by Erik Coopersmith on 19 December 2006 in The Garden Island News
Dear Mr. Young ...
Thank you for patiently listening for over three hours while Kauaian after Kauaian stepped up to the microphone and addressed you and the governor’s Kaua‘i Council of Advisors on Thursday evening. The message was very clear and incredibly unanimous: the DLNR’s Master Plan for Koke‘e and Waimea Canyon state parks is not what the people of Kaua‘i want. As a matter of fact, for the past five years, there have been numerous public
meetings about this Master Plan, and every time the testimony has been extremely consistent: We don’t want your “amenities” and “improvements.”
Just repair and maintain the park roads, bathrooms and hiking trails, and fix up the decrepit, state-owned rental cabins and Koke‘e Lodge. Besides those too-long-deferred repair and maintenance items, please leave our precious mountain alone. Recently, the 40- to 60-room hotel was removed from the plan, as was the paving of “Secret Bluff,” commercial helicopters using the landing zone in the park and an actual entry gate. That is certainly
progress. But it’s not nearly enough.
You changed some of the Master Plan’s language. For instance, replacing “revenue generation” as its stated fundamental goal with “enhancements” and “upgrades,” and replaced “entry gate” with “entry station.” But has your intention really changed? The letter you circulated at Thursday’s meeting ends with, “We want to make sure the correct thing happens (in Koke‘e). We welcome
and appreciate the participation of the Kaua‘i residents in the planning process.” If you are sincere in these statements, sweeping changes need to be made to the Master Plan as it stands right now. Dozens of people spoke with one voice: Koke‘e should not be “improved” to accommodate busload after busload of tourists; the lookouts should not be commercialized; and any sort of entry station, with or without an actual gate, is
un-needed and unwanted.
As caretaker for Camp Sloggett in Koke‘e, I get a unique glimpse of how the people of Kaua‘i view and use Koke‘e. It is a place for retreat; for both individual meditation and personal time, and for families and churches and schools to get together in a special, quiet place for their own growth, exploration, sharing, teaching and praying. Locals come to Koke‘e to gather maile and mokihana, ferns and lehua blossoms for their leis and
ceremonies. The annual plum-picking, trout-fishing and deer-hunting seasons are legendary. These are traditions passed down for many generations already, and hopefully for many generations to come.
As this small island continues to get built up, the rural areas are disappearing, as are the mauka forests. This continued growth demands that Koke‘e be left alone — left as a place of refuge and regeneration, a place for the keiki of Kaua‘i to see where food and water actually comes from. It is a rare and beautiful opportunity for them to learn from the kupuna so much of their heritage, culture and traditions. To explore nature, see native
birds and plants, enjoy chilly mountain nights and star-filled skies. To connect with the ‘aina, the source. And to leave their Gameboys and DVDs behind for just a little while.
This is a rapidly dwindling type of place. There is nothing which can replace Koke‘e in the hearts and minds and actions of the people of Kaua‘i. It is truly unique, and must not be destroyed by mismanagement and misdevelopment, however well intended.
Appreciate Koke‘e for the wonderful, rustic, local, natural treasure that it is. Please listen to the voice of the people of Kaua‘i. Make your money elsewhere.
Malama ‘Aina preserve Koke‘e.
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