Ewa Plains HART Guideway and Stations Intersects with 1825 Malden Trail Survey

Ewa Plains HART Guideway and Stations Intersects with 1825 Malden Trail Survey

By John Bond, Kanehili Cultural Hui

Hawaiian royal cloak in Bishop Museum from 1825 HMS Blonde expedition to Oahu.

Ewa Plain Trails Map by Lt. Malden, Royal Navy

South Oahu Trails Map

Ewa Plain Karst (Ancient Coral Reef)

New AIS Testimony: HART Rail Route Damages 

Traditional Hawaiian Cultural Properties

by John Bond, Kanehili Cultural Hui

Numerous groups and organizations submitted comments and testimony on the 22 mile Honolulu Rail Archaeological Impact Statement (AIS) to the State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) to meet the May 30th Deadline. The new AIS comment period had been extended because of last year's Hawaii Supreme Court ruling that the rail AIS cannot be done in phases or segments.

The previous 2009 AIS omitted a great deal of valid cultural information, many groups were not consulted, and data was skewed to fit a 'rush-to-begin-building-the-rail' agenda, rather than any attempt at honest historic and cultural preservation. The law finally caught up with them.

In his ruling, Federal Judge Wallace Tashima made a special point of noting his concern about the identification of Traditional Cultural Properties (TCPs) along the HART rail route. It was later made clear in recent HART meetings that TCP's include all cultures, not just native Hawaiian, as per federal law.

HART is required to also adhere to Department of Transportation Act of 1966 special provision - Section 4(f) - which stipulates that US DOT agencies-including the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), cannot approve the use of land from wildlife and waterfowl refuges or public or private historical sites unless both of the following conditions apply:

1. There is no feasible and prudent alternative.
2. The action includes all possible planning to minimize harm to the property resulting from use.

Hawaiian Cultural Practitioner Mike Lee, along with Hawaii Thousand Friends, submitted approximately 800 pages of detailed comment and testimony on the HART Rail AIS covering the entire 22 mile route. This package included maps, photographs, emails with many agencies (HART, SHPD, DLNR, BLNR, Oahu Burial Council, HCDA, etc.) that go back nearly a decade, as well as news articles, historic research and citations, legal documents and filings, native Hawaiian rights, the Clean Water Act, and much more.

A key issue for Lee is the identification of the ancient coral reef limestone along the Oahu shoreline known as Karst, which connects volcanic mountain lava tube water to the shoreline Karst reef water systems. These water springs feed a shoreline ecosystem and was how ancient Hawaiians managed their fish ponds. The Karst was also of very high spiritual importance to ancient Hawaiians and used for sacred burials, such as downtown Honolulu on the grounds of I'olani Palace where there is an ancient Karst burial cave.

"I wanted them to know that I wasn't just making this up ten minutes ago" said Lee. "I am a Konohikist- I believe in the ecological management and protection of our very important natural island water systems. Protecting our Wahi Kapu sites is also very important to me."

Lee's testimony concerns identification and protection of important Hawaiian cultural sites along the rail route, including wahi pana (sacred sites) and wahi kapu (sacred burial areas) and their inclusion into a TCP (Traditional Cultural Properties) that would make sure these special sites, caves, caverns, springs, ponds and water systems are preserved and not contaminated during rail construction.

Also included were photographs of Kawaiaha'o Church which is a graphic example of early Karst limestone block construction. The church and surrounding walls are made of rough ancient reef from the shoreline and ancient sea shells and marine organisms can be clearly seen. The church is also located on the site of an important ancient Karst spring. Nearby I'olani Palace and the royal guard barracks are also constructed from Karst limestone blocks from the shoreline.

In addition, Kanehili Cultural Hui also submitted another approximately 250 pages of detailed comment and testimony on the the HART Rail AIS- primarily concerned with the Honouliuli - Ewa area and the documentation of previously unidentified Traditional Cultural Properties (TCP), Ewa Historic Districts, Ewa Dec 7, 1941 Battlefield Area and an outline for a Honouliuli - Ewa Cultural Landscape Report.

Many current or former Ewa Village residents helped by supplying historic documents, maps, photos and oral histories. The Kanehili Hui name comes from the original Hawaiian name for the Honouliuli - Ewa area and is mentioned by Hawaiian goddess Hi'iaka in her famous and often quoted chants when she traveled through the Ewa Plains area approximately 1000 years ago.

The Kanehili Cultural Hui 501-c-3 non-profit community organization is concerned with the entire cultural history of the area- from ancient times to modern times.

