Army Working on Agreement to Help Manage Cultural Resources at Pōhakuloa

The U.S. Army announces that it is working to finalize a new agreement to help streamline and improve management of cultural resources on its Hawai‘i Island training areas, and invites the public to provide input on the document.

The draft Hawai‘i Island Programmatic Agreement (PA) describes how the Army will avoid, minimize and resolve any potential effects routine training and related activities might have on historic properties, and fulfills the Army’s historic preservation responsibilities under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

This PA consolidates previous and new Army cultural resource commitments in a single, agreed-upon document that will improve preservation efforts and reduce administrative time and paperwork for everyone involved: consulting parties, the Hawai‘i State Historic Preservation Division, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the Army’s Cultural Resources section at Pōhakuloa.

“This has been a joint effort,” said Dr. Julie Taomia, cultural resources manager, U.S. Army Garrison-Pōhakuloa. “We’ve been consulting with the State Historic Preservation Division, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, numerous Native Hawaiian organizations and other interested parties since March of 2015.”

“We’ve already heard from some members of the public,” Taomia added. “But we want to ensure the community at large knows we’re interested in receiving their feedback on the document because their input is important. Collective input is key when it comes to informed decision-making in the Section 106 process.”

The draft PA and related project information are available online at https://go.usa.gov/xNS7n, under “Project Documents.” Printed copies are available upon request.

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Input and recommendations on the PA and its implementation can be emailed to usarmy.pta.id-pacific.list.pta-cultural@mail.mil , or mailed to: USAG-HI Pōhakuloa Cultural Resources section, ATTN: Military Training Programmatic Agreement, P.O. Box 4607, Hilo, HI 96720. Comments received by June 1, 2018, will be taken into account in the final revisions to the agreement. Individuals with questions can contact the U.S. Army Garrison-Pōhakuloa Cultural Resources section at (808) 436-4280.