Attachment16- HAVO Foundation Document.pdf

Foundation Document Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Hawai‘i January 2017

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

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Contents Mission of the National Park Service 1

Introduction 2

Part 1: Core Components 3

Brief Description of the Park 3

Park Purpose 5

Park Significance 6

Fundamental Resources and Values 7

Interpretive Themes 9

Part 2: Dynamic Components 10

Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments 10

Special Mandates 10

Administrative Commitments 12

Assessment of Planning and Data Needs 13

Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values 14

Identification of Key Issues and Associated Planning and Data Needs 14

Planning and Data Needs 14

High Priority Planning Needs 15

High Priority Data Needs 20

Part 3: Contributors 24

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park 24

NPS Pacific West Region 24

Other NPS Staff 24

Appendixes 25

Appendix A: Enabling Legislation and Legislative Acts for

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park 25

Appendix B: Maps of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park 50

The arrowhead was authorized as the official National Park Service emblem by the Secretary of the Interior on July 20, 1951. The sequoia tree and bison represent vegetation and wildlife, the mountains and water represent scenic and recreational values, and the arrowhead represents historical and archeological values.

Mission of the National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.

The NPS core values are a framework in which the National Park Service accomplishes its mission. They express the manner in which, both individually and collectively, the National Park Service pursues its mission. The NPS core values are:

· Shared stewardship: We share a commitment to resource stewardship with the global preservation community.

· Excellence: We strive continually to learn and improve so that we may achieve the highest ideals of public service.

· Integrity: We deal honestly and fairly with the public and one another.

· Tradition: We are proud of it; we learn from it; we are not bound by it.

· Respect: We embrace each other’s differences so that we may enrich the well-being of everyone.

The National Park Service is a bureau within the Department of the Interior. While numerous national park system units were created prior to 1916, it was not until August 25, 1916, that President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act formally establishing the National Park Service.

The national park system continues to grow and comprises more than 400 park units covering more than 84 million acres in every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. These units include, but are not limited to, national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, and the White House. The variety and diversity of park units throughout the nation require a strong commitment to resource stewardship and management to ensure both the protection and enjoyment of these resources for future generations.

Introduction Every unit of the national park system will have a foundational document to provide basic guidance for planning and management decisions—a foundation for planning and management. The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park as well as the park’s purpose, significance, fundamental resources and values, and interpretive themes. The foundation document also includes special mandates and administrative commitments, an assessment of planning and data needs that identifies planning issues, planning products to be developed, and the associated studies and data required for park planning. Along with the core components, the assessment provides a focus for park planning activities and establishes a baseline from which planning documents are developed.

A primary benefit of developing a foundation document is the opportunity to integrate and coordinate all kinds and levels of planning from a single, shared understanding of what is most important about the park. The process of developing a foundation document begins with gathering and integrating information about the park. Next, this information is refined and focused to determine what the most important attributes of the park are. The process of preparing a foundation document aids park managers, staff, and the public in identifying and clearly stating in one document the essential information that is necessary for park management to consider when determining future planning efforts, outlining key planning issues, and protecting resources and values that are integral to park purpose and identity.

While not included in this document, a park atlas is also part of a foundation project.

The atlas is a series of maps compiled from available geographic information system (GIS) data on natural and cultural resources, visitor use patterns, facilities, and other topics. It serves as a GIS-based support tool for planning and park operations. The atlas is published as a (hard copy) paper product and as geospatial data for use in a web mapping environment. The park atlas for Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park can be accessed online at:

http://insideparkatlas.nps.gov/.

http:http://insideparkatlas.nps.gov

Part 1: Core Components The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park, park purpose, significance statements, fundamental resources and values, and interpretive themes.

These components are core because they typically do not change over time. Core components are expected to be used in future planning and management efforts.

Brief Description of the Park Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is on the southern end of the Island of Hawai‘i, the southernmost island of the Hawaiian Archipelago. The park was established by Congress on August 1, 1916, as Hawai‘i National Park (subsequent legislation separated Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park and Haleakalā National Park).

