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Environment

News stories regarding Molokai’s outdoor environment

Molokai Hit Hard with Rising Cost of Fuel

Friday, March 18th, 2022

Molokai Hit Hard with Rising Cost of Fuel

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

As drivers gasp at the gas prices skyrocketing recently, rising fuel costs around the globe will soon drive the cost of living for Molokai residents even higher, and officials are urging consumers to find ways to save. Hawaiian Electric just warned of a 25 percent increase for Molokai customers in upcoming electric bills from a jump in fuel prices, and changes to the global oil market will affect everything from food costs to airfares to monthly utility charges. 

Last week at the gas pumps, residents saw an overnight jump from $5.63 to $5.78, coming after recent weeks of frequent increases.…

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Molokai Endangered Species Get Federal Funds

Friday, March 18th, 2022

Sen. Schatz News Release

The Molokai Land Trust will be receiving $350,000 in congressionally directed spending, also known as earmarks, in this year’s appropriations bill, secured by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz. The new earmark funding will be used to support construction of predator-proof fencing to protect threatened and endangered species within the Mokio Preserve.

“This new earmark will protect dozens of threatened and endangered species on Molokai,” said Sen. Schatz, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “By supporting the Molokai Land Trust, we’re helping to care for native wildlife, strengthen local ecosystems, and preserve the island’s environment for years to come.”…

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Budget for New County Ag Dept.

Wednesday, March 9th, 2022

Maui County News Release

Molokai residents are invited to join a virtual community meeting that will be held at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15 to gather public input on the new Department of Agriculture’s fiscal year 2023 budget.

The County will consider funding requests and priorities suggested by the community for the Department of Agriculture that will open in July.

“We invite our farmers, ranchers and interested residents to get involved in making plans for this new department,” Mayor Michael Victorino said. “The County Department of Agriculture will meet our community’s needs by supporting local farmers and ranchers to help improve food security, build our agricultural workforce and promote new opportunities for economic diversification.…

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No More Plastic Foodware

Wednesday, March 9th, 2022

Maui County News Release 

Maui County’s Plastic Disposable Foodware Ordinance No. 5084 went into effect March 1, and the County’s Environmental Protection and Sustainability Division continues working with affected businesses and suppliers to help them transition toward non-plastic products. With the exception of some temporary exemptions, plastic foodware will no longer be used at take-out restaurants or for purchase at stores on Molokai. 

“We are focused on education and working with businesses to comply with this new law,” Mayor Michael Victorino said. “There is a temporary exemption process in place to assist businesses with supply-chain challenges and those that need to exhaust non-compliant supplies.…

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Understanding Molokai’s Electric Grid

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2022

Community Contributed

By Kahenawai Hirata, Sust’ainable Molokai Intern 

According to Hawaiian Electric this month, 86 percent of Molokai homes and businesses are powered by the diesel powered generators at Palaʻau, and the other 14 percent of our energy needs are met by the 500 rooftop solar systems on the island.

This and other information was discussed on Feb. 16 at the first energy briefing held via Zoom by the Molokai Clean Energy Hui (MCEH), in partnership with the Molokai community, Sust’ainable Molokai and Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI). This briefing is part of the community education and input phase of the Molokai Community Energy Resilience Action Plan (Molokai CERAP).…

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Grant for Local Food Distribution

Friday, February 25th, 2022

Sust’ainable Molokai News Release

Sustʻainable Molokai recently received a $34,375 grant from the First Nations Development Institute of Longmont, Colorado. This award will support the efforts of Project Hoʻokuʻikahi Aloha Molokai, which distributes locally produced food to Molokai residents through our island’s 22 food pantries.

This project began as a hui of community organizations that rallied together to provide food for our Molokai residents during the outbreak of the pandemic. The name Hoʻokuʻikahi Aloha Molokai means “uniting in love for our people of Molokai.” These and other efforts are covered in this short video, Island in the Pandemic, created by Quazifilms’ Matt Yamashita, which premiered on Oct 16, 2020.…

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Discuss Molokai Water Use and Demand

Thursday, February 24th, 2022

Townscape News Release

Learn about Preliminary Water Use and Demand for Molokai’s water systems. At two meetings open to Molokai residents, we will be presenting water use information for public and private water systems on the island, our methodology for projecting future water demand, and sharing our preliminary water demand projections. The Molokai Water Use and Development Plan is being updated by a collaboration between Townscape, Inc., an environmental and community planning company, and the County of Maui Department of Water Supply, Water Resources and Planning Division.

We will offer this presentation at two different meeting times. Our presentation will be the same at each meeting, and open discussion time will follow the presentation.…

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Moli Checks Out Molokai

Thursday, February 24th, 2022

Moli Checks Out Molokai

Last month, Molokai Land Trust’s Anapuka site had a special visitor: a Moli, or Layson Albatross, that landed several times in the area. It’s the first documented landing of the species at the Molokai site since 2017 – and it’s viewed as an auspicious sign that the Moli may be making a home at Anapuka in the next few years.

The Moli landed at the organization’s “social attraction site,” which features decoy Moli in an effort to attract the real birds to the area. The decoys have now showed success, along with Molokai Land Trust’s work to restore the Anapuka dune ecosystem, remove invasive species, repopulate native plants and install predator-proof fencing to create a safe haven for Moli and other ground-nesting seabirds, according to MLT Executive Director Butch Haase.…

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Larger Planes Still Coming to Mokulele

Thursday, February 24th, 2022

Larger Planes Still Coming to Mokulele

Mokulele’s promised larger aircraft are still on their way to Molokai, just later than planned. The first of two twin turboprop aircraft is currently being repainted by an aircraft maintenance company, said Richard Schuman, executive vice president of Mokulele Hawaii. The 30-seat Saab 340 planes – brought on board by the company specifically to serve Molokai – will more easily accommodate wheelchair-bound residents and passengers of size.

The aircraft’s arrival has been delayed from the originally announced estimate of last fall. More recently, Mokulele said it was coming in January. Now, Schuman estimates it will be flying before the summer but doesn’t want to disappoint again.…

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Deer Overpopulation, Rainfall Impact Molokai’s Landscapes

Wednesday, January 26th, 2022

Deer Overpopulation, Rainfall Impact Molokai’s Landscapes

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

It’s no surprise to many Molokai residents that the island is overrun with axis deer. Recent footage from a helicopter during an aerial survey of Molokai by Dept. of Land and Natural Resources staff captured massive herds of deer moving across the land like tiny ants, confirming the environmental damage being done by overpopulation of the nonnative species. 

“Cattle ranchers have been the hardest hit,” Molokai’s James Espaniola, a Forestry and Wildlife Technician with the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) said, as he pointed out the helicopter at barren ground. “They do their part in rotating the use of pasture lands to prevent overgrazing by moving their cows around.…

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