KEALAKEKUA — The future of Kealakekua Bay is being taken in hand once again.
A consultant hired by the state has finished a draft of alternatives for improving and managing the Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park. Those plans will be up for public scrutiny and comment later this month.
The planning resumed last year after decades of such efforts failed to lead to a coherent management plan. The goal is to balance recreation with important resources in a bay whose popularity is steadily growing and whose cultural legacy is one of the most significant in the state, according to the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
But interviews with residents and visitors at the bay hinted why the process may be taking as long as it has. A common theme was caution about over-developing the area, where Captain Cook landed in 1779 and was later buried after a skirmish with Native Hawaiians.
Both residents and visitors seem to like the bay the way it is.
“We’ve got to keep some places that are our own, Hawaii’s own,” said Stanford Omori, who grew up on the bay. “You don’t find places like this anymore.”
That said: “Me, I welcome visitors,” Omori continued. “It’s more money for the community.”
Some common objectives outlined in several alternatives for the 550-plus acre bay and park include a canoe shuttle from Napoopoo to Kaawaloa and the Captain Cook Monument, an increase in interpretive trails, a new parking area, a swim and snorkel zone where powerboats are prohibited fronting the monument and along Kaawaloa Cove, and an increased presence of enforcement officers.
Some visitors were keenly aware of the dilemma facing the area: The economy needs tourism to survive, but no one wants too much of a good thing.
“The reason I come here is because it’s like this,” said Margaret Vodicka, sitting under a tree near the Napoopoo Landing and watching a sizable swell pound the shoreline. “I can understand wanting to make it accessible, but if it gets too busy, we probably won’t come back here.”
Vodicka, of Grass Valley, California, said the concept of more interpretive trails appealed to her more than any other aspect of the proposal.
“I like to be able to take walks, and there aren’t that many places where you can,” she said.
Again, it’s all in the measure.
“We loved Kauai, but we think it’s too busy so we won’t go back,” she said. “We went to Maui but that was way too crowded. This is our ninth time to the Big Island, and this is my favorite place.”
Vodicka was seated in an area that became a source of frustration for locals after the state closed off the Napoopoo wharf area where residents had traditionally parked and gathered. If tour companies are allowed to use the wharf to land their kayaks, then locals should be able to park there, residents said.
“Not even us fishermen can use the dock,” said one Manini Beach homeowner who requested to be identified only as Lani.
Lani worried that increased development, a possible visitor center and more trails will lead to impacts on the bay’s ambiance.
“My dad lives right there on the corner,” he said, pointing toward Napoopoo Landing. “He’s going to have a trail go right by his house.
“It’s gonna be like Waikiki if they do that.”
But Vodicka remembers when the gate the dock was locked. Before that, she wouldn’t go there because it was too crowded and noisy.
Manini Beach area resident Rufus Duarte questioned whether it was appropriate to develop a trail system around Hikiau Heiau and other historical sites.
“It’s actually sacred ground,” he said. “You want to keep it natural.”
“Us locals, we just want to get along with everyone else,” he continued. “If they can work with the locals, it would be okay. But it seems they want everything for themselves.”
When there’s trouble on the bay, the locals take care of it first, often before rescue personnel arrive, Duarte said.
People who attend the public meeting will ponder three options: Alternative A stresses recreation. Under the plan, Napoopoo Landing would have a dedicated kayak launch and improved water access with a non-commercial vessel drop-off area, mobile food concession, portable restrooms and a storage and staging area for the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement. The old Gaspar Mill site would be a 60-stall parking lot that links to the heiau area and Napoopoo Beach with a handicap-accessible trail. The plan also contains a community park and an interpretive program showcasing the area’s archaeology.
Alternative B, balancing recreation and historical component, would have waterless toilets installed at Kaawaloa, repairs to the wharf to the Captain Cook Monument to allow for canoe shuttle landings, and an extensive trail running along the Kaawaloa shoreline. At the Napoopoo heiau area, an interpretive trail would wind through the archaeological sites.
Under Alternative C, emphasizing historical elements, the cultural landscape at Kaawaloa would be restored and a circular interpretive trail would loop through the area, with wayside exhibits and a staffed interpretive shelter. Similar interpretive stations and a center with a gift shop would be set up on the Napoopoo side, along with a thatched shelter for canoe shuttle and visitor services at the landing.
A fourth option would leave the bay as is.
An open house on the plans will be held Jan. 30 at the Konawaena Elementary School cafeteria from 1 to 2:30 p.m., followed by a discussion session from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Public input will help guide a draft management plan, which will be followed by an environmental assessment.
On Thursday, Dave Messinger and his wife Sharon said they’ll need to attend the meeting and get a lot more information before they make up their minds. The couple likes to drive down to the bay and swim in the mornings, and wondered if more parking would draw crowds.
“It’s probably hard to balance the needs of tourists and commercial operators and the locals,” Sharon Messinger said.
To her husband, the bay is, quite simply, a beautiful place.
He said: “There is a feeling about this place that is hard to wrap words around.”
Julie Kaiser visits from Wisconsin three to four times a year and is building a house on the Big Island with her family. She hopes that whatever the state decides, it doesn’t erase what is most special about the bay.
“I don’t like to see change,” she said. “I like to preserve what’s there and what’s natural. I’d like to have easy access, but I don’t want to see a ton of people either.”
Info: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp/.
