Department of Land and Natural Resources

For Immediate News Release: June 21, 2019

HEARING SCHEDULED FOR WITHDRAWAL OF MAUNA KEA FOREST RESERVE LANDS
Lands Currently Part of the System to be Withdrawn & Set Aside for New Purposes

(Hilo) – Lands in the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve are proposed to be withdrawn and set aside to the County of Hawaiʻi and the Department of Transportation. A two-point-nine acre and 32.572 acre parcel are being proposed for withdrawal from the State Forest Reserve System. The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) is inviting community comments on the two proposed withdrawals:

In light of increased efficiency in use of taxpayer resources, 2.9 acres will be withdrawn from the Reserve and set aside to the Department of Transportation for a centrally located maintenance baseyard to efficiently operate and maintain the Daniel K. Inouye Highway, also known as Saddle Road. The Saddle Road realignment project was a partnership of federal and state agencies to upgrade and modernize the highway from milepost six in South Hilo to the junction with Mamalahoa Highway in South Kohala, to provide safe and efficient travel between east and west Hawaii.

Gilbert Kahele Recreation Area, currently owned by DLNR and designated as part of the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve, is a 32.572 acre parcel which has been managed by the County of Hawaiʻi through a Memorandum of Understanding between the County and DOFAW.

Interested people are invited to attend a public hearing on Wednesday, June 26, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. at the Hawaiʻi Island DOFAW Conference Room, 19 E. Kawili St., Hilo, HI, 96720. People unable to attend or who want to provide additional comments can submit written testimony postmarked no later than July 10, 2019:

By mail to the Forestry Program Manager, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, 1151 Punchbowl St., #325, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96813.

By email to [email protected]

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