DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Pu‗u Maka‗ala Natural Area Reserve Management Plan Puna & South Hilo Districts Island of Hawai‗i In accordance with Chapter 343, Hawai‗i Revised Statutes Proposed by: Hawaii Branch Natural Area Reserves System 19 E. Kawili St. Hilo, Hawai‗i 96720 January 2012 Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................3 II. SUMMARY OF PROPOSED ACTIONS ...............................................................................4 III. PROJECT PURPOSE AND NEED .........................................................................................6 IV. PROJECT LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION .......................................................................7 Location ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Project Description...................................................................................................................... 7 V. DESCRIPTION OF AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT ............................................................29 Ecosystems and Species ............................................................................................................ 29 Current Land Use ...................................................................................................................... 31 Significant and Sensitive Habitat .............................................................................................. 32 VI. SUMMARY OF MAJOR IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES ...........................32 Positive Impacts ........................................................................................................................ 32 Negative Impacts and Mitigation Measures ............................................................................. 32 Cultural Impact Assessment ..................................................................................................... 38 VII. ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED ........................................................................................46 VIII. ANTICIPATED DETERMINATION AND REASONS SUPPORTING THE ANTICIPATED DETERMINATION ...................................................................................48 IX. LIST OF PERMITS REQUIRED FOR THE PROJECT .......................................................53 X. EA PREPARATION INFORMATION .................................................................................53 XI. REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................53 XII. APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................53 2 I. INTRODUCTION Project Name: Pu‗u Maka‗ala Natural Area Reserve Management Plan Project Location South Hilo and Puna Districts Island of Hawai‗i TMKs: 1-8-12:03 1-9-01:1 2 -4-8:19 2-4-8:21 2-4-8:25 (portion) 2-4-8:09 (portion) Land Use: State Conservation District (Protective, Restricted Subzones) State Natural Area Reserve Applicant State of Hawai‗i Department of Land and Natural Resources Approving Agency: State of Hawai‗i Department of Land and Natural Resources Anticipated Determination: Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) Agencies & Organizations Consulted (complete list in Appendix C): Federal: National Park Service, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park USDA Forest Service USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service US Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Islands Field Office US Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division State: Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Department of Health Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife Division of Historic Preservation Division of Historic Preservation, Hawai‗i Island Office Land Division Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands 3 Hawai‗i Island Burial Council Natural Area Reserves Commission Office of Environmental Quality Control Office of Hawaiian Affairs Office of Planning County of Hawai‗i: Office of the Mayor Department of Public Works Department of Water Supply Planning Department Other Organizations: Bishop Museum, Hawai‗i Biological Survey Conservation Council for Hawai‗i Earthjustice Hawai‗i Audubon Society Hawai‗i Hunting Advisory Council Kahea – The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance Kamehameha Schools Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation Pig Hunters of Hawai‗i Sierra Club, Moku Loa Group The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‗i Wildlife Conservation Association of Hawai‗i II. SUMMARY OF PROPOSED ACTIONS The Hawai‗i Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) Natural Area Reserves System (NARS) has developed a fifteen-year management plan for Pu‘u Maka‘ala Natural Area Reserve (NAR or Reserve). Appendix A contains the management plan in its entirety, and the plan contains additional detail on the environment and proposed actions. This management plan updates the 1989 Management Plan to reflect management accomplishments and current management needs of this Reserve. The overall management goal is to protect, maintain, and enhance the Reserve‘s unique natural, cultural, and geological resources. Proposed actions to achieve this goal include fencing, feral ungulate removal, weed control, habitat restoration, outplanting rare plants, monitoring, public access, outreach and education, fire management, enhanced enforcement and continued collaboration with partners. Governor Abercrombie‘s A New Day in Hawai‘i plan calls for the stewardship of the natural resources that our survival, economy, and quality of life depend on. Priority actions of this DLNR initiative include managing invasive species, increasing Hawaii‘s ability to withstand impacts from climate change, an d 4 restoring capabilities of the DLNR by finding additional sources of funding. The New Day Status Report also tasks the DLNR to ensure mauka wa tersheds are fully functioning so fresh water resources can be utilized and enjoyed by the people of Hawai`i in perpetuity. The Rain Follows the Forest is the Department‘s plan to implement these central goals of the Abercrombie administration. The Rain Follows the Forest identifies priority watersheds, including Pu‗u Maka‗ala NAR, and outlines on-the-ground actions and projects required to protect and sustain Hawaii‘s critical water sources. Pu‘u Maka‘ala NAR is situated on lands within the South Hilo and Puna Districts on the island of Hawai‗i. It was formally established in 1981 by Governor‘s Executive Order 3102 to protect native wet forest. In November 2010, a portion of the former Kūlani Correctional Facility property was added to the NAR, bringing the total acreage of the NAR to 18,706 acres (7,570 ha). This addition protects additional forest and native species as well as links important conservation areas including the ‗Ōla‗a Tr act of Hawai‗i Volcanoes National Park (HAVO) and the upper elevation native forests of Kīlauea, Keauhou, and Upper Waiākea. These forests comprise an important water resource for the lower Puna and Hilo regions of Hawai ‘i island, and provide exceptional habitat for a wide diversity of native plant and animal species. Figure 1. Map of Project Area 5 III. PROJECT PURPOSE AND NEED The purpose of the actions proposed in the plan is to manage threats to the integrity, diversity and functioning of Pu‗u Maka‗ala NAR ecosystems so that the unique natural and cultural resources are protected, maintained, and enhanced. Proposed management actions are needed to effectively reduce major threats to the Reserve as well as ensure the long -term protection of this important native forest ecosystem. Management actions proposed in this plan support the purpose for which the Reserve was established. The NARS was created in 1971 by the Hawai‗i State Legislature to ―preserve in perpetuity specific land and water areas whic h support communities, as relatively unmodified as possible, of the natural flora and fauna, as well as geological sites, of Hawai‗i. (HRS § 195 -1). The legislature further found that these unique natural assets should be protected and preserved, both for the enjoyment of future generations and to provide baselines against which changes to Hawai‗i‘s environment can be measured. The primary threats to biodiversity and watershed integrity at Pu‗u Maka‗ala NAR are feral ungulates (wild, hoofed animals such as pigs, sheep, goats and cattle), especially feral pigs (Sus scrofa) and non-native, invasive weeds. Feral pigs destroy native vegetation and prevent its regeneration by eating, trampling, and digging up plants, and may accelerate the invasion of weed species by dispersing seeds on their coats and in their droppings. Pig disturbance of native ground cover through rooting and wallowing facilitates the invasion and establishment of weeds. In addition, pig wallows and pig - hollowed out hāpu`u trunks provide mosquito-breeding sites that can promote the spread of avian diseases such as avian malaria and pox – the two most deadly diseases for native forest birds. The cumulative impact of ungulates is the decline of intact native ecosystems and compromised watershed functionality. In similar forest communites, removal of feral pigs has resulted in dramatic increases in native seedling recruitment and enhanced survivorship which improves habitat for native wildlife. Invasive non-native plants, or weeds, constitute a severe threat to the native ecosystems in the NAR. Certain priority