Today, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park protects approximately 330,086 acres1 of public land, which includes some of the most unique geologic, biologic, and cultural landscapes in the world. Extending from sea level to the summit of Mauna Loa at 13,677 feet, the park encompasses the summits and rift zones of two of the world’s most active shield volcanoes— Kīlauea, representing the newest land in the Hawaiian Islands chain, and Mauna Loa, the largest volcano in the world.

While these two volcanoes are the primary features of the park and the principal reason for its establishment, this volcanic topography also supports one of the most fascinating biologic landscapes in the world, sustaining highly diverse populations of plant and animal communities across seven ecological life zones. Located more than 2,000 miles from the nearest continent, Hawaiian plants and animals have evolved in almost complete isolation for the past 30 million years. As a result, more than 90% of the native terrestrial flora and fauna in Hawai‘i are endemic to this small archipelago. The park provides habitat for 60 federally listed endangered or threatened species and 9 species that are proposed for listing. Included among these species are the nēnē (Hawaiian goose), ‘io (Hawaiian hawk), and ‘āhinahina (Mauna Loa silversword).

Considering this diversity of life and its distinction on the planet, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is both a laboratory for the study of biogeography and evolution within the Pacific Islands and a cornerstone for recovery of native Hawaiian species found nowhere else in the world.

1. This number refers to the official deeded acreage including the 9,679-acre ‘Ōla‘a prop erty. ‘Ōla‘a is outside of the park’s official designated boundary, but has been managed by the park since federal acquisition in 1952.

Furthermore, determining acreage at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is a complex process by which varying sources provide different estimations of total acreage. The GIS estimate of total acreage is 368,106 acres.

The park also plays a unique role in the history of human development on the Hawaiian Islands and remains an important home to living cultures in Hawai‘i. Just as the volcanic and biologic features of the land have shaped the landscape of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, so too have the people who have been a part of its history. Over five centuries before the establishment of the park, Native Hawaiians lived, worked, and worshipped on this sacred ground. Later, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, adventurers, explorers, scientists, philanthropists, and individuals also left their mark on the landscape. Today, ancient petroglyphs, stone walls, and footpaths remain between massive lava flows. Historic housing districts, historic structures, and historic roads dot the developed corridors of the park, together revealing the diverse cultures and history that have been, and continue to play, an integral role on this landscape.

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park contains 123,100 acres (official deeded acreage) or 130,950 acres (GIS estimate of acreage) of federally designated wilderness set aside in 1978. In 2012, an additional 121,015 acres was determined as eligible for preservation as wilderness in the Kahuku Unit. In 1980, Hawai‘i Volcanoes and Haleakalā National Parks were jointly designated as “Hawaiian Islands International Biosphere Reserve” by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and seven years later, in 1987, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park was also declared a World Heritage Site by the World Heritage Convention of UNESCO. Very few areas in the United States and the world are designated as both a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site.

The purpose of Hawai‘i Volcanoes national Park is to protect, study, and provide access to Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, two of the world’s most active volcanoes, and perpetuate endemic Hawaiian ecosystems and the traditional Hawaiian culture connected to these landscapes.

Park Purpose The purpose statement identifies the specific reason(s) for establishment of a particular park. The purpose statement for Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park was drafted through a careful analysis of its enabling legislation and the legislative history that influenced its development. The park was established when the enabling legislation adopted by Congress was signed into law on August 1, 1916 (see appendix A for enabling legislation and legislative acts). The purpose statement lays the foundation for understanding what is most important about the park.

Park Significance Significance statements express why a park’s resources and values are important enough to merit designation as a unit of the national park system. These statements are linked to the purpose of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, and are supported by data, research, and consensus. Statements of significance describe the distinctive nature of the park and why an area is important within a global, national, regional, and systemwide context. They focus on the most important resources and values that will assist in park planning and management.

The following significance statements have been identified for Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. (Please note that the sequence of the statements does not reflect the level of significance.)

1. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park protects and interprets the largest and most continuously active shield volcanoes in the United States and provides the best physical evidence of island building processes that continue to form the 2,000-mile-long Hawaiian archipelago.

2. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park’s active volcanoes serve as a living laboratory for scientific investigations that began more than a century ago and continue to advance global understanding of volcanic processes.

3. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park protects, restores, and studies unique and diverse ecosystems and endemic species that are the result of more than 30 million years of evolution on an isolated environment characterized by its active volcanic landscape and wide climate variations.

4. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park encompasses the largest and most ecologically diverse wilderness in the Pacific Islands.

5. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park embraces the Native Hawaiian spiritual significance of this landscape and interprets related cultural traditions.

6. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park encompasses sites, structures, objects, and landscapes that document more than 600 years of human life and activities on an active volcanic landscape.

7. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park provides access to two of the most active volcanoes in the world and an opportunity to understand and appreciate the distinctive geology and natural and cultural adaptations to the land.

Fundamental Resources and Values Fundamental resources and values (FRVs) are those features, systems, processes, experiences, stories, scenes, sounds, smells, or other attributes determined to warrant primary consideration during planning and management processes because they are essential to achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining its significance. Fundamental resources and values are closely related to a park’s legislative purpose and are more specific than significance statements.

Fundamental resources and values help focus planning and management efforts on what is truly significant about the park. One of the most important responsibilities of NPS managers is to ensure the conservation and public enjoyment of those qualities that are essential (fundamental) to achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining its significance. If fundamental resources and values are allowed to deteriorate, the park purpose and/or significance could be jeopardized.

The following fundamental resources and values have been identified for Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park:

· Volcanoes and Associated Volcanic Features and

Processes. Two active hot-spot shield volcanoes, dynamic geologic processes, and volcanic features demonstrate the effects of the forces of nature and record the geologic history.

· Body of Scientific Knowledge and

Investigations. Documents, collections, and observations contribute to scientific discovery and range from early first-hand accounts of eruptive events to current scientific research and museum collections.

· Opportunities for Scientific Research and

Monitoring. The park serves as a world-class living laboratory for geologic research, conservation biology, ecosystem development, island biogeography, and evolution that continues to build on the existing body of scientific knowledge for resource protection, public safety, and environmental understanding.

· Biological Diversity. The park contains an extraordinary assemblage of native plants and animals—more than 90% of which are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and many of which are rare, endangered, and threatened with extinction.

· Ecological Integrity. The park perpetuates native ecosystems and communities, many of which are unique to the park, and provides a refuge for endemic plants and animals that span seven ecological zones ranging from seacoast to alpine.

The park also supports the continuation of natural processes and interactions among species and between the biotic and abiotic environments.

· Natural Sounds. Park soundscapes are protected from many human-caused sounds and are dominated by the sounds of wind, ocean, volcanic activity, and native species.

· Night Sky and Scenic Vistas. The unobscured night sky is characterized by an absence of artificial light and scenic vistas are unobstructed by development and human-caused air pollution.

· Remote and Challenging Experiences. The park promotes opportunities for visitors to experience solitude, primitive conditions, and challenge.

· Natural Landscape Character. From mauka (toward the mountain) to makai (toward the ocean), vast expanses of the park’s wilderness have been affected primarily by the forces of nature—retaining their primeval character.

· First-hand Volcanic Experiences. The park provides opportunities for visitors to approach and experience active volcanic eruptions including fountains, fissures, and flows.

· Pelehonuamea. Volcanic landscapes and all active flows and products of eruptive events are the representation of Pelehonuamea, deity of Hawaiian volcanoes.

· Wahi Kapu (Sacred Places) and Wahi Pana (Celebrated Places). The entire park landscape and all of its inhabitants and features, including the sky as a layered extension of the landscape, are sacred to Native Hawaiians, particularly Halemaʻuma‘u Crater (home of Pelehonuamea), Mauna Loa’s Moku‘āweoweo caldera (a focal point for the greater Hawaiian relationship to the universe-stars, sun, moon), and mauka forested areas.

· Opportunity for Traditional Cultural Use. Native Hawaiian traditional uses in the park perpetuate traditional practices, knowledge, and the cultural importance of this area. These practices, including chants and dances, depend upon natural sounds, unobstructed views of mountain summits, and an environment that has not been greatly altered by human-caused changes.

· Cultural Resources. The park’s rich and varied cultural resources, including objects, archeological sites, cultural landscapes, historic structures, and ethnographic resources are preserved and contribute to interpreting and understanding the greater Hawaiian culture and the more recent human history within the park.

