Above photo: Pohakuloa Training Area
Honolulu, HI – This Friday, May 9, at 8:00 AM, community members, cultural practitioners, and environmental advocates from across the paeʻāina will gather outside the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) ahead of the 9:00 am Board meeting at the Kalanimoku Building (1151 Punchbowl St., Honolulu) to demand the rejection of the U.S. Army’s Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Pōhakuloa Training Area (PTA).
The Army’s proposed retention of 23,000 acres of public, “ceded” lands on Hawaiʻi Island has generated widespread opposition. Community advocates say the FEIS is inadequate, failing to address decades of documented environmental destruction, cultural desecration, and health risks associated with military use—including the confirmed presence of depleted uranium, over 1,000 wildfires, and unremediated contamination.
A Statement of Solidarity, signed by dozens of Native Hawaiian organizations, environmental groups, and individuals, will be submitted to the BLNR. The statement calls on the BLNR to reject the FEIS and uphold its responsibility to protect trust lands, cultural resources, and public health, hold all future hearings on Hawai’i island for Pōhakuloa, and be transparent in discussions and/or negotiations with the US Army.
“We need the Board of Land and Natural Resources to decide tomorrow,” said Aunty Maxine Kahaulelio, one of the plaintiffs in Ching v Case, “They must choose whether to stand with the people of Hawaiʻi or enable further military desecration of our ʻāina.”
The hearing begins at 9:00 AM in Room 132 of the Kalanimoku Building and is also accessible via Zoom. The public is encouraged to submit written testimony prior to the meeting or provide oral testimony during the meeting. Event organizers are coordinating carpools and providing lunch and shirts for early attendees.