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DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release LINDA LINGLE GOVERNOR _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PETER T. YOUNG, CHAIRPERSON
Phone: (808) 587-0401
Fax: (808) 587-0390
PR 04-10 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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For Immediate Release:
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| KONA — To protect Hawaiian cultural sites within the Kekaha Kai State Park in Kona, Dept. of Land and Natural Resources will close vehicular gates to the Manini'owali-Kuki'o portion of Kekaha Kai State Park, effective Wednesday, January 21, 2004. "An existing gate along the current unimproved road, located approximately 200 yards from the beach, will be fortified and locked. The area, popularly known as Kua Bay, will remain open for walk-in park day users, but vehicles will have to be parked at the highway or along the access road," said Peter Young, DLNR chairperson. "The closure is an interim protective measure. Start of construction is anticipated later this year on a new realigned paved park access road, parking areas and a restroom," Young said. DLNR's closure of road gates is meant to keep off-road vehicles from driving in shoreline areas. Large "rave" parties, for which the bay has become notorious, have similarly taken their toll on the area's cultural and recreational features. The park area presently has no restrooms or rubbish bins. The present access road was bulldozed in 1985 to reach once privately-owned parcels at the beach. The State acquired the lands in 1991 for inclusion in the DLNR-Parks system. Each day, visitors without off-road vehicles park at Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway and make the approximately 1 mile long hike to the shoreline. "We are not stopping people from enjoying the park," stated Dan Quinn, DLNR-Parks Administrator. "We are simply providing for the necessary protection of resources under our care."
Dan Quinn |
