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The earnest efforts by hundreds of school children, their teachers, state lawmakers, and conservationists resulted in Gov. Ige signing SB2059 into law today, during a ceremony at Washington Place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The measure designates \u02bb\u014dhi\u02bba lehua as the official Hawai\u2018i State Endemic Tree. \u02bb\u014chi\u02bba is the most common native tree in our forest and it is ubiquitous from lower elevations to the highest peaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the still-smoldering crater of K\u012blauea Iki at Hawai\u2018i Volcanoes National Park on Hawai\u2018i Island, \u02bb\u014dhi\u02bba, their growth stunted by harsh conditions, bloom profusely. In the Wai\u2018anae Mountains of West O\u2018ahu, hundreds of \u02bb\u014dhi\u02bba look down on urban development below. And in places like, the Pu\u2018u Maka\u2018ala Natural Area Reserve, also on the Big Island, \u02bb\u014dhi\u02bba add rich color to what otherwise might be a monochromatic landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During remarks, prior to signing SB2059, Governor David Ige said, \u201c\u02bb\u014chi\u02bba lehua is a symbol of Hawai\u2018i. As a keystone species it makes up fully 80% of our native forests. Unfortunately, Rapid \u014chi\u02bba Death has killed more than a million \u02bb\u014dhi\u02bba trees on Hawai\u2018i Island alone over the past eight years. Providing this recognition for \u02bb\u014dhi\u02bba will help spread the message about how important this species has been and will continue to be, to life in Hawai\u2018i.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gov. Ige told invited guests, including 30 keiki, that it was their powerful voices that helped bring today\u2019s designation to reality and into law. \u201cThey are among those, who in the future, will help ensure our \u02bb\u014dhi\u02bba-dominated forests survive and thrive for all generations,\u201d Gov. Ige commented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DLNR Chair Suzanne Case remarked that \u02bb\u014dhi\u02bba deserves official recognition for many ecological and cultural reasons. \u201cAs it is a significant component of our critical watershed forests, it is the best species to allow for the recharge of our life-sustaining aquifers,\u201d Case said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s hoped the recognition of the \u02bb\u014dhi\u02bba will increase awareness of its importance and will be of value in educating residents and visitors about the need to protect native forests from serious threats like Rapid \u014chi\u02bba Death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe students and teachers here today (at the bill signing) are a real testament to the important role education plays in protecting our fragile ecosystems and their importance to our way of life,\u201d Case added. She also thanked Gov. Ige for his early leadership in instituting rules to stop the spread of the fungal disease between islands and for his consistent, strong support for watershed protection funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several state legislators who supported the designation described the reasons why they got behind the \u02bb\u014dhi\u02bba naming measure. The bill passed unanimously and noted that the legislature recognizes \u201cthe unique cultural, ecological, and economic importance and threats to the \u02bb\u014dhi\u02bba lehua. As an endemic species it is only found in the Hawaiian Islands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bill signing concluded with the ceremonial planting of a young \u02bb\u014dhi\u02bba tree on the grounds of Washington Place. Gov. Ige, First Lady Amano-Ige, Chair Case, Senator Brian Taniguchi, Representative Lisa Marten, and students from Waimanalo Elementary and M\u0101noa Elementary schools took turns shoveling additional dirt around the plant and watering it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n