STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3774

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: GOV. MSG. NOS. 429, 430

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture, to which was referred Governor's Message Nos. 429 and 430, submitting for study and consideration the nominations of:

Board of Land and Natural Resources

G.M. No. 429

JERRY EDLAO,

for a term to expire 6-30-2009; and

G.M. No. 430

SAMUEL M. GON III,

for a term to expire 6-30-2009,

begs leave to report as follows:

JERRY EDLAO owns Accu-Pest & Termite Control Service and has worked in the pest control industry since 1974. He is a member and director of the Maui Contractors Association and a member, vice president, and former board member of the Hawaii Pest Control Association. He has served on the Maui County Planning Commission as a member and the chair, as well as the vice chair of Maui County's Board of Variances and Appeals.

SAMUEL M. GON III is the senior scientist and cultural advisor for The Nature Conservancy of Hawai`i. He has also been an affiliate faculty member at University of Hawaii at Manoa's Department of Urban and Regional Planning since 1999. Dr. Gon holds a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a Masters degree in zoology and a Doctorate of Philosophy in animal behavior from the University of California, Davis.

Dr. Gon has over twenty-five years of experience in research and conservation in the Hawaiian islands and has worked with private, state, and federal entities on a variety of conservation and land management projects. He is also a Hawaiian cultural practitioner and underwent the traditional Hawaiian `uniki rites of passage to attain the status of kahuna kākalaleo.

Testimony in support of Mr. Edlao was submitted by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Hawaii Pest Control Association, and one individual. Testimony in opposition to Mr. Edlao was submitted by the Conservation Council for Hawaii.

Testimony in support of Dr. Gon was submitted by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Conservation Council for Hawai`i, the Hawaii Conservation Alliance, the Hawaii Government Employees Association, KAHEA-The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance, the Hawai`i Chapter of the Sierra Club, and thirty-two individuals.

Your Committee finds that the nominees' experience, coupled with a strong commitment to public service, make each an asset to the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominees, has found the nominees to be qualified for the positions to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nominations.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture,

____________________________

RUSSELL S. KOKUBUN, Chair