A key focus of the Kanehili Cultural Hui report and testimony was on the 1825 Malden Trails (ancient Hawaiian Trails- believed to have possibly been originally constructed by very early Tahitian arrivals to Kanehili) which played a major role in the Hawaiian cultural history of the Honouliuli-Ewa area, and which was entirely left out of the HART Rail AIS. 

The fixed guideway and stations directly overlay the 1825 trails as well as the Kalo'i Karst waterway that flows to the Ewa shoreline.

Also of major importance is the identification and location of the Leina a ka Uhane, a sacred spiritual leaping off place for souls returning to the ancient homeland of Tahiti. This is a National Register eligible TCP, yet HART and the SHPD administrator has continuously tried to minimize the importance and geographic area of this TCP as well as apparently intentionally misidentify its location, despite the error being brought to their attention several times since last year.

The previous Rail AIS also failed in many ways to adequately document important Honouliuli - Ewa cultural sites such as the greater Ewa Plantation and railway network that was the largest private railway in Hawaii. The Oahu Railway that served Honouliuli - Ewa plantation railway was chartered under King David Kalakaua.

A Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) is the primary report that documents the history, significance and treatment of a cultural landscape. A CLR evaluates the history and integrity of the landscape including any changes to its geographical context, features, materials, and use. 

 

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Honolulu City Council RESOLUTION 12-172, CD1 (2012) passed unanimously:

URGING THE HAWAII COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY AND THE STATE OF HAWAII TO RECOGNIZE AND PRESERVE THE HISTORIC TRAILS OF THE EWA PLAINS

WHEREAS, the trails in the Ewa Plains area later known as Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Ewa and Naval Air Station (NAS) Barbers Point, and today called Kalaeloa as administered by the Hawaii Community Development Authority, are part of the greater Ewa Plains of West Oahu; and

WHEREAS, the Ewa Plains is a massive ancient karst coral reef where ocean meets mountain streams and fresh rain water percolates through porous 100,000 year old coral to spawn freshwater shrimp and one of Hawaii’s most diverse limu varieties; and

WHEREAS, these Ewa Plains trails and their adjacent historic sites provide clues as to how communities were linked socially, economically, and politically; which areas were important in early times, places of commerce, and religion; and where valuable forest or sea resources were once located; and

WHEREAS, these Ewa Plains trails were first identified after Western contact by Lieutenant C.R. Maiden of the Royal Navy in 1825 and became known as the Maiden Trails on the first published Oahu maps; and

WHEREAS, these Ewa Plains trails identified by Maiden became used for ranching and horseback transportation and became an indelible part of West Oahu’s 150 year old Paniolo and Pa’u horseback culture and early Hawaiian Kingdom history of ranches and farms which were the original Western economic settlements of the Ewa Plains; and

WHEREAS, these identified trails became the location where the Ewa Mill and Plantation was established and why the Oahu Railway was extended to this very important trailside agricultural community which allowed sugar cane to become the major economic engine of the Ewa Plains; and

WHEREAS, these Ewa Plains trails in 1925, due to the nearby location of Ewa Mill and the Oahu Railway, became incorporated into the United States (U.S.) Navy development of Ewa Mooring Mast Field as a naval airship mooring site; and

WHEREAS, these trails, springs, and underground karst water transport system later became further documented in State and Federal land surveys and aquifer maps, and in 1941 when the Ewa Mooring Mast Field became a U.S. Marine Corps airbase known as Ewa Field, these walking and horse ranch trails continued to be used by the Marines and Ewa Plantation community for access to the shoreline; and

WHEREAS, after the Japanese air attack on December 7, 1941 and the great expansion of the area into military airports which became MCAS Ewa and NAS Barbers Point during World War II, these trails were important for military training, patrols on foot and mounted Marine Corps horseback security patrols; and

WHEREAS, after the closure of the Marine and Navy airbases, published I 950s maps show the trails on former MCAS Ewa that are still used today by the Barbers Point riding club; and

WHEREAS, these historic horse and foot trails also link with the over 100 year old Oahu Railway right-of-way and Pearl Harbor Historic Trail plan that allows travel by foot, horse or bike from Pearl Harbor to Nanakuli, and which places the Ewa Plains trails as a center junction point and provides access to the Ewa shoreline; and

WHEREAS, an educational feature of these Ewa Plains trails could also be restored karst sinkhole sites along the trailways explaining the ecological system that sustains the iimu, nourishes food sources such as freshwater shrimp and which helps perpetuate Ewa’s offshore fisheries and sustainability; and

WHEREAS, these trails’ could become a cultural, historic, recreational and educational experience of walking, biking or horseback riding over trails featuring native Hawaiian plants, bird and aquatic life, telling cultural histories, explaining geological facts; and