Interpretive Themes Interpretive themes are often described as the key stories or concepts that visitors should understand after visiting a park—they define the most important ideas or concepts communicated to visitors about a park unit. Themes are derived from, and should reflect, park purpose, significance, resources, and values. The set of interpretive themes is complete when it provides the structure necessary for park staff to develop opportunities for visitors to explore and relate to all park significance statements and fundamental resources and values.

Interpretive themes are an organizational tool that reveal and clarify meaning, concepts, contexts, and values represented by park resources. Sound themes are accurate and reflect current scholarship and science. They encourage exploration of the context in which events or natural processes occurred and the effects of those events and processes. Interpretive themes go beyond a mere description of the event or process to foster multiple opportunities to experience and consider the park and its resources. These themes help explain why a park story is relevant to people who may otherwise be unaware of connections they have to an event, time, or place associated with the park.

The following interpretive themes have been identified for Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park:

· Monitoring the daily pulse of active volcanoes in Hawai‘i leads to new discoveries and advances in the understanding of volcanic eruptions and hazard monitoring.

· The approachable active volcanoes of Mauna Loa and Kīlauea allow first-hand discovery and connection with one of the most fundamental forces in our world, in both its creative and destructive roles.

· In Hawai‘i, active volcanism created an isolated home for a few immigrant species and gave rise to a rich yet fragile endemic biota. Due to the accelerating change brought about by human actions and introduced plants and animals, much of that unique heritage is being lost to extinction, challenging all of us to learn from the past and work together to preserve and restore the remaining native plants and animals.

· The park’s designation as a World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve attests to the compelling values that the park’s unique geologic resources and island biota hold for people worldwide and its global importance as a benchmark for monitoring environmental change.

· Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park protects a diverse wilderness that stretches from rich coastline to stark alpine summit, providing visitors with opportunities to connect with nature’s challenges, remote solitude, and wild spirit.

· Kīlauea Volcano, the home of Pelehonuamea, and Mauna Loa Volcano are sacred to many Native Hawaiians. The park is a place of birth and the physical representation of many spirits and forces; the active volcanism, the features of the terrain, and the plants and animals that live there are all important to the Native Hawaiian sense of identity, unity, and continuance.

· The journeys of the Hawaiian people, and those who followed, portray cultural clashes, adaptations, and assimilations that provide enduring lessons about human resourcefulness, interdependence, and respect on an active volcanic landscape.

Part 2: Dynamic Components The dynamic components of a foundation document include special mandates and administrative commitments and an assessment of planning and data needs. These components are dynamic because they will change over time. New special mandates can be established and new administrative commitments made. As conditions and trends of fundamental resources and values change over time, the analysis of planning and data needs will need to be revisited and revised, along with key issues. Therefore, this part of the foundation document will be updated accordingly.

Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments Many management decisions for a park unit are directed or influenced by special mandates and administrative commitments with other federal agencies, state and local governments, utility companies, partnering organizations, and other entities. Special mandates are requirements specific to a park that must be fulfilled. Mandates can be expressed in enabling legislation, in separate legislation following the establishment of the park, or through a judicial process.

They may expand on park purpose or introduce elements unrelated to the purpose of the park. Administrative commitments are, in general, agreements that have been reached through formal, documented processes, often through memorandums of agreement. Examples include easements, rights-of-way, arrangements for emergency service responses, etc.

Special mandates and administrative commitments can support, in many cases, a network of partnerships that help fulfill the objectives of the park and facilitate working relationships with other organizations. They are an essential component of managing and planning for Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

Special Mandates

· Kalapana Fishing and Homesteading Rights (Public Law No. 680, June 20, 1938).

Fishing and the lease of homesites under specific conditions shall be permitted in the Kalapana extension only by Native Hawaiian residents of said area or of adjacent villages; and fishing is allowed by visitors under their guidance.

· Wilderness Designation (Public Law No. 95-625, November 10, 1978).

Designation of 123,100 acres (official deeded acreage) or 130,950 acres (GIS estimate of acreage) of known wilderness and 7,850 acres as potential wilderness additions to be known as the Hawai‘i Volcanoes Wilderness. Through the Kahuku Unit Wilderness Eligibility Assessment (2