Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 3, 1 April 2009 — A vision for Kalaupapa [ARTICLE]

A vision for Kalaupapa

Management will change afterformer patients pass on

By ī. Ilihia Giūnsūn Publicatiūūs Editor Since 1980, the Kalaupapa National Historic Park on Moloka'i has endeavored to preserve the area's natural and cultural resources and maintain the lifestyles of the remaining handful of former Hansen's disease patients who choose to live out their lives there. In the 19th centry, the original inhabitants of the remote peninsula were removed to make room for

people with Hansen's disease - then known as leprosy - who were banished to the area starting in 1865. Over the course of a century, approximately 8,000 people would be quarantined there - many of them Native Hawaiians who by virtue of their ancestry were more susceptible to the disease. And now, the National Park Service is planning to guide the park through the next 20 years. The management plan is being developed in anticipation of a time of great change in Kalaupapa. Father Damien de Veuster tended to patients in Kalaupapa until he died of the disease himself in 1889. He is bound for sainthood in October, whieh is expected to bring an influx of faithful to Moloka'i. The park also must prepare for the changes that will occur when the remaining 21 residents of Kalaupapa pass on. The general management plan will take several years to develop and will be used to guide the preservation of its resources, management of its facilities and future uses and experiences that the park will provide. Pre-scoping meetings have been held with various stakeholder groups, and the process will continue with public workshops this month and next. This is the first of three planned rounds of public meetings and comment periods. A first draft of the plan is expected in early 2012. Kalaupapa is bounded by 3,000-foot cliffs and is home to many rare native species. The park's boundary extends a quarter-mile offshore, including the two small islands of 'Ōkala and Huelo. Those islands are home to the only native palm, loulu and the endemie pua'ala. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is offering its support in the planning process to Ka 'Ohana O Kalaupapa, a nonprofit group that works to preserve the area's history and ensure that former patients who want to remain there are allowed to do so, said Moloka'i and Lāna'i Trustee Colette Machado. Machado is also a member of the Ka 'Ohana O Kalaupapa board. ■ For informat.ion abou.t. t.he Kalaupapa Naūonal Hist.oric Park general management. plan or t.o be added t.o t.he mailing list. cont.act. St.eve Prokop. park superintendent. at. 808-567-6802 or KALA_GMP@nps.gov. or by mail at.P.O. Box 2222. Kalaupapa. HI 96742.

Public ScopingWorkshops The National Park Service will be holding puhlie meetings to gather inputfora general management plan forKalaupapa Nahonal Historic Park. Meetings are scheduled asfollows: HAWAI'I Kona Outdoor Circle ► May 26, 6-8 p.m. Mokupāpapa Discovery Ctr„ Hilo ► May 27, 6-8 p.m. MAUI Maui Arts and Cultural Center, Alexa Higashi Mtg. Rm„ Kahului ► April 22, 9-11 a.m. and 6-8 p.m. MŪLŪKA'I McVeigh Social Hall, Kalaupapa ► April 20, 6-8 p.m. ► April 21, 9-11 a.m. Mitchell Pauole Center, Kaunakakai ► April 29, 1-3 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. O'AHU Bishop Museum, Atherton Hālau, Honolulu ► April 23, 6-8 p.m. ► April 24, 9-1 1 a.m. KAUA'I Kapa'a Puhlie Library ► April 27, 6-8 p.m. West Kaua'i Technology and Visitor Center, Waimea ► April 28, 6-8 p.m.