(BIVN) – The Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission met in Hilo this week, and discussed numerous suggestions – submitted by the public – for possible acquisition using the 2% land fund.

This year, another recommendation has been submitted for Pohue Bay.

“I did a site visit in 2016,” said PONC commissioner Susan Wells Fischer.
“Very hot. Dry, rugged entrance. Gorgeous beach. Turtles are smart.”

“The community above, several miles mauka, has this oasis to stare at that they can’t get to, so I can understand how the the community wants it purchased,” Fischer said. “You can see in the comments on this latest suggestion form that there a lot of people upset with this, the way it’s being run now, by the owner’s representative, I guess, charging high fees.”

During her visit, which accompanied by the owner’s representative, Fischer said “there were people that were running away because they’ve gotten arrested previously, and so there is an access issue.”

“The turtles are the main thing to protect there, so I imagine some people would like it to be accessed with showers and bathrooms and a beach park, because they have to drive so far to beaches,” Fischer said.

Commission Secretary Maxine Cutler said Pohue Bay has been submitted as a recommendation in the past. “Under the comprehensive list, you can see that Pohue Bay Bay has been submitted to us over four times. At one point, there was an unwilling seller. Then an application was put in as Kahuku property coastline. Same (tax map key), but different type of labeling. The county, I understand, looked at it. And it would have been better as a conservation easement instead of an acquisition because of the extra acreage and we wanted to protect the coastline.”

Cutler said she did not see a willing seller with the current recommendation.