HANA, MAUI, HI - Hana 'Ohana, an organization comprised of residents and concerned citizens who are dedicated to preserving the cultural significance and natural resources of Hana, Maui, announced its placement of a full page "Open Letter" in today's editions of The Maui News and The Maui News Wrap. The letter, addressed to the owners and trustees of the Ronald Getty Trust, is entitled "We The People Of Hana." This call for an open and honest discussion of the concerns that Hana community leaders have regarding Hana Ranch Partners, controlled by the Ronald Getty Trust, and their representations regarding their January 2001 purchase of 4,500 acres of pristine, undeveloped land on and around the Eastern Maui coastline.

In a January 12, 2001 Maui News article regarding the imminent closing of the Hana Ranch Partners land purchase, Ronald Getty Trust trustee Judge William A. Newsom and Dan Omer in the Maui News article said they are very aware that previous ranch owners had made many promises and ended up disappointing the Hana community. "The difference this time is in who is making the promises," Newsom had stated, noting the buyers' ties to Hana and their conservation backgrounds. He then added: "We fully recognize the need to include the community as the ranch lands future is decided. It's an indispensable part of the plan." The article also reported at that time that the new buyers said they will complete an assessment of sensitive areas with community input and put together a master development plan."

Hana 'Ohana feels that Hana Ranch Partners / Ronald Getty Trust have not kept their word with keeping the community involved with their future development plans, having not held one public meeting in the five years since the land purchase, with no master plan put forward for community input. Particularly troubling to Hana community leaders are Hana Ranch Partners' recent inquiries into the Hamoa Beach area to develop the land, as well as allegations that the Hana Ranch Partners also have been showing the land to prospective buyers. Hana Ranch Partners' subsequent denial of these allegations have elevated feelings of mistrust in Hana community of the landowners' true intentions for these culturally and naturally important lands. Hana's Hamoa Beach, for example, is a sacred area to Native Hawaiians, containing many sacred sites including burials and legendary areas held in high regard by the Hawaiian Culture. Any plans for future development of the land around Hamoa Beach will obliterate one of the most precious and ecologically significant areas that remain in all Hawaii.

More information on the proposed Hamoa development and related concerns of the Hana 'Ohana is available at their website, www.hanaohana.org . The 'Ohana's sole mission is to remind friends and residents of Hana of its cultural significance, the need to preserve historically open spaces in the area, and the responsibility that all land stewards have in Hana to conserve and protect its unique natural resources. Keeping "Hana, Hana" is one of the rally cries of many friends of the region who fear that developers posing as conservationists may be on the verge of destroying one of the few remaining places in the world where the spirit of the land and its inhabitants are intertwined and inseparable.

Hana 'Ohana

Hana 'Ohana

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