Complaint: Company illegally harvested eucalyptus trees on Hamakua Coast

WAIMEA — What started as a concern for safety and damage to a neighborhood road, turned into the discovery of unlawful harvesting of eucalyptus trees on Kamehameha Schools land in Waimea.

On May 25, Kamehameha Schools filed a complaint in the 3rd Circuit Court requesting the court grant immediate and permanent injunctive relief against defendants Jonathan P. Spies and his companies Hamakua Renewable Enterprises, LLC, and Golden Lion Hawaii, LLC, for trespassing and the illegal harvesting of eucalyptus trees on the school’s property in the Kapulena area.

According to the complaint, the defendants harvested more than 28 acres of eucalyptus timber at two different sites of Kamehameha Schools’ property on the Hamakua Coast.

“Plaintiffs have suffered, and will continue to suffer, serious and irreparable damage and injury for which there is no adequate remedy at law if Defendants are allowed to continue their unlawful, illegal and unauthorized activities on the Plaintiff’s property and as to timber harvested from the Plaintiff’s property,” the complaint states.

According to the filing, Kamehameha Schools received information about the logging on May 6.

The logging was brought to the school’s attention by neighbors who live in the area on Mud Lane. For the past month, residents say, heavy equipment has been going up and down their paved one-lane road along with loads of timber.

“I guess it takes us neighbors to put up a flag and start asking questions,” said Mud Lane resident Susan Russell. “Our main concern was our road, but then there’s a bigger picture.”

Paved Mud Lane is about 2 miles. At the end of the lane, it turns into a dirt road, which leads to the Waipio Valley rim. A 10-minute bumpy ride from the paved portion opens into a clearing where hundreds of felled eucalyptus trees are stacked for removal.

While investigating the logging in Waimea, the filing indicates a Kamehameha Schools employee was notified by a security contractor that eucalyptus trees were also being harvested from a property the school owns in Honokaa above Pikake Street.

During an inspection of the area, the filing reports, about 7 acres of timber were cut down.

On May 10, the filing states, Spies was issued a trespass warning, which advised him to leave the properties, remove all of his belongings and not enter the areas again without Kamehameha Schools’ consent.

Spies and Hamakua Renewable Enterprises, LLC were issued a cease-and-desist letter on May 11.

The Hawaii Police Department confirmed Kamehameha Schools filed a lumber theft report on May 15. Police Major Sam Thomas stated certain individuals had gone onto the school’s property without their knowledge or permission. An investigation is underway.

The filing indicates the timber harvested from the school’s properties is being stored at a site off of Waikoloa Road with the intent to ship it to China.

“Kamehameha Schools takes the unauthorized removal of resources from its property very seriously. These resources help us provide the programs and services we deliver on Hawaii Island,” said Marissa Harman, director of Asset Management on Hawaii Island. “We will pursue whatever means necessary to prevent these actions from continuing to occur in the future.”

Despite the filing, Spies appeared to violate the cease-and-desist order issued against him. Equipment was found in the clearing on May 26.

West Hawaii Today found Spies at the site on Mud Lane on May 30. On Friday, he said, this was all a misunderstanding.

Spies said he had a contract with a contractor on Mud Lane and a private owner in the same area as the school. It was an accident that he cut on Kamehameha Schools’ land.

“It’s hard to know exactly where we are,” Spies said.

The Hamakua Renewable Enterprises manager went on to say he works to take down invasive tree species on the island.

“Eucalyptus is considered invasive to a certain extent,” he said.

Spies said his company is there to help the community.

“There are lots of people just wanting to get it off their property,” Spies said of the trees.

He added he’s trying to open up a market for trees that are less desirable.

Despite Spies’ claim that he is working with Kamehameha Schools, Crystal Kua-Bikle, spokeswoman for the school, said they stand by their position in the complaint filed with the court.

County officials were also contacted by residents about the logging. Valerie Poindexter, councilwoman for District 1, said she first heard about the harvesting of trees nearly three weeks ago.

After finding out what company was responsible, Poindexter said, she went to Spies and asked if he had permission for the roadwork on the trail and logging.

“He said he didn’t talk to the county — he thought he was just doing the county a favor,” Poindexter recalled. “I found out after talking with Kamehameha Schools, he was on their land.”

The Department of Public Works confirmed no permits for road improvements had been issued for that area. It is unclear if the dirt section of Mud Lane is a county road.

An inspector is set to do a site visit on Monday to determine if it is. If so, the inspector will investigate whether construction was done without the proper permits.

“I want to make sure that others don’t think they can just go around the island and cut down trees,” Poindexter said.

Concerns raised about safety, damage to Mud Lane

Frosty Yardley, a Mud Lane resident, said the issue lies with safety and damage to Mud Lane.

Yardley has lived down Mud Lane for several years. Originally a dirt road, Yardley said, residents pushed to get the road paved for years. Residents were promised a two-lane road, what they got was a paved one-lane road.

With people walking and biking the road regularly, Yardley along with other residents, saw the heavy equipment rolling up and down their street as a safety issue.

Yardley said it was a Friday when he saw a big puddle of oil at the top of the driveway.

“Just a bad omen,” he said.

Yardley added he was going to get a petition going if the company didn’t get shut down.

“I don’t think there’s any way we could legally stop them from busting up the roads,” he said.

Russell recalled seeing trucks bring rock and dirt up and down the road for months.

Originally, Russell said, the dirt section of Mud Lane was a trail, challenging for four-wheeling. Now, it’s been widened to accommodate the traffic of heavy machinery.

Russell said residents know the trees were planted to be harvested.

“You just have to do it the right way so you don’t destroy other things, like the roads,” she said.

Residents also took issue with the lack of communication, saying there was no community input or warning.

“Some kind of heads up would’ve been nice,” Yardley said.

Since the trees are gone and the road is altered, there isn’t much for the residents to do, except raise awareness. Russell said she wants the lumber to go to the right place.

“I can’t say I want the trail back — the trail is gone,” she added.

If a violation to a county road was committed, Poindexter wants the company to be held accountable.

“If the county doesn’t take action we’re going to allow for more and more of these businesses to impact these smaller communities in a negative way,” Poindexter said.

History of property

According to the court filing, Kamehameha Schools acquired about 30,000 acres of former Hamakua Sugar Co. land on the Hamakua Coast in 1994.

In 1996, the school leased about 22,816 acres to The Prudential Insurance Co. of America, or PruTimber, for silvicultural purposes. According to the filing, the company planted eucalyptus trees on about 12,700 acres of the leased land from Laupahoehoe to Waipio.

In 2008, the filing indicates LHF Lopiwa, LLC, acquired the lease from PruTimber and went forward with forestry and logging operations on the property.

LHF’s lease ended on Dec. 31, 2016.

“At the time the lease ended, the leased property was returned to Plaintiffs with approximately 10,000 acres of mature eucalyptus trees,” according to the Kamehameha Schools’ complaint.