Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana asserts full Environmental Impact Assessment is necessary for Kaʻula Island

The Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana wants a full Environmental Impact Study completed before any further use of Kaʻula Island for military exercises.

The grassroots organization believes the draft Environmental Assessment for expanded military activities at the Pacific Missile Range Facilities and Kaʻula Island does not accurately or adequately assess the impacts.

The Study Area consists of lands within PMRF at Barking Sands, beginning at the high tide line and extending inland to the installation boundary, and Kaʻula Island (an offshore islet where inert gunnery and bombing exercises occur). The lands at Barking Sands and Kaʻula Island where this training and testing would occur are managed by the Navy.

Members of the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana argue that the draft EA is deficient in its Cultural Impact Assessment, and does not reflect the impacts that increased military exercises will have on Kaʻula Island, the local environment and marine resources surrounding the island.

“Kaʻula, like Kahoʻolawe, has sacred sites of irreplaceable cultural significance to the Native Hawaiian people that were wrongfully taken by the US military for live-fire use. It is unclear how the US military could move forward with its illegal use of Kaʻula for live-fire ordnance training purposes until the all-important question of ownership of the island is resolved,” and organization spokesperson said.

The full letter is posted below.