Posted by Uncle Charlie on October 31, 1998 at 02:31:16:
Anti-antenna residents cite
cultural, aesthetic reasons
By TIMOTHY HURLEY
Staff Writer
PUKALANI -- Opponents of a proposed antenna farm
high on the southwest ridge of Haleakala vowed
Thursday to do whatever it takes to protect an area they
described as rich in cultural and natural resources.
Speakers told about 30 people at the Mayor Hannibal
Tavares Community Center that they would be willing to
fight the antenna facility in court or even lay down in front
of construction vehicles.
``I'm drawing a line in the lava,'' declared Native
Hawaiian cultural specialist Charles Kauluwehi Maxwell
Sr. ``I vowed there would be no more construction on
Haleakala, and I'll put my okole on the line to protest . . .
''
Thursday's meeting was held by Protect Haleakala, a
coalition of groups opposed to the antenna project on 5
acres at Kalepeamoa, at the 9,250-foot level below
Haleakala Observatories, also called Science City.
The state is proposing to develop the antenna farm to
allow the relocation of commercial broadcast transmitters
that are currently located at Science City and interfering
with the work of the observatories.
The plan calls for the state to use the bid procurement
process to find a developer, who would build the facility
and sublease it to the broadcasters. The site would allow
up to four 199-foot antenna towers, providing enough
television and radio signal range to cover Maui,
windward Oahu and Kona.
According to a draft environmental assessment, the
project would have no significant impact.
However, speakers on Thursday night called that
statement far from accurate. Among other things, they
said the proposal would be a visual blight and scar on a
wilderness area that deserves to be preserved.
``This is one of the most wonderful places in all of
Hawaii,'' said Mary Evanson, president of Friends of
Haleakala.
Evanson has been urging the state to include the region
within its protected Natural Area Reserves System as a
pristine example of an ancient volcanic rift zone.
``This is a very spiritual place,'' she said. ``We cannot let
this happen. There are limits to the places that we give
over to development.''
Evanson pointed out that the present four-wheel-drive
road through the area would need to be widened and
upgraded into what the environmental assessment calls an
``unimproved road.'' The road would need to
accommodate service vehicles on a regular basis.
What's more, she said, construction would require a road
that could handle cranes, forklifts and trailer trucks.
``The erosion to be caused for the road alone would be
destructive,'' she said.
Evanson also pointed out that the region is prime nesting
area for endangered Hawaiian dark-rumped petrels, or
`ua`u, and the towers might interfere with their flight,
especially the young ones that are known to be unsteady
fliers.
Maxwell described the region as religiously and spiritually
important to Native Hawaiians. He said the entire
mountain is covered with ancient burials.
Maxwell also told of his exasperation for Western
people's drive ``to ruin what God has created.'' He said
each new structure on the mountain interferes with the
Native Hawaiians' cultural and religious connection with
the land.
``My God, we are losing everything that is sacred to us,
and we still have to come here and beg for crumbs,'' he
said.
Wailuku Attorney Isaac Hall said the project deserves no
less than an environmental impact statement to more
thoroughly study its impacts, and Science City needs a
master plan.
Chuck Bergson of Lahaina Broadcasting Co. and Island
Airwaves noted that there are alternatives to the
proposed site, including his recently developed antenna
farm at Ulupalakua Ranch.
Bergson said that while his Keonehunehune site is less
desirable in terms of overall coverage, the difference is
very small, in the 2 to 3 percent range. He said a test run
by an Oahu UHF station proved that the site works well
for windward Oahu.
But Ron Zane, an engineer with the University of Hawaii's
Institute for Astronomy, said independent tests nine years
ago showed that Keonehunehune didn't measure up as a
transmission site. He said he'd like to see Bergson's data.
In any case, Bergson said most people don't get their
television from the airwaves. He said 88 percent of the
population receives cable television.
The public comment period for the draft environmental
assessment has been extended to Nov. 30. Send
comments to: Dr. Robert McLaren, University of Hawaii,
Institute for Astronomy, 2680 Woodlawn Drive,
Honolulu 96822.