Gated communities, toppled trees, are not aloha
Gated communities, toppled trees, are not aloha
When the Kauai Bicycle Club (KBC) first started the coastal path, it was to run from Anahola to Lihue Airport. The ironwood tree forest was one of top concerns for preservation. It was one of, if not the biggest, natural wonders of Hawaii. Stretching from Kealia beach to Donkey Beach.
The trees were well over 20- to 30-feet tall mauka and shorter 10-foot trees makai. There were many hiking, mountain biking, and motocross trails and paths within the forest. As far as I remember Amfac sold the flat property above to be a “gated” community to an out-of-state developer. It would be the first gated community on Kauai.
Gated communities are not culturally accepted here. It brings back the plantation style of separating people, no O’Hana — locals keep out. The old sugar camps had chains and gates to keep workers in or out especially during strike times.
Before we could start work on the path, the forest was cut down. Million-dollar mansions were built with great ocean views adding $50K+ values for their owners. It has been cut down three more times that I know of.
Did any of the organization that is to protect the land help preserve this beautiful forest? No. This was part of the Hawaii ecotourism now known as STAH. KBC complained to the Kauai Parks & Recreation Department, and DLNR but to no avail. Sad.
This new planning commission has cut down the yellow shower trees in Waimea, monkey pod and banyan trees in Hanapepe and probably many other places on Kauai.
Let’s not make Kauai too beautiful and nice or more gated subdivisions might be built. We need more “country club” attitudes to keep the riff-raft out. Sad.
Bobby Ritch, KBC Chairman, Kaumakani, Kauai
I know that many individual homes around the Island have driveway gates, some even in my neighborhood. In fact, my next door neighbor, whose family homesteaded their 5 acres many generations ago and are of mixed Hawaiian and Portuguese decent, have a gate at the entry to their compound. How do you view these gates culturally?
Bobby…more claptrap about ironwoods? These trees are invasive & destructive to hillsides/cliffs as their shallow root systems tend to spall out rocks and expose raw soil to erosion. Ironwood needles are acidic and prevent beneficial ground covers from growing under them.
Find some other cause du jour,
RG DeSoto
IRONWOODS ARE THE WORST