WHEREAS, an Ewa Plains historic trails project could be a community supported endeavor bringing together cultural practitioners, educators, scientists, environmental and veteran organizations in a positive, holistic concept for community education, recreation and restoration; and

WHEREAS, recreational trails in Ewa could qualify for federal National Park Service (NPS) Recreational Trails Program funding,as well as Surface Transportation Program Flexible, Transportation Enhancement, and Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Improvement Program funding and would be consistent with the Oahu Regional Transportation Plan; and

WHEREAS, federal programs such as the NPS Service Battlefield Protection Program have already awarded a $53,000 grant to help define the Ewa Field battlefield as an historic site, and which could include walking trails and points for historic interpretation; and

WHEREAS, federal programs such as the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have programs to restore Ewa Plains karst sinkholes and have already demonstrated that native freshwater shrimp can be restocked and flourish in these unique karst sinkhole habitats, providing working environments for education and training; and

WHEREAS, there are many interested individuals from equestrian clubs, biking, recreational groups, schools, colleges and universities, active duty military family and morale, welfare and recreation organizations, that could benefit from and assist in supporting an Ewa Plains trails program; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City and County of Honolulu that it supports the mapping and identification of historic trails in the Ewa Plains; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Community Development Authority, the State of Hawaii, the United States government, and the City and County of Honolulu are urged to participate in the mapping and identification of the Ewa Plains historic trails; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City and County of Honolulu will not expend any monies to provide for the mapping and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Hawaii Community Development Authority, the Governor, the Department of Hawaiian Homelands, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the President of the United States, the Commander of United States Pacific Command, and the Mayor.

DATE OF INTRODUCTION: 2012 (Passed unanimously 2012)

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Ewa Plantation Prime Ag Land Still Retains Centuries Old Traditional Agricultural Features

http://honouliuli.blogspot.com/2015/05/ewa-plantation-prime-ag-land.html

West Oahu Residents Speak Out At Important Ag Lands And Hoopili Station Meetings

http://honouliuli.blogspot.com/2015/06/west-oahu-residents-speak-out.html

FTA and HART Rail Misrepresent The True Ewa Honouliuli Native Hawaiian Spirit Pathway

http://honouliuli.blogspot.com/2015/06/fta-and-hart-rail-misrepresent-TCP.html

Honouliuli Ewa TCP's Are Important Wahi Pana (Sacred Places) On Multi-Dimensional Levels

http://honouliuli.blogspot.com/2015/06/honouliuli-ewa-tcps-are-important.html

Honouliuli Ewa's Makakilo Kalo'i Gulch - A Rare In Depth Survey Of This Important Cultural Property

http://honouliuli.blogspot.com/2015/06/honouliuli-ewa-makakilo-kaloi-gulch.html

Navy NavFac Hawaii Allows Extensive Damage, Illegal Dumping at Sacred Site

Navy NavFac  Hawaii Allows Extensive Damage, Illegal Dumping at Sacred Leina a ka Uhane - Wahi Pana identified in 2012 Federal EIS.

 

Nearly all of the dumping is being done on property NOT LEASED by

Hunt Corp from Navy- but Navy does nothing and doesn't care what
Hunt Corp does on this Federal property.

It is apparent that NavFac Navy Pacific allows Hunt Corp to evade
State and Federal NEPA and NHPA laws and NavFac staff are apparently
involved in supporting this wahi pana site desecration.

Hunt Corporation is aggressively moving ahead with site construction

throughout identified historic MCAS Ewa Field without benefit of a Federal
Section 106, as was originally promised and ASSURED (on video) by
Navy officials to the Ewa community in 2011 after an initial Battlefield
Survey and historic building inventory was conducted.

Further the area was identified as a very sacred wahi pana in an April
2012 Honolulu Area Rapid Transit - Federal Transit Administration
Environmental Impact Assessment cultural-archeological survey
report as the Leina a ka Uhane- a sacred corridor and portal for native
Hawaiian souls making the journey into the afterlife.

So many community promises continue to be broken and the deception never
stops on this historic site, as was the case with a previous 106 project
the entire community refused to sign.

 http://hawaiifreepress.com/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/ID/9161/VIDEO-HCDA-Bulldozes-Ancient-Hawaiian-Trails-for-Solar-Farm.aspx

The latest Hunt Corp project right now is digging a large pit into the ancient coral limestone Karst layer only feet away from a previously identified ancient Hawaiian Karst wall structure that exists throughout a large area directly next to

this current construction pit. Karst is well documented as native burial areas and previous successful lawsuits have been won about lack of respect for native Hawaiian cultural burial sites.

