Hawaii-2015-HR55-Introduced

WHEREAS, Hawaii's native sandalwood tree, iliahi, is rare and precious; and

WHEREAS, iliahi, once prolific throughout the Hawaiian archipelago, is now popularly believed to be nearly extinct due to its exploitation for international sale because of its sweet smelling heartwood; and

WHEREAS, iliahi, the most historic tree of Hawaii, caused the sandalwood era from 1789 to 1830, which transformed Hawaii from a thriving self-sufficient economy to a commercial economy based on the international trade of sandalwood; and

WHEREAS, the sandalwood trade was the stimulus for the creation of the Hawaiian flag and Hawaii's first written law, which was a tax on sandalwood and is believed to be the first tax on any wood in the United States of America; and

WHEREAS, trade in iliahi was the first use of credit by Hawaiian chiefs, as it was used to secure payment to buy guns, ships, and western finery; and

WHEREAS, iliahi is perhaps the oldest tree species in the Hawaiian archipelago, with sandcastings and reports in 1789 of its cutting on Laysan island, which is twenty-two million years old; and

WHEREAS, evolution over millions of years has caused at least six species of sandalwood to evolve throughout the islands of Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and Hawaii; and
WHEREAS, iliahi is an ecological keystone of the health of the Hawaiian community as it is a companion plant that thrives symbiotically and is hemiparasitic with other native Hawaiian plants; and

WHEREAS, there is no regulation or oversight on the harvest, sale, or destruction of sandalwood on privately owned or managed land and the Department of Land and Natural Resources believes that additional protection is needed through regulatory controls; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature introduced six sandalwood protection bills in three separate legislative sessions, but each bill failed to gain legislative approval; and

WHEREAS, although the Department of Land and Natural Resources was requested by resolution to study sandalwood protection legislation and to report its findings to the Legislature in 2013 and 2014, the Department of Land and Natural Resources has not fulfilled the requests; and

WHEREAS, Honolulu will host the World Conservation Congress in 2016, when the world will spotlight Hawaii's efforts in conservation, including conservation of Hawaii's native sandalwood; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, that the Board of Land and Natural Resources, in consultation with the Legislative Reference Bureau, is requested to develop proposed legislation to protect and restore iliahi, Hawaii's endemic sandalwood; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Land and Natural Resources is requested to consider prior proposed legislation, testimony, and reports in developing its proposed legislation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Land and Natural Resources is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including proposed legislation, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2016; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Land and Natural Resources is requested to include in its report an explanation on why the Department has not responded to requests to study sandalwood protection contained in House Resolution No. 147 (2014) and Senate Resolution No. 93 (2013); and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Chair of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Administrator of the Division of Forestry and Wildlife of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Chair of the Board of Agriculture, and Acting Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Sandalwood; Protection

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	55
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII