrombie, Member of Congress; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the United States Council on Environmental Quality; the Hawai`i Audubon Society; and KAHEA:  The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance.