Author: hinanorey

  • Aloha,

    You may have already heard that a dear friend to many of us and co-founder of the Environmental Caucus, Marjorie Ziegler passed away earlier this week. In remembrance of her and her legacy as the ‘Godmother of the Environmental Caucus’ we would like to share some thoughts from two other long term members that knew her and worked along side her to protect Hawaii for all of us. She and her life’s work will be honored this evening by the Conservation Council for Hawaii at their Annual Awards & Membership Dinner. Details are at the bottom of this email.

    Vice Chair Alan Burdick, remembers Marjorie:

    “I first got to know Marjorie when I was a Sierra Club leader in the late 1980s. She was there ahead of me. She worked as a researcher for the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, now known as Earthjustice, on among other things the Palila case – a successful lawsuit to restore habitat for this forest bird whose last spaces on earth, on Hawaii Island, were being trampled by feral sheep and goats.

    Since then, Marjorie was the distinguished Executive Director of the Conservation Council for Hawaii. Among other things, she helped lead the grassroots efforts to establish the Papahanaumokuakea Marine Natural Monument, and protect it from political encroachments by fishing interests.

    Marjorie also kept our Environmental Legislative Network functioning – before, at the beginning of, and during each session of the Legislature, Marjorie would call together representatives of Hawaii’s multiple environmental organizations to compare notes and form alliances over legislative efforts.

    She also helped establish the DPH Environmental Caucus and keep us going when we encountered difficulties, including especially the period in late 2016 and early 2017 when we were in the doldrums.”

    From Lisa Hinano Rey, former Secretary of Environmental Caucus:

    “I remember one day Marjorie called me because the effort was just underway to expand Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. Marjorie called me personally to ask for the Environmental Caucus to formally sign on as one of the Environmental Organizations who were appealing for the expansion of PMNM, and we needed to act quickly she said.  Juanita, (our former chair), and I circulated an emergency vote and by 4pm the same day we had drafted a formal letter of support.  Today, the Environmental Caucus DPH can be proud to be one of the first organizations that acted quickly to support the initiative.”

    “Marjorie was a co-founder, long standing contributor and collaborator with the Environmental Caucus.  She was a wise and fierce activist who through her perseverance and dedication has made lasting impact on the environmental community in Hawaii and beyond. The legislative priorities that were most near to her heart included funding for protection against invasive species, native forests protection and restoration, preserving Hawaii’s biodiversity including protection for endangered and threatened species and ending unlimited collection of reef species.”
    —————–
    CCH Annual Meeting & Tribute to Marjorie Ziegler
    Tonight, 10/20/18: 6p-9:30pm
    St. Louis Alumni Association
    916 Coolidge Street
    Honolulu, HI 96826

    You may still join and pay at the door for $50.00 a person. If you plan to do so, please leave a voicemail on their office number at 808.593.0255.

    “At the request of numerous friends and supporters of Marjorie, the CCH Board of Directors has established a Marjorie Ziegler Legacy Fund to help further the legacy of her important conservation work and commitment to the wildlife and wild places of Hawai’i. Donations to the Fund will be dedicated exclusively to initiatives and programs that conserve, restore and protect Hawaii’s native flora, fauna and remaining habitats.” CCH Press Release 10/16/18

    https://conservationcouncilhawaii.org/about-us/marjorie-ziegler-legacy/

    —————–
    I hope we can all live up to her legacy and honor her memory by continuing her work as fierce defenders of our natural resources.

    Thank you,

    Lana Olson

    Chair, ECDPH
    10/20/18

  • Biennial General Membership/Organizational Meeting Reminder

     

    ECDPH Officer elections will be held on 05/26/18 around 5:30-6:00pm at the DPH Convention in Waikoloa, Hawaii.

    Composition of the Executive Committee: The Executive Committee of the Caucus shall consist of the Chair, Vice Chair, the Secretary, the Treasurer, three (3) Executive Committee Members at Large, and the Environmental Caucus representatives to the State Central Committee*. 

    • Teleconference will be available for those who can’t attend the convention.
    • Members don’t have to be present to be nominated and elected for a position.

