STATEMENT OF JON JARVIS, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, PACIFIC WEST
REGION, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS, RECREATION AND PUBLIC LANDS, HOUSE COMMITTEE ON
RESOURCES, CONCERNING H.R. 546, TO REVISE THE BOUNDARY OF THE
KALOKO-HONOKŌHAU NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK IN THE STATE OF HAWAII, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear before
your committee to present the views of the Department of the Interior on H.R.
546, a bill to revise the boundary of the Kaloko-Honokōhau
National Historical
Park in the State of Hawai`i.
The Department supports the enactment of H.R. 546, which is
virtually identical to S. 254 as passed by the Senate on March 3, 2003. This legislation would adjust
the boundary of the Kaloko-Honokōhau
National Historical
Park to include two adjacent
parcels of land, totaling 2.14 acres, to be used as the park headquarters to
house administrative, interpretive, resource management, and maintenance
functions. No appraisal has been done of these properties, but both
parcels and the building were assessed for a total of $2.0 million, according
to Hawaii County
public records. Purchasing this property would allow the National Park
Service to relinquish its existing lease, which costs $150,000 per year.
Over the long term, this acquisition would prove more cost-effective than
continuing the lease, even when adding in estimated annual maintenance costs of
$24,000-$48,000.
Since 1988, the park has leased building
space outside the park boundary to carry out needed administrative,
interpretive, resource management and maintenance functions. These leased
spaces have also been providing the basic means of visitor contact for park information and orientation. The amount of visitor
parking available at this leased facility is completely inadequate (limited to 3
to 4
spaces).
The two parcels are adjacent to the existing park boundary
though separated from the park by a state highway right-of-way. More then
90 percent of the land remains undeveloped and is large enough to accommodate
the storage of park vehicles and equipment as well as visitor and staff
parking. One of the parcels contains a 6,039 square-foot,
two-story concrete block building that would permit an easy and inexpensive
retrofit for use as the park headquarters. The building has never been
occupied and contains offices, restrooms, a reception lobby, lab, storage
areas, and a garage with roll-up trucking access doors and a loading
dock. The entire side of the building facing the park consists of glass
block walls from which sweeping panoramic views of the park, including the
ocean, can be seen. The building interior is air conditioned and finished
with floor tile and carpeting.
The location of the property between the Kona
International Airport
and the city of Kailua-Kona would
be highly accessible to visitors to the Kona
Coast and would be an invaluable
asset for all of the National Park Service units on the Island
of Hawai`i. It could support
the co-location of a number of management functions for Pu`uhonua o Hōnaunau
National Historical
Park, Pu`ukoholā Heiau
National Historic Site, and would also house the offices of the Ala Kahakai
National Historic Trail.
Established in 1978, the
purpose of Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park is to
provide a site for the preservation, interpretation and perpetuation of
traditional native Hawaiian culture and activities, and to demonstrate historic
land use patterns. An important management goal at the park is to limit
the development of facilities within the park to those directly related to
visitor services. The acquisition of the properties that would be brought
into the boundary by H.R. 546 would allow for facilities related to park
operations, including administration, resource management and maintenance, to
be permanently sited in a location that would not impact park values and
resources. In that respect, the boundary adjustment would be consistent
with National
Park Service Management Policies that states “the Service must avoid the
construction of buildings, roads, and other developments that will cause
unacceptable impacts on park resources and values.”
Mr. Chairman, that concludes my prepared remarks and I will
be happy to answer any questions you or other committee members might have.