There was no monitoring archeologist on site while aggressive digging was

underway this past week. The Navy NavFac staff has repeatedly misinformed or not informed the local community about projects like this. It was promised that anything beyond general land surface clearing would bring about a Section 106 under Federal NHPA laws. This has never happened and large steel beam structures and other building additions are being put up in this location.

The area was identified in 1999 Navy BRAC surveys as the most likely site for the 1825 Malden Trail- actually a very ancient Hawaiian trail system linking Honouliuli West-Loch with the Ewa shoreline at Kualaka'i and One'ula Beach.

The Navy in Hawaii has allowed Hunt Corp to turn this into a construction and

dump site, including using land that isn't even on their leased areas.

This entire local area is known to have numerous Hawaiian archeological

sites, burial sites, Karst caves, rare native plants, birds and many sinkholes (which Hunt Corp is filling in whenever found) and most importantly, has been identified in the FTA HART Federal Rail EIS as the "Leina a ka Uhane" a very sacred spirit portal back to the ancient homeland of Tahiti. This means it is a very special, sacred area to native Hawaiians. This could likely be grounds for
a lawsuit.

It is not a coincidence that the sacred "Leina" spirit leap area and ancient trails

are in the same place and this entire area is archeologically and culturally very significant on many levels. Yet the Navy has consistently refused to do any
Archeological Inventory Surveys and Cultural Landscape survey- claiming
that everything "they want to know" was done decades ago. In reality it is totally an illegal act and counter to Federal laws and best practice land management of government properties.

This is all counter to all recent high level State court cases. The NavFac Hunt Corp Navy acts in a very lawless manner and greatly damages public goodwill and opinion about the Navy in Hawaii. They have intentionally ignored the important historic and cultural features of this area and have continued to dig up, plow over and evade public land responsibilities on this property that the Navy said was part of the original lease agreement.

 

This area was also identified in a public State House and Senate Resolution, NCR-49, in 2009 as recommended for historic and cultural preservation, and supported also by three local Neighborhood Board resolutions. Every possible notice of public concern has been made and filed about this area for years but the Hunt Corp Navy continues to completely disregard and effectively deceive repeated stated public opinion. Totally lawless is how this Navy operation is run.

 

 

 

 

Illegal dumping without permits on property not even leased from Navy

 

Illegal dumping without permits on property not even leased from Navy

 

Hawaiian Rock Wall runs through a large part of this property

 

The entire Ewa Plain is a vast Karst (ancient Coral Reef) shelf

 

 

 

Construction work into Karst without any archeological survey (typical on Navy land)

 

 

 

1825 Malden Trails shown running through historic MCAS Ewa Warehouse District

 

 

1825 Malden Trails shown running near Coral Sea Road, former NAS Barbers Point - Kalaeloa

 

 

1825 Malden Trails shown running through former NAS Barbers Point - Kalaeloa

 

 

 

The Ahupua'a of Honouliuli

 

1825 Mapped Malden Trails running through ancient Kanehili

 

 

 

Malden Trail shown running from Honouliuli - West Loch across historic Ewa Plantation

 

Malden Trail shown running across historic Ewa Plantation

 

 

Pearl Harbor Historic Trail follows the Oahu Railway line

 

HCR 49, HD1     2009

 

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION EWA, OAHU, AS A NATIONAL MONUMENT AND PLACEMENT OF EWA FIELD ON THE REGISTERS OF HISTORIC PLACES.

 

Urges the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Interior, and United States Navy to preserve Marine Corps Air Station Ewa, or a portion of it, as a

National Monument.

Requests the United States Navy and its private, public and non-profit partners to proceed with the research, battlefield analysis, and other activities necessary to designate an appropriate boundary for nomination of Ewa Field to the Hawaii State and National

Registers of Historic Places.

BILL 65 Ewa Development Plan Community Amendments

BILL 65 Ewa Development Plan Community Amendments

Ewa Development Plan Amendments Suggested from Previous EDP Community Meetings

 

1.      There should be NO BIOLAB allowed in Ewa under the Ewa Development Plan. The planned Level 3 Bio Lab will work with some of the most dangerous viruses in the world. There should be no deadly diseases brought into Ewa for experimentation on live animals. The proposed Level 3 Bio Lab will be built in very close proximity to a child day-care center and many very large nearby home rental developments and Hawaiian Homelands developments. Beyond them in close proximity are elementary, junior and senior schools with thousands of students.

