Pu‘uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park officials will hold a community meeting on Wednesday, April 20 at the park’s amphitheater to discuss a potential project awaiting approval at the park.
The National Historical Park maintains responsibility over the care of cultural and natural resources within its boundaries, however, park officials say in the past several years, an increasing loss of coconut trees throughout the park have raised concerns.
In an effort to address the increased loss, Pu‘uhonua o Hōnaunau is seeking to implement a project that would inform officials about the health of not only the coconut trees, but also plants within the park’s jurisdiction.
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The project would use photogrammetry and multi-spectral analysis. This would be done with flying cameras above the targeted plants using an unmanned aerial system, or drone.
National Parks prohibit the recreational use of drones. Because of that, officials are filling out paperwork needed by the Federal Aviation Administration and National Park Service to operate the drones for scientific purposes over the park.
“We anticipate the project lasting several daylight hours, spread out over several days,” park officials said in a release this week.
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The community meeting is open to interested members of the public and will run between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
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