THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

51

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE RESOLUTION

 

URGING OUR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO WORK TOWARD NATIONAL PARK STATUS FOR THE KAWAINUI MARSH COMPLEX.

 

WHEREAS, the Convention on Wetlands was signed on February 2, 1971 in Ramsar, Iran; and

WHEREAS, in 1987, the United States joined the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty that aims at halting the worldwide loss of wetlands and to conserve those that remain; and

WHEREAS, the treaty’s 144 contracting parties have designated 1,404 wetlands sites totaling more than 300 million acres for inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance; and

WHEREAS, despite the great value of wetlands, they have been shrinking worldwide, including in the United States; and

WHEREAS, on Earth Day 2004, President George W. Bush announced an aggressive new national initiative to create, improve, and protect at least three million wetland acres over the next five years in order to increase overall wetland acreage and quality; and

WHEREAS, wetlands are a source of water, food, recreation, transportation, and, in some places, are part of the local religious and cultural heritage. They provide groundwater replenishment, benefiting inhabitants of entire watersheds; and

WHEREAS, wetlands play a vital role in storm and flood protection and water filtration. In addition, they provide a rich feeding ground for migratory birds, fish, and other animals; and

WHEREAS, the United States designated three new Ramsar sites last month: the 2,500-acre Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve in San Diego County, California; the l60,000-acre Grassland Ecological Area in western Merced County, California; and the 1,000-acre Kawainui and Hamakua Marsh Complex located on the northeast coast of the island of Oahu, Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, these additional sites bring the total number of United States Ramsar sites to 22, covering nearly 3.2 million acres;now, therefore,

 

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, that the State of Hawaii’s elected Representatives and Senators in the United States Congress are respectfully requested to support, work to pass, and vote for National Park protection for the 1,000-acre Kawainui and Hamakua Marsh Complex located on the northeast coast of the island of Oahu, Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Senate Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the State of Hawaii’s Congressional Delegation.

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

KAWAINUI MARSH NATIONAL PARK