Ka‘u residents had mostly conservative ideas about how best to utilize nearly 5,000 acres of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park land.
At an open house event Saturday in Pahala, HVNP personnel solicited community feedback about potential future uses of a pair of parcels that the park recently took over stewardship for: the 1,951-acre Great Crack property and the adjacent 2,750-acre Ala Wai‘i property.
Both parcels are currently managed by the park as wilderness backcountry and are open to the public for day hiking, but have very little actual development, aside from a short road on the Great Crack property that was built by the parcel’s previous owners.
A little over 30 people attended Saturday’s event to learn about the properties and discuss how best to utilize them. But many of the attendees advised only limited development of the land or none at all.
“I’d like them to be surveyed for petroglyphs and other cultural sites like that,” said Lisa Dacalio, a coffee farmer whose farm overlooks the Great Crack property. “If they find sites like that, it would be nice if they were able to allow some access for people to see them.
“I guess I’d like it to be preserved, but also opened for reasonable access,” Dacalio went on, but added that she wouldn’t want development that impacts the natural beauty of the land.
“I’d want to see good facilities opened (at Great Crack), mostly just so there’s a bathroom there,” said Hilo resident Zack Schneider. “I think the national park’s done a good job managing the land, so I’m not worried about what they do.”
Another attendee, a Hawaiian fisherman who asked to remain anonymous, said he wants the Great Crack to remain open so that fishermen can still reach the coast, but doesn’t want access to be improved enough to allow other people to easily reach the coast and impact fish and opihi populations.
Attendees left other comments on whiteboards during the event, including concerns about invasive species being introduced to the area, a desire for hiking routes to be connected to those on other HVNP parcels, a request for better parking along Highway 11, and a call to make the parcels accessible for two-wheel-drive vehicles.
HVNP spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said that last comment may be less feasible to implement than others. She said the road into Great Crack is difficult to traverse even for four-wheel-drive vehicles, as it passes through a gulch that requires vehicles to have high clearance to traverse.
Ferracane added that no backcountry permits — which are required for overnight camping on HVNP’s backcountry lands — have ever been issued for either parcel, although because no such permits are required for day visits, the park doesn’t have estimates on how many visitors either parcel receives.
Travis Heinrich, HVNP’s Kahuku Unit Manager, said the park rangers try to patrol the area weekly, although he added that staffing shortages have prevented such a regular schedule. But, he said, rangers will respond to emergency calls on the land if necessary.
HVNP will use the feedback taken from the meeting to draft a long-term plan for both parcels in the future.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovasnky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.