    *requires application; caucus certification; statement of qualification letter )see caucus bylaws) bylaws

    Dial into the teleconference:

    Dial-in Number: (712) 451-0200

    Access Code: 938390

    Some 2018 notable legislative victories supported by the Environmental Caucus:

    • SB 2571 Oxybenzone ban (introduced by Senator Gabbard)
    • SB 3095 Pesticide Disclosure & Buffer Zones (introduced by Senator Ruderman)
    • HB 2025 Zero-Waste Schools (introduced by Representative Lee)
    • HB 2106 Sea Level Rise for EIS (introduced by Representative Lee)
    • HB 2182 Carbon Neutrality by 2045 (introduced by Representative Lee)

  • Upcoming General Membership Meeting

    Aloha,
    Members of the Environmental Caucus
    Democratic Party of Hawaii.
    Mark your calendars for our upcoming General Membership Meeting, Wednesday February 21st at 7:00 pm.  (Agenda to follow)
    Location:
    Democratic Party Headquarters:  627 South Street, Honolulu, HI
    7:00 p.m.
    Wednesday, February 21, 2018

    Participate in video teleconference:

    Online Meeting Link: https://join.freeconferencecall.com/dph2017

    Online Meeting ID: dph2017

    Dial into the teleconference:

    Dial-in Number: (712) 451-0200

    Access Code: 938390

    Future scheduled meetings
    March 14, 2018
    State Convention (tbd)

  • IMPORTANT Press Release

    Re: Commercial Aquarium Collection
    Remember SB 1240 a bill supported and championed by our Natural Resource Subject Committee? It passed only to be Vetoed by Governor Ige?
    Today the Hawaii Supreme Court found DLNR to be negligent in allowing unlimited reef collection permits without environmental review. #OurReefsNoForSale #OurReefsNotForSale
    Mahalo to all our Conservation Partners, the Public (thousands who called and emailed the Governor) and Earthjustice & Plaintiffs!!!
    Read the full press release:
    High Court Orders Halt of Commercial Aquarium Fishery
    State must study environmental impacts before permitting unlimited extraction of reef fish
    HONOLULU—Today, the Hawai‘i Supreme Court sided with citizens and conservation groups in their fight to protect the State’s coral reefs from the aquarium industry’s unlimited collection and sale of reef fish and other wildlife. In 2012, plaintiffs Rene Umberger, Mike Nakachi, Ka‘imi Kaupiko, Willie Kaupiko, Conservation Council for Hawai‘i, The Humane Society of the United States and the Center for Biological Diversity—all represented by Earthjustice—sued the State Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) for failing to comply with Hawai‘i’s Environmental Policy Act (HEPA) and undertake environmental review before issuing dozens of aquarium collection permits annually. In its unanimous decision, the Supreme Court agreed with plaintiffs, reversed the decisions of the Circuit Court and Intermediate Court of Appeals denying plaintiffs’ claims, and ordered the Circuit Court to grant an injunction prohibiting commercial aquarium collection pending compliance with the law.
    “The justices unanimously agree DLNR’s practice of blindly doling out aquarium collection permits without studying environmental impacts is illegal,” said Earthjustice attorney Summer Kupau-Odo. “The law demands and Hawai‘i’s people have every right to expect more from the agency charged with conserving our natural resources.”
    The aquarium industry strips vast numbers of fish and other marine animals from Hawai‘i’s reefs and sells them outside the state; catch may be in the millions of animals every year.
    Most of the wild fish captured for aquariums are herbivorous reef-dwellers that coral reef ecosystems depend upon because they control algae growth that smothers corals. Studies have shown that reducing reef fish and shellfish diversity impairs a reef’s ability to respond to stresses or disturbances. Minimizing such impacts is vitally important as climate change and ocean warming and acidification threaten reefs. The Court’s ruling requires analysis of the industry’s impacts before any commercial permits can be issued and collection allowed.
    “Hawai‘i’s nearshore reefs and fish populations have been massively altered by commercial fish capture for the mainland household aquarium hobby,” said plaintiff Rene Umberger, who has done thousands of scuba dives on reefs around the Hawaiian islands over the years. “We are ecstatic these reef ecosystems will finally get some reprieve.”
    “Taking tropical fish from Hawaiian reefs harms that fragile ecosystem,” said Miyoko Sakashita, ocean program director with the Center for Biological Diversity. “We’re happy to see the court recognize that it’s time to disclose the impacts of the aquarium trade. Maybe now people will begin to realize that people are loving these beautiful fish to death.”
    Plaintiff Ka‘imi Kaupiko noted how the industry also affects Native Hawaiian and subsistence fishing practices: “The fish we’ve traditionally caught for generations to feed our families are disappearing. Collectors take fish we eat—like p?ku‘iku‘i (Achilles tang) and kole—and by taking yellow tang, they disrupt the ecosystem so that other fish, like uhu, won’t come in. We mahalo the Hawai‘i Supreme Court for putting the brakes on commercial collection before there’s no fish left for future generations.”
    Throughout the five-year legal battle, DLNR refused to acknowledge the trade’s impacts or even seriously study it. Instead, it argued the activity was not subject to HEPA because the agency hands out permits to anyone who applies and pays a nominal fee—that is, that DLNR lacked any discretion to prevent the reefs from being stripped by unlimited commercial extraction. The Supreme Court rejected this argument, pointing out that DLNR’s failure to exercise the authority the legislature expressly gave it does not excuse noncompliance with HEPA.
    Marjorie Ziegler, Executive Director of the Conservation Council for Hawai‘i said, “Thanks to the Hawai‘i Supreme Court, our reefs now have a chance to heal.”
    Earthjustice is a non-profit, public-interest, environmental law firm. The Mid-Pacific office opened in Honolulu in 1988 as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, and has represented dozens of environmental, native Hawaiian, and community organizations. Earthjustice is the only non-profit environmental law firm in Hawai‘i and the Mid-Pacific, and does not charge clients for its services.
    The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
    Conservation Council for Hawai‘i is a Hawai‘i-based, non-profit environmental organization with over 5,500 members and supporters dedicated to protecting native Hawaiian species and ecosystems for future generations. CCH was formed in 1950.
    The Humane Society of the United States is the nation’s largest animal protection organization. For more than a half-century The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education and hands-on programs.

