🚫 Why We Must Protect Mount Kaʻala

A private development proposal aims to build large-scale tourism attractions—including a gondola and other commercial facilities—across thousands of acres below Mount Kaʻala. This project would transform one of Oʻahu’s most culturally, spiritually, and ecologically significant landscapes, much of which is zoned for agriculture and meant to preserve open space and food-producing lands.

🌺 Mount Kaʻala Is Sacred

🌄 A treasured landscape: Mount Kaʻala is revered for its beauty, spiritual meaning, and connection to Native Hawaiian identity.
⛓️ Industrial intrusion: Towers, cables, foundations, and visitor facilities would permanently alter a landscape that has remained largely untouched.
🪦 Cultural impacts: Construction risks disturbing cultural sites, iwi kūpuna, and historic features that cannot be replaced once disrupted.

🌿 Environmental Concerns

🌱 Fragile ecosystems: The area supports native forests, endangered species, and an important watershed.
🦇 Wildlife at risk: State and federal agencies have identified concerns for native birds, bats, plants, and sensitive habitats.
🚧 Long-term disturbance: Increased noise, foot traffic, construction, and tourism would place additional stress on an already threatened environment.

🚗 Infrastructure & Safety Issues

📈 Major visitor traffic: The project would introduce significant daily vehicle trips into rural areas with limited road capacity.
🛣️ Hazardous conditions: Roads such as Kaukonahua Road are already steep, narrow, and dangerous.
⚠️ Additional hazards: Portions of the region have been associated with military training zones and other risk factors.

🚜 Land-Use Mismatch

🧑‍🌾 Agricultural zoning: The lands involved are intended for agriculture and conservation—not high-intensity tourism.
📉 Incomplete agricultural commitments: Required agricultural activities and forestry projects have not been fully implemented.
📎 Expanding commercial uses: Recent filings continue to add tourism components that move the project further away from any agricultural purpose.

❌ Lack of Public Transparency

📢 Limited community outreach: Many residents learned about project changes with very short notice.
📑 Insufficient review: Environmental, cultural, and infrastructure concerns have not undergone the level of analysis a project of this scale typically warrants.
🕊️ Community concerns acknowledged: Recent city communications confirm that public input has raised issues missing from earlier reviews.

🌈 What We’re Protecting

🌺 Culturally sacred land
🌱 Native forests, endangered species, and fragile habitats
🌾 Agricultural lands meant to support local food and restoration
🪦 Burial sites and cultural resources
🏞️ One of Hawaiʻi’s last largely untouched mountain landscapes

Mount Kaʻala is irreplaceable.
Protecting it is not only about stopping a project—it is about honoring culture, safeguarding natural resources, and preserving the essence of Hawaiʻi.