Nonprofit receives $100K grant for public access

BY CAROLYN LUCAS-ZENK | WEST HAWAII TODAY

A Kailua-Kona-based nonprofit is getting $100,000 to help fund its new effort to help Big Island private landowners provide public access to their land for subsistence, cultural practices, recreation or transportation.

People’s Advocacy for Trails Hawaii was one of five recipients selected Tuesday to receive money from the Hawaii Community Foundation’s Island Innovation Fund, created to serve as a catalyst for innovation within the nonprofit sector.

PATH’s project, Public Access with Kuleana, begins next month and deploys a six-part, community-managed public access model in two locations: Pepeekeo, North Hilo, and Keauhuolu, North Kona. It consists of legal agreements; risk management; an access control and accountability system; education and orientation of access users; establishment of enforcement protocols; and evaluation to improve the model and inform others who wish to do the same thing elsewhere, said PATH Executive Director Laura Dierenfield.

The idea was discussed during the Hamakua Community Development Plan process, and public access is “at the heart of PATH.” The idea also derived from ongoing issues and some residents’ wants pertaining to public accessibility to the mountains and oceans in Hawaii. Many private landowners have concerns about liability, safety, vandalism and other mischief, which are the crux as to why there’s usually a permanent closure of land with trails or pathways, Dierenfield said.

Besides providing education, outreach and enforcement, PATH is proposing installing a gate at the top of access roads to such lands, but having the access controlled through a smart card system, Dierenfield said.

“A smart card looks and functions like a credit card that can be programmed to identify the person and their respective access rights. For example, residents, landowners, lessees, or their designated guests would be able to access with no charge. On the other hand, visitors would pay a fee,” according to PATH’s Island Innovation Fund application. “The visitor would be required to go through the visitor center to pay the fee, understand the protocols, and obtain their temporary smart card. The management entity would determine whether and how much the fee would be. … This fee could be paid for upon each use, once a year, or any other time increment.”

Dierenfield said this solution will provide “a win-win” for private landowners and the public — one that allows people to practice cultural traditions, explore Hawaii’s beauty and do so with a sense of responsibility.

Generations of residents have used the rural Pepeekeo site for fishing and hiking along the shoreline. As for the Keauhuolu site, PATH envisions having a pathway for pedestrians and bicyclists that adds more connectivity, she said.

Dierenfield anticipates the public will have access to these areas by February 2013. She expressed PATH’s gratitude for “the opportunity to be able to put something together and make it through this very competitive process involving more than 200 nonprofits.”

“It’s an honor to be one of the five Island Innovation Fund grant recipients,” she said. “Public access is a core part of our mission and we’re excited to be able to provide an innovation solution.”

Hawaii Community Foundation awarded $480,591 from its fund and PATH was the Big Island’s only recipient. The other projects plan to increase energy awareness through real-time energy monitoring web and mobile application tools; allow residents statewide to actively follow and monitor the Hawaii legislative process; distribute an exercise and fall prevention program to seniors statewide; and help schools become zero waste sites.

To get involved with PATH’s project, call 326-7284 or email sharetheroad@pathhawaii.org. For more information about the Island Innovation Fund, visit islandinnovation.org.

clucas-zenk@westhawaiitoday.com