The majority of the County Council evidently believed Charlie Jencks when he said, "You got a problem" if they passed Council Member Michelle Anderson's amendment to protect the remnant of wiliwili forest that survives on the southern end of Wailea 670 (The Maui News, Oct. 26, 2007).

The majority would not vote to protect this remnant of old Hawaii, this piece of nature not built by man. Instead, the majority handed over the legislation and voted for a condition that Jencks himself wrote: a conservation easement to protect 18 of the 130 acres of remnant habitat, allowing the grading and destruction of 86 percent of the wiliwili woodland.

What was the reason the majority gave for not protecting the entire habitat? They said they didn't have expertise in conservation biology. So, wouldn't it make sense to wait for comments from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and reconsider the rezoning then?

When Council Member Jo Anne Johnson offered such a provision, Council Members Danny Mateo and Gladys Baisa led the charge to defeat the measure. However, when it comes to trusting the conservation measure written by the developer, the majority seem to have suddenly acquired the expertise to approve it.

So what happens if the property is rezoned and DLNR says the entire habitat should be preserved? Wailea 670 now has its entitlement, and no one can require preservation of the habitat without paying millions of dollars to the developer.

The County Council has the power to protect this important remnant of nature without cost to the taxpayer. The prudent course would be to require protection for the entire 130 acres, with a clause that if DLNR finds any of the areas not worth protecting, that these be removed from the easement.

Of course, this will not please Charlie Jencks, but setting aside 19 percent of the property will not cripple his development. I just visited Pacifica, Calif., where the developer of the Harmony at One subdivision put 41 percent of his 67-acre property into conservation easement for birds, butterflies and the California red legged frog. The Pacifica City Council unanimously approved the project.

Why is it that on our precious Maui our elected officials plead ignorance of our natural heritage and hand it to developers on a platter? Why is Maui's natural splendor, the finest in the world, not staunchly defended by Maui's own leaders?

The story is not yet over, the law not yet enacted. A second vote must be taken. Let us see the majority on the County Council gather the courage to ignore developers who say "You got a problem," and vote to give full protection to our natural heritage.



Lee Altenberg is on the faculty of UH Outreach College. He earned a doctorate in population genetics at Stanford University in 1985, and served on the National Science Foundation panel on Advancing Theory in Biology. He has served on the board of the Native Hawaiian Plant Society and lives in Kihei.