The public will have until the end of the month to review a draft of the 2015 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan. ADVERTISING The public will have until the end of the month to review a draft of the 2015
The public will have until the end of the month to review a draft of the 2015 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan.
The Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of State Parks in partnership with PBR Hawaii & Associates Inc., is inviting the public to provide comment until April 30.
According to a press release, the comprehensive recreation plan is updated every five years to assess Hawaii’s outdoor recreation trends, needs and priorities.
The plan also provides direction for the state’s recreational future and allows Hawaii to remain eligible to receive funds for outdoor recreation projects through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a federal grants program administered by the National Park Service.
Using the priorities for outdoor recreation identified in the comprehensive recreation plan, the National Park Service selects projects to receive funding that meet Hawaii’s recreational needs and help resolve recreational conflicts.
Catie Cullison, associate planner for PBR Hawaii & Associates Inc., said since 1966, Hawaii has received $38 million from LWCF, which was used to benefit more than 401 acres of land.
The draft is formulated from comments by recreation agencies and the public. Information was gathered through online surveys and public meetings between January and March of last year. More than 1,100 people participated in the process.
Martha Yent, DLNR state parks interpretive program manager, said this last round of comments is to make sure the department didn’t miss anything important.
“This will give the public a chance to make sure we heard them correctly and see if there’s anything we overlooked,” she said.
During the informational gathering period, comments identified the operation and maintenance of recreation facilities as the number one issue and priority for investment in outdoor recreation.
Yent said, for example, this means that when ranking applications, if one comes in to renovate an existing facility it would be considered a high priority based off the plan.
According to the release, the public and recreation agencies recognized an increasing demand on outdoor recreation facilities because a growing population of residents, military and visitors. While county leaders have placed an emphasis on the maintenance of their parks, they also recognized the need for public-private partnerships. Ocean recreation also continued to be a high recreation priority for Hawaii stakeholders, but user conflicts in the ocean remain a challenge. Sports fields are also in high demand, especially with year-round seasons that stress the demand and maintenance for the multi-purpose fields.
The 2009 recreation plan identified multi-use paths for walking, jogging and bicycling as one of Hawaii’s recreational priorities, which continues to be a trend into the 2015 SCORP, according to the release.
This year, the grant is expected to provide about $450,000 toward county projects. Funding is given to a county project one year and then a state project the next. This year, it is the counties’ turn to apply. Jason Armstrong, Hawaii County Department of Parks and Recreation public officer, said Hawaii County will not be applying for a grant this year.
He said the county is still managing the last grant they received, which was used for the Hilo Bayfront Trail Project Phase 1. The multi-use trail system will run through several county parks, including Mooheau Park, Hilo Bayfront Park and Hilo Bayfront Soccer Fields, as well as Wailoa River State Recreation Area.
The grant also previously went toward new playground equipment at the Panaewa Zoo in Hilo.
A 14-page summary of the SCORP findings and strategic plan, as well as the full draft SCORP document with appendices, can viewed on the State Parks’ website at dlnr.hawaii.gov.
Yent said the state “encourages the community to work with lcoal county parks and rec staff with what they want to see submitted for grants or funded as recreation priority.”
Public comments can be submitted by e-mail or in writing to:
ccullison@pbrhawaii.com
or
PBR HAWAII & Associates, Inc.
Attn: Catie Cullison, AICP
1001 Bishop St., Suite 650
Honolulu, HI 96813-3484