  • OurReefsNotForSale

    Take ACTION NOW: take the Staradvertiser survey if you are a subscriber: http://www.staradvertiser.com/staradvertiser-poll/agree-governors-veto-aquarium-fish-collecting-bill/, (NO, the Governor should have signed SB1240). SB1240 was a sane way to phase out a destructive industry that devastates coral reef ecosystems and reduces reef wildlife.

    Please read what Robert Wintner, one of the main advocates of SB1240, has to say about Governor Ige’s veto yesterday:

    “Mahalo to all who supported SB 1240. Enduring the legislature was rough, with vicious opposition from DLNR, a corrupt State agency with a Conflict-of-Interest history. We did not expect David Ige, governor, to make that conflict his own. David Ige appears to be detached, ill-advised, non-responsive and lacking. We gave him the benefit of the doubt.
    Ten people from across Hawaii met with Ige recently—fishermen, host-cultural practitioners, conservationists and tourism professionals. He stared back for an hour, repeating a single word. Does he know what palani is: “No.” Does he have any questions? “No.”
    “Will you sign this bill?”
    He mumbled, “We take a look. Weigh the pros and cons.” I suggested weighing the cons then, considering the expense and effort the group made to be there and the willingness to air things out. “No. We take a look.”
    David Ige deferred to his higher power: Suzanne Case, DLNR Director and former TNC Director, who puts The Nature Conservancy above Hawaii. David Ige fails to override his mistake at DLNR. While everyone is sad, angry and disappointed that such an exhaustive, honest and tough campaign could come to such a pathetic end, we will not give up.
    We will not react. We will seek to override the veto in the legislature. We had the necessary 2/3 majorities on floor votes that secured final passage. Historically, veto overrides in Hawaii don’t happen. We may have a chance here based on ethics violations at DLNR—DLNR led the opposition to SB 1240 through the legislative process. Besides DLNR corruption, WESPAC influence violated Federal Law. We hope legislators will smell what’s rotten in the Ige Administration and override its error, since Ige cannot.
    David Ige deferred to lies spun by DLNR/DAR as “data.” Ige heard from top U.S. marine scientists in response to DLNR and the aquarium collectors. Ige took a mainland commercial extraction industry at face value over the Hawaii reef trust. Ige got the DLNR cased deconstructed and refuted with real data. He responded with quiet ineffectiveness, failing to lead, buckling under heavier handss.
    We have filed with the State Spending Commission to form a non-candidate Hawaii Super Pac to support Hawaii reef recovery in Statewide elections next year. REEFPAC has a familiar ring and will seek to replace weakness and corruptioin with pono management in The Reef State.
    David Ige gives lip service to The Precautionary Principle. Ige murmurs support for the Paris Climate Accord. Yet he abdicates his sworn kuleana on the Hawaii Reef Accord.
    At a campaign fundraiser in 2014 I chatted with George Ariyoshi. At 92 years the 3-term governor came out to campaign for Ige, in opposition to Abercrombie but with hope. Ariyoshi and Ige are no longer on speaking terms. George Ariyoshi is looking for a challenger to support, and so are we—a challenger with some reef chops instead of no chops at all.
    We’re not done. We call on United State Senators Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz along with Congresswomen Tulsi Gabbard and Colleen Hanabusa to keep an eye on WESPAC, a federal agency constrained by law from meddling in State legislation.
    A hui hou,
    Robert”

  • Almost There!!

    The Environmental Caucus of DPH (along with scientists, non-governmental organizations, and numerous individuals) worked hard to make sure SB1240 passed both the State House of Representatives and Senate.

    The bill requires the Department of Land and Natural Resources to submit proposed legislation by the 2019 regular session including a definition of “sustainable”, a policy for sustainable collection practices of near shore aquatic life, a process for determining limits on collection practices of near shore aquatic life, and any additional resources required by the department. It also prohibits issuance of new aquarium permits, transfer of current permits subject to certain provisions, and renewal of permits that have not been renewed for five or more years.

    This issue is one of the priority issues chosen by our caucus and our party this legislative session to ensure that our reefs are healthy and vibrant for generations to come. This article in Civil Beat gives a fair summary of the issue.

    Thanks to our Democratic Representatives and Senators, it passed the legislature and now sits on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature. Governor Ige, however, has listed SB1240 as one of the bills that he may VETO.

    Please email the Governor’s Office Brandon.T.Asuka@hawaii.gov and let Governor Ige know that you support SB1240. You can also call his office and voice your support: (808) 586-0034

    PLEASE SEND or CALL ASAP. The Governor needs to hear from us today!!

    Natural Resources Subcommittee
    Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii

    Below is some suggested language (copy, paste, and personalize):
    ———————————————————————————————————-

    Aloha Governor Ige:
    Thank you for your leadership of our state. As a proud Democrat and supporter of our environment, I wanted to encourage you to sign SB1240 into law. As you know, our reefs are a vital part of our ecosystem and a natural resource for residents and visitors alike. Unlimited collection of near shore aquatic life poses a serious threat to our oceans and is an issue that must be addressed in order to help preserve our environment. This issue is also one of the priorities chosen by the Democratic Party of Hawaii this legislative session.

    SB1240 will help ensure that our reefs remain healthy and vibrant for generations to come. Please sign this important bill into law.

    Mahalo for your time.
    Sincerely,
    (Your name here)

  • Don’t Drown SB 1240

    Must read in today’s Civil Beat Editorial Column- ( Editorial Column ).

    Today’s article is a fair summary of the issue. This imperfect bill, because it’s a compromise, should still become law.  We need legislation to hold the State and DLNR accountable for allowing the aquarium trade to flourish unencumbered.  They must devise a plan that is sustainable.  Unlimited collection of our reef marine life is certainly not sustainable!!

    Please email Brandon Asuka at the Governors Office: Brandon.T.Asuka@hawaii.gov Let him know how you feel about SB1240.

    #OurReefsNotForSale  #OurReefsNoForSale

  • Protect Reef Wildlife

    The potential veto of SB1240, a bill to protect Hawai`i reef wildlife, comes at a perfectly ironic time, as the Hokuleʻa basks in accomplishment, bringing it’s message of hope and Mālama Honua home. Meanwhile, the current Director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Suzanne Case, claims that it is “premature to consider a ban before more studies are done.” Why should anyone listen to the very agency that has failed for decades to evaluate the environmental effects, neglected to collect data or use precaution when allowing commercial aquarium trade and trafficking of reef wildlife in Hawaiʻi.

    Now is not the time to wait and see but the time to leap to action in the hopes of protecting local Reefs from further degradation. Many Senators and Representatives have evaluated this measure and decided that it is sound. Many passionate organizations and individuals have labored to ensure that this becomes law now. We all need to stand together and let our Governor know that we support this law so he can say no to the forces that are asking for a VETO. Contact Governor Ige today!! Go to the website: governor.hawaii.gov (select the contact tab & select comment on legislation SB1240) Or call : (808) 586-0034.

    Lisa Hinano Rey

  • Updated info for remote access to tonight’s meeting

    If you wish to attend tonight’s meeting at 7:00 via conference call please use the following updated teleconference information :

    dial in 712-451-0200

    access code: 938390

    Join the online (video) meeting:
    Online Meeting Link: https://join.freeconferencecall.com/dph2017
    Online meeting Id- dph2017

     

     

  • Please attend our April General Membership Meeting

    REMINDER
    Our Next General Membership meeting is:
    WEDNESDAY, April 05, 2017 @7pm
    Democratic Party Headquarters
    627 South Street Honolulu

    Join us to discuss Environmental issues in Hawaii and get an update on the latest Environmental Legislation.
    Light refreshments will be provided, and feel free to bring a potluck snack to share.
    Teleconference

    If you can’t make it in person, you are welcome to join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone:
    https://global.gotomeeting. com/join/396923933

    You can also call in using your telephone:
    U.S. 877-568-4106
    Access Code: 396-923-933

    FOLLOW OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO UPDATES!
    hawaiigreencaucus.org