Maui Meeting Looks at Impacts of Wind Farms on Hawaiian Hoary Bat

Governor Ige signs a bill into law that designates the ōpe‘ape‘a or Hawaiian Hoary Bat as the official state land mammal in Hawai‘i. Photo courtesy Office of the Governor, State of Hawai‘i.

The protection of the Hawaiian Hoary Bat or ʻŌpeʻapeʻa is the focus of a meeting tonight on Maui hosted by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

The meeting will address the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of Mauiʻs four wind farms on the ʻŌpeʻapeʻa as well as other issues facing the bat species.

The public comment meeting takes place tonight at Kula Elementary School from 6 to 8 p.m.

The meeting will also address impacts of the wind farms on two other endangered species, the Hawaiian goose (Branta sandvicensis); and the Hawaiian petrel (Pterodroma sandwichensis).

The draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and associated habitat conservation plans will be available for public comment from April 26, 2019 – June 10, 2019.

A similar meeting was held on Oʻahu yesterday, and an additional meeting will be held on Hawai‘i Island at the Naʻalehu Community Center tomorrow (Thursday, May 23, 2019), from 6 to 8 p.m.