HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

134

TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

establishing the papahanaumokuakea marine national monument program.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, the legislature finds that President Barack Obama issued Presidential Proclamation 9478 on August 26, 2016, expanding the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument to provide critical protections for more than seven thousand marine species, including whales and sea turtles listed under the Endangered Species Act and the longest-living marine species in the world, black coral, which live longer than four thousand five hundred years; and

 

     WHEREAS, as ocean acidification, warming, and other impacts of climate change threaten marine ecosystems, expanding the Monument will improve ocean resilience, help the region's distinct physical and biological resources adapt, and create a natural laboratory that will allow scientists to monitor and explore the impacts of climate change on these fragile ecosystems; and

 

     WHEREAS, the expanded Monument area contains resources of great historical and cultural significance, including shipwrecks and downed aircrafts from the Battle of Midway during World War II, a battle that marked a major shift in the progress of the war in favor of the Allies; and

 

     WHEREAS, the expanded area, including the archipelago and its adjacent waters, is considered a sacred place for the Native Hawaiian community, plays a significant role in Native Hawaiian creation and settlement stories, and is used to practice important activities like traditional long-distance voyaging and wayfinding; and

 

     WHEREAS, Proclamation 9478 directs federal agencies to work together with the State to create a joint management plan by August 25, 2019, to adopt regulations, as appropriate, that address any further specific actions necessary for the proper care and management of the Monument; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is urged to establish the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument program to be placed within the Department's Division of Aquatic Resources to coordinate and fulfill the State's role and responsibilities in co-managing the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department is designated as the lead agency of the State to co-manage the Monument in accordance with Proclamation 8031 of June 15, 2006, and expanded by Proclamation 9478 of August 25, 2016; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department should collaborate with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in the perpetuation of Hawaiian cultural resources within the Monument, including the customary and traditional rights and practices of Native Hawaiians exercised for subsistence, cultural, and religious purposes under section 7 of article XII of the state constitution; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the program should issue permits as part of the co-trustee monument permit process; provide advice and recommendations to the governor, the Department, and other state departments and agencies on any matter relating to the management of the Monument; and solicit and accept grants, donations, and contributions; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department should charge fees that are proportional to the nature and complexity of the projects or services performed by the program, such as the issuance of permits; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument Program