The proposed deal with the state follows extensive native bee habitat destruction and the killing of a nesting albatross at Marconi Point last year. One of several Oahu landowners facing hefty fines and, potentially, criminal charges for a spate of recent environmental violations on the North Shore looks to donate her multimillion-dollar property there to conservation efforts in exchange for immunity in those matters. The state’s Board of Land and Natural Resources will weigh whether to approve that settlement deal with popular Chinese-American television personality Yue-Sai Kan when it meets on Friday.
The agreement would transfer Kan’s 4.7-acre parcel at Marconi Point to the North Shore Community Land Trust , a nonprofit that works to restore and conserve natural habitat in the area. Kan’s attorney, Eric Robinson, put the value of the parcel at $5 million.
Adam Borrello, the land trust’s executive director, called the potential deal a “game-changing” opportunity to pursue more conservation at Kalaeokaunaoa, or Kahuku Point , on the North Shore’s eastern end. “It’s unfortunate what’s transpired,” Borrello said of recent incidents at Marconi. “That said, the North Shore is always happy to be part of any positive solution.
” The proposed settlement with Kan stems from the decimation in October of a 2-acre stretch of naupaka brush and heliotrope trees along the coast at Marconi that served as some of the last significant habitat on Oahu for the endanger.
