HONOLULU — The earnest efforts by hundreds of school children, their teachers, state lawmakers and conservationists resulted in Gov. David Ige signing SB2059 into law Tuesday during a ceremony at Washington Place.
The measure designates ‘ohi‘a lehua as the official state endemic tree. ‘Ohi‘a is the most common native tree in the forest, and it is ubiquitous from lower elevations to the highest peaks.
In the still-smoldering crater of Kilauea Iki at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park on Hawai‘i Island, ‘ohi‘a, their growth stunted by harsh conditions, bloom profusely.
In the Wai‘anae Mountains of West O‘ahu, hundreds of ‘ohi‘a look down on urban development below. And in places like the Pu‘u Maka‘ala Natural Area Reserve, also on the Big Island, ‘ohi‘a add rich color to what otherwise might be a monochromatic landscape.
During remarks, prior to signing SB2059, Ige said, “‘Ohi‘a lehua is a symbol of Hawai‘i. As a keystone species it makes up fully 80% of our native forests. Unfortunately, rapid ‘ohi‘a death has killed more than a million ‘ohi‘a trees on Hawai‘i Island alone over the past eight years. Providing this recognition for ‘ohi‘a will help spread the message about how important this species has been and will continue to be to life in Hawai‘i.”
Ige told invited guests, including 30 keiki, that it was their powerful voices that helped bring Tuesday’s designation to reality and into law. “They are among those who in the future will help ensure our ‘ohi‘a-dominated forests survive and thrive for all generations,” Ige said of the children who lobbied for the bill.
State Board of Land and Natural Resources Chair Suzanne Case said ‘ohi‘a deserves official recognition for many ecological and cultural reasons. “As it is a significant component of our critical watershed forests, it is the best species to allow for the recharge of our life-sustaining aquifers,” Case said.
It’s hoped the recognition of the ‘ohi‘a will increase awareness of its importance and will be of value in educating residents and visitors about the need to protect native forests from serious threats like rapid ‘ohi‘a death, she said.
“The students and teachers here today (at the bill signing) are a real testament to the important role education plays in protecting our fragile ecosystems and their importance to our way of life,” Case added. She also thanked Ige for his early leadership in instituting rules to stop the spread of the fungal disease between islands, and for his consistent, strong support for watershed-protection funding.
Several state legislators who supported the designation described the reasons why they got behind the ‘ohi‘a-naming measure. The bill passed unanimously, and noted that the Legislature recognizes “the unique cultural, ecological and economic importance and threats to the ‘ohi‘a lehua. As an endemic species it is only found in the Hawaiian Islands.”
The bill-signing concluded with the ceremonial planting of a young ‘ohi‘a tree on the grounds of Washington Place. Ige, first lady Dawn Amano-Ige, Case, state Sen. Brian Taniguchi, state Rep. Lisa Marten and students from Waimanalo Elementary and Manoa Elementary schools took turns shoveling additional dirt around the plant and watering it.
Kaua‘i kids contributed
Middle-schoolers at Hawai‘i Technology Academy, a charter school in Lihu‘e, were among the students who lobbied for ‘ohi‘a lehua this year.
Their work included invasive-plant removal in Koke‘e, where they identified wild ‘ohi‘a, and a letter-writing campaign that drew the attention of state lawmakers.
State Rep. Jimmy Tokioka (Eastside and portions of South Shore) called the Kaua‘i students from the State Capitol on O‘ahu.
“They asked a lot of great questions, and they were very, very passionate about the bill,” Tokioka told The Garden Island, in a story published earlier this month.
HTA science teacher Drew Cohick, of Kapa‘a, helped the Kaua‘i students accomplish their goal.
He expressed excitement in the hours after Ige signed SB2059 into law.
“It’s not every school year you get to appeal to the state Legislature and change the State Constitution,” he said Tuesday afternoon.
Local HTA students won’t stop now, though.
Tuesday’s bill-signing ceremony marked a beginning, according Cohick.
“This is just the start for us,” he said. “We want to continue to engage in democracy, and for (students) to leave knowing, ‘Hey, we can make a difference, and we can advocate for what we care about.’”
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Scott Yunker, reporter, contributed to this report, and can be reached at 245-0437 or syunker@thegardenisland.com.
