A week after a brutal seven-hour public hearing before the state Land Board over the military's land lease at Pōhakuloa on the Big Island, the U.S. Army released a report signaling it was considering drastically pulling back on its footprint on Oʻahu.
HPR first reported that the Army planned to publish the environmental impact statement on Friday.
The Conversation spoke with Alice Roberts, the program manager for the U.S. Army Pacific Land Retention. She said it's important to remember that the environmental impact statements only identify how much land the Army seeks to retain, not how it retains it.
Interview highlights
On the current Oʻahu land leases set to expire in 2029
ALICE ROBERTS: The Army currently leases approximately 6,300 acres on Oʻahu that are across three installations, one of which is Mākua Military Reservation in Waiʻanae. The Army currently leases 782 acres from the State of Hawaiʻi at the mouth of the Mākua Valley. In the draft EIS, we had considered a portion would be retained. In the final EIS, the Army has identified the no-action alternative. So those lands, the 782 acres, would revert to the state in 2029... At Poamoho, it's not used for ground training. There's helicopter overflights, but there's no infrastructure, and the eastern portion of it has already been designated a Natural Area Reserve, and so the Army is not seeking to retain any of that... There is a parcel that is about 700 acres that is up, it's accessed from like Pūpūkea — that will be returned… And then there's a 450-acre parcel, the makai parcel that is closer to the Sunset Beach community, and that also contains the [Kahuku] motocross track, that parcel the Army is seeking to retain. So out of the 6,300 acres currently leased by the Army from the State of Hawaiʻi, approximately 450 acres are sought for retention.
On the board’s decision to reject the EIS for Pōhakuloa
ROBERTS: We respect the board's decision. I would like to assert that I believe that the document is HEPA compliant. I think that the characterization of our natural and cultural resources programs was very unfortunate. There's some critical documents that support the EIS that will demonstrate that, and we are just recommending that people go and look at the information. There's just an incredible amount of work that goes into the biological surveys that are ongoing annually, that are conducted at Pōhakuloa to continue to protect 26 threatened and endangered species, 37,000 acres of fenced conservation units. And I just found that almost heartbreaking, honestly, that there was kind of a disregard for that work that is currently being done.
On criticism about perceived disparities in the EIS for Pōhakuloa
ROBERTS: The Army works with over 40 consulting parties at Pōhakuloa for cultural resources, and they have a group who have a joint claim for the moepū that they had made it an explicit request that they not be discussed or photographed or shared with others. And the Army honored that request. And that is not unusual for items that are covered under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. And there has been ongoing dialogue with the State Historic Preservation Division since the find was initially found. It was reported. It was reported to OHA. So I just find it really unfortunate that it's been characterized that somehow we've withheld some information…I think there was just some unnecessary confusion, and it just doesn't look at the totality of what is reported in the EIS, and that's what I think is unfortunate.
This interview aired on The Conversation on May 20, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Hannah Kaʻiulani Coburn adapted this interview for the web.