2.      DHHL DeBartolo Shopping Center Compliance With Ewa Development Plan. The DHHL DeBartolo Shopping Center project, proposed as the second largest in the State of Hawaii with two large hotels and a massive parking structure, needs to be re-examined by DHHL and conformed to the intent of the Ewa Development Plan. Public hearings are needed along with meetings with DHHL administration to encourage compliance with the EDP. The State and City governments should arrange land swaps with DHHL in the central Kapolei business district so that DHHL can achieve their revenue goals while also being in compliance with the EDP.

3.      No desalination plant in EDP. The concept of Hawaiian ahupua'a sustainability and the Konohiki system should be the guiding policy with no desalination plant in the Ewa Development Plan. New development in the Ewa Plains should cease when there is the clear warning that natural aquifer water resources are being maximized. Without a wise guiding water supply policy based upon centuries of observation and knowledge the Ewa Plains are doomed to a future landscape that is vastly over built, over crowded and over polluted with exhausted water resources and ever higher public and private maintenance fees.

4.      Requirement that before any new schools in the Ewa Development Plan can be constructed with air-conditioning that all current schools be provided with air-conditioning first.

5.      Ewa Village Master Plan Needs To Be Completed. Recommend a Special Cultural and Historical Preservation District be established in Kalaeloa / 'Ewa to include: Ewa Field battlefield, the Hawaiian archeological features,  the OR & L Railway, the three (3) 'Ewa Historic Villages (Renton, Tenney and Varona), the plantation Manager's Mansion and the old grave yard and have all of these sites placed on the National Historic Register.

6.      East West connector road-  no Hoopili/Dr Horton development allowed until that road is built first and completed, from Kualaka`i Parkway to Aawa Drive.

7.      The Critical Need To Preserve Top Grade Irrigation Ready Food Sustainability Farmland. The State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture has confirmed that a majority of the Ho'opili lands slated for development are classified as "A" or "B" grade, or "prime" lands under the state's agricultural land grading system.

 

8.      Ewa Historic & Cultural Resources. This area was known as Kanehili and encompasses Hawaiian trails, habitation sites, burial sites and traditional cultural practice areas. Leina a ka Uhane (spiritual leaping off place back to the homeland of Tahiti) – wahi pana (sacred place) which was in the very recent April 2012 HART TCP (Traditional Cultural Place) Survey Report.

9.      Preservation of Special Ewa Plains Historic Heritage Trails. Recognize that there still are very special Ewa Historic Trails, first identified on Western maps in 1825 with coordination with the State of Hawaii “Na Ala Hele” Hawaii Trail and Access Program to begin the geographic information system registration of the Ewa Plains trails into the State’s historic trails inventory.

10.   HCDA Kalaeloa Coordination with City Ewa Development Plan. HCDA should conform to the Ewa Development Plan and not allow Spot Zoning projects which may not be compatible with the adjacent Ewa communities and commerical/industrial areas.

11.   Kapolei Business District. Build the downtown business district in Kapolei proper defined by boundaries of Kalaeloa Boulevard to the west and Ft. Barrett Road to the east parallel between Kapolei Parkway and Farrington Highway.

 

12.   Ewa Plains Karst Water System. The Ewa Plains is composed of a major ancient coral reef Karst fresh water system with important hydrological and geological features that requires special mitigations, as well as possible land development hazards. This Ewa Plains underground Karst water system is documented by the US Geological Survey, US Fish & Wildlife, University of Hawaii’s SOEST and Coastal Geology programs, State Water Board and Honolulu City and County commissioned hydrology studies. Restored Ewa Plains sinkholes have been documented to show that native Hawaiian shrimp will naturally appear without restocking due to the interconnected below ground water flow.

13.   North South Rd. Kualaka`i Parkway should terminate at Roosevelt Road and Coral Sea Road becomes main arterial thoroughfare to the Ewa shore and as second access route for Haseko development.

14.   Move Urban Growth Boundary. Move Urban Growth Boundary south to Mango Tree Blvd  - East to Ft Weaver- and West to Kualaka`i Parkway to ensure preservation of important high quality agricultural lands.

15.   Ewa Transportation. Change from "should" to "shall" in 4.1.6 GENERAL POLICIES. Adequate capacity for peak-hour H-1 freeway commuting is agreed to be Level of Service D.  The H-1 freeway has been at E for years, and will be at F by 2030—with Rail and without Ho’opili.  The ‘Ewa Neighborhood Board approved of changing “should” to “shall” in all of these statements. Provide adequate capacity for major peak-hour commuting to work in the Primary Urban Center. Adequate capacity for major peak-hour commuting shall be the national standard: Level of Service D. (Although the share of residents who will both live and work in Ewa is projected to increase from 17% in 1990 to 44% by 2020, a majority of residents will still commute to jobs outside the region.)