Springer appointed to Loea seat on state Commission on Water Resource Management

Governor Josh Green, M.D., has appointed Hannah Kihalani Springer to the Commission on Water Resource Management (CWRM), effective immediately.

The appointment comes after V.R. Hinano Rodrigues of Maui withdrew his nomination earlier this month amid controversy over his selection. Rodrigues notified the Office of the Governor that he decided to withdraw from the Loea seat for purposes of “healing with this community and our people.”

Springer will serve through June 30, 2028, pending confirmation by the Hawaiʻi State Senate. She has been appointed to the Loea seat on the commission, which is reserved for a member with substantial experience or expertise in traditional Hawaiian water resource management techniques and in traditional Hawaiian riparian usage.

A kamaʻāina of Kaʻūpūlehu in North Kona, Springer has served on numerous advisory councils, nonprofit boards and state commissions focused on environmental protection, cultural heritage and community-based resource management, according to a news release from the Office of the Governor.

She previously served as a member of both the Hawaiʻi County Planning Commission and the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission, as well as the Board of Trustees for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Springer’s leadership spans organizations such as the Akaka Foundation for Tropical Forests, Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo and the Kaʻūpūlehu Marine Life Advisory Committee. Through her work, Springer has championed the integration of traditional knowledge and community voices into decisions affecting Hawaiʻi’s land and water, according to the announcement.

“Hannah Springer’s lifelong commitment to ʻāina stewardship, cultural wisdom and public service makes her an invaluable addition to the Commission on Water Resource Management,” said Green. “Her perspective will help ensure that our approach to managing water resources reflects the values and priorities of Hawaiʻi’s people and places. I am proud to appoint her to this important role.”

Springer expressed humility and enthusiasm upon learning of the appointment. “If confirmed, I look forward to bringing the sensibility of a kamaʻāina of a water-scarce and fire-prone region, to the work of the commission,” she said.

“We are all winners now that the Green Administration is following the Water Code,” said Harley Broyles, an Associate Attorney in Earthjustice’s Mid-Pacific Office. “Thank you Gov. Green for heeding the community’s call to nominate someone who is both highly qualified and well respected among the community of kalo farmers and others who are committed to perpetuating traditional Native Hawaiian practices in their daily lives.”

In January, Earthjustice filed suit against the Green Administration for the appointment of Rodrigues in Hui Kānāwai ‘Oia‘i‘o vs. Goveror Green. Additionally, other community groups filed a complaint with the Ethics Commission, collected petition signatures, and urged senators to reject the nomination.

The full Senate must vote on Springer’s nomination before April 30.