TheWeekInCongress.com
Week Ending December 10, 2004
HR 2619 Providing for the expansion of Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.
BRIEF
Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act of 2003 would allow the Fish and Wildlife Service to acquire up to 234 acres of land from private landowners who have expressed an interest in selling or donating their property for inclusion in the refuge.
Upon the inclusion of the lands or any portion of the lands, the purposes of the Refuge shall include: the protection and recovery of endangered Hawaiian waterbirds and the endangered Nene (Hawaiian goose); and the conservation and management of native coastal strand, riparian, and aquatic biological diversity.
Sponsor: Representative Ed Case (D-HI-2nd)
Vote: Passed House by voice vote (July 19, 2004); Passed Senate by Unanimous Consent (Dec. 8, 2004); Signed by President Bush as Public Law 108-481 (Dec. 23, 2004)
Cost to the taxpayers: ‘CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2619 would cost $6 million in 2005 and $18 million over the next five years, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues.’
MORE INFORMATION
From the House Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans report; ‘The Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on the Hawaiian island of Kauai was established on December 19, 1984. The initial size of the Refuge was 31 acres containing the historic Kilauea Lighthouse. This land was transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from the U.S. Coast Guard. In 1988, the Congress expanded the size of the Refuge with the enactment of Public Law 100-653. This law authorized the Secretary of the Interior to acquire certain additional adjacent lands, specifically Crater Hill and Mikolea Point, for inclusion within the Refuge. These lands were to be used to: construct and maintain public access foot trails; construct an access road; acquire, or construct, and maintain a fence to protect wildlife; conduct native plant restoration and wildlife enhancement activities; and establish a recreation area in the vicinity of Kahili Bay. The Refuge is now 203 acres and it is one of few Refuges open to the public in the State. It is estimated that 400,000 people visited Kilauea Point last year.
The Kilauea Lighthouse was purchased from the heirs of a Yankee whaler named Charles Titcomb, who had acquired a large parcel of land on Kauai's North Shore in 1863. The federal government purchased the 31 acre Point and 5 acre islet for only $1 in 1909. Due to the porous volcanic rock on the Point, a deep concrete pad had to be poured for the lighthouse foundation. The finished tower rose 52-feet tall and cast its beam from 216-feet above the sea. Total cost for the structure was $77,982, of which $12,000 went for its magnificent clamshell lens which is the largest in the world. The lighthouse was completed in 1913. The Coast Guard operated this facility, which was a valuable navigational aid to thousands of commercial vessels and boats that sailed between Hawaii and Asia, until 1976. At that time, the Coast Guard deactivated the lighthouse, reassigned the three lighthouse keepers and installed an automated beacon. The lighthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The current boundaries of the Refuge provide essential habitat for a diverse population of nesting, feeding and resting native seabirds including seven endangered avian species such as the Hawaiian moorhen, Hawaiian stilt, Hawaiian coot, Koloa duck, and the official state bird, the Hawaiian goose, which is better known as the nene. This Refuge is the only such sanctuary for endangered birds on the island of Kauai. In addition, there are a number of listed native Hawaiian plants including ahea'hea, akoko, hala, ilima and naupaka found within the Refuge boundaries.
Kilauea Point, which is located on the northernmost tip of the island, provides a safe harbor for highly endangered Hawaiian monk seals, humpback whales, Laysan albatross, Pacific golden plovers, Red-footed boobbies, Wedge-tailed shearwaters and the great frigate birds. While the Refuge does not have an official Friends Group, there are more than 150 members of the Kilauea Point Natural History Association who volunteer their time to conduct guided tours, provide interpretative information and operate the refuge visitor's center.
Under the terms of H.R. 2619, the Secretary of Interior is authorized to acquire all or a portion of the 234 acres designated in the bill. This land is comprised of five separate parcels of land owned by private individuals who have expressed a willingness to sell or donate the property for inclusion within the refuge. The purposes of this measure are the protection and recovery of endangered Hawaiian waterbirds and the endangered nene and the conservation and management of native coastal strand, riparian and aquatic biological diversity. ## All Rights Reserved. No reproduction or distribution without written permission from TheWeekinCongress.com