In brief | Big Island & State | 6-7-14

Respect for sea turtles urged

HONOLULU – The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is reminding the public to respect Hawaii’s sea turtles by viewing these protected animals responsibly.

The two types of sea turtles most frequently observed in nearshore waters in Hawaii are the green sea turtle and hawksbill sea turtle.

Locations such as Laniakea and Alii beaches on the North Shore of Oahu as well as locations on Maui, Kauai and Hawaii Island have become popular places to watch basking honu. Although this provides an excellent viewing opportunity, it is important to act responsibly and keep a respectful distance. DLNR suggests keeping a 6- to 10-foot buffer as a best practice for sea turtle viewing.

The public is advised to not touch, pick up, restrain, jump over, straddle, pursue, ride, harass, harm or otherwise disturb these animals.

The green sea turtle is listed as threatened and the hawksbill is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Although green sea turtle populations are recovering, they face threats, including destruction and alteration of nesting and feeding areas, incidental capture in commercial and recreational fisheries, entanglement in and ingestion of marine debris, poaching, disease, vessel strikes and climate change.

In Hawaii, sea turtles are protected by the Hawaii Revised Statutes (Chapter 195D) and Hawaii Administrative Rules (13-124). Although federal and state wildlife conservation laws differ in some respects, all prohibit actions that can harm, injure, kill or otherwise disturb sea turtles without a permit. Feeding or touching turtles in any way is considered a disturbance and therefore illegal. For more information, visit hawaii.gov/dlnr or view a public service announcement at vimeo.com/63933154.

To report suspected violations, call the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement at 587-0077 or 643-DLNR.

Summer food service program begins next month

Beginning this month, the Seamless Summer Option food service program will be available at 59 public schools without charge to all children 18 years and younger, according to the state Department of Education.

Meals will be served at select locations Monday through Friday, except June 11 and July 4. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and was established to ensure that low-income children continue to receive nutritious meals when school is not in session. An eligible school must have 50 percent or more of its regular enrolled students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches and some type of summer program on campus, but meal recipients do not have to be enrolled in those programs.

For more information, log onto fns.usda.gov/sfsp.

Chase preliminary hearing rescheduled

The preliminary hearing for Randall Todd Chase has been rescheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Chase, 28, faces robbery, assault, theft and drug charges in the alleged robbery and assault May 27 in front of Denny’s on Henry Street in Kailua-Kona.

Crews continue to quash Ka‘u brush fire

Firefighters on Friday were still working to extinguish a brush fire that charred an estimated 1,022 acres in Ka‘u.

Hawaii Fire Department personnel continued Friday to douse hot spots and flareups within the burn area which extends from Kaalualu Bay northwest toward South Point Road, according to the department.

The fire is listed as under control and contained.

Firefighters responded about 2:30 p.m. Sunday to a report of a brush fire near Kaalualu Bay that was being fanned by trade winds toward South Point Road. Within 1.5 hours, the fire had grown to 250 acres. Firefighters gained control of the blaze late Sunday, keeping it at an estimated 1,022 acres.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

PTA offers bow hunting this weekend

Pohakuloa Training Area Army officials are opening several training areas for bow hunting from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. this weekend.

Training areas one to four will be open for bow hunting of mammals only. Hunters are allowed one pig, one goat and one sheep, per day, in keeping with state bag limits. Shooting sheep with blue collars is not permitted.

The Keamuku Training Area will be open for bow hunting of goats only. Hunting of sheep is not permitted there this weekend.

All hunters must check in and check out at one of the following hunter’s check-in stations: Kilohana, located on Saddle Road between mile markers 43 and 44, Puu Huluhulu, located at the intersection of Mauna Kea Access Road and Saddle Road near mile marker 28, or Puuanahulu, located on Mamalahoa Highway across from mile marker 15. Check-out time is no later than 7:30 p.m. each day.

Hunting passes will be provided at the check-in stations. Hunters who do not have a signed hunting pass on their dashboard will be barred from hunting for 30 days.

Hunter access to training areas one to four is through any of gates one to 10 on East Saddle Road. Hunter access to Keamuku is through gates 11 and 14 on Mamalahoa Highway.

Firearms, alcoholic beverages, all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes and recreational vehicles are not allowed in the training and hunting areas. For more information, call the PTA Hunter’s Hotline at 969-3474, visit garrison.hawaii.army.mil/pta and click on the “Hunting” tab, or refer to instructions on the hunting pass.

Maui County clerk advances anti-GMO petition

WAILUKU, Hawaii — A Maui group that wants to ban genetically modified crops has been given a green light by election officials to advance their proposal.

Maui’s County Clerk Danny Mateo said Friday that the group collected enough valid signatures to send their petition to the city council.

According to the Maui County Charter, the council will now have 60 days to act on the proposal.

The proposed moratorium would make it illegal to cultivate, grow or test genetically modified crops in Maui County until companies complete environmental and public health studies finding their practices are safe.

If the council does not adopt the ordinance within 60 days, it will be placed on the 2014 general election ballot to be decided by voters.

Kauai groups to protest naval exercises

LIHUE, Hawaii — Kauai organizations are planning to protest international maritime exercises hosted by the U.S. Navy this summer.

A coalition called Oceans 4 Peace says it will educate the public on the dangers of what it calls “permanent war preparation and naval military harm” to oceans. Among its concerns is how sonar affects marine mammals.

More than 20 countries are expected to participate in Rim of the Pacific exercises starting June 26. Some of the exercises will take place in waters off Kauai. China will send ships to the drills for the first time. The drills are held every other year in Hawaii waters.

The activists will kick off a series of public events with a teach-in panel discussion and film in Lihue on Saturday, The Garden Island newspaper reported.

Kip Goodwin of Kauai Alliance for Peace and Justice says preparing for war will only encourage more war.

“It is time nations prepare for peace and do training exercises that build bridges instead of walls,” he wrote in a release.

Kalasara Setaysha, chairwoman of Kohola Leo, said naval sonar harms whale and dolphin hearing, which the marine mammals need to survive.

Pacific Missile Range Facility spokesman Stefan Alford said the Navy has permits to conduct training and activities around Hawaii. He said most of the time the only way sonar affects marine mammals is to temporarily disrupt their feeding or foraging. No marine mammals are expected to die as a result of the exercises, he said.

The coalition also expressed concerns about the Navy’s plans to sink decommissioned vessels, saying they would be left to pollute the ocean floor.

Alford says the vessels have been “rigorously cleaned in accordance with federal Environmental Protection Agency requirements.”

Oceans 4 Peace, which includes the Kauai Sierra Club and People for the Preservation of Kauai, has set up a RIMPAC hotline where people can call in and report strange or dangerous activities that may have been caused by the exercises.

By local and wire sources