To: The Hawaii State House, The Hawaii State Senate, and Governor David Ige
Protect Waipiʻo Valley
Please defer SB 3063 SD 2 HD 2 until a bill supported by the community can be drafted, which assures that paramount concerns are adequately researched prior to the disposition of any Waipiʻo lands. These include public access, protection of thousands of cultural, historic and religious sites, including burials, acknowledgment of vested interests, especially of current Bishop Museum leaseholders not in violation of their lease agreements, water rights and water management, and other issues such as illegal B&Bs, tours, wild horses, etc.
Why is this important?
Many Hawaiians trace their genealogy to Waipiʻo, valley of the kings and once the hub of ancient Hawaiian civilization. As people who love the land we owe it to the ʻāina, to the kūpuna and to the ʻōpio to protect Waipiʻo, one of the last functioning cultural kīpuka and an invaluable seed bank to revitalize traditional Hawaiian practices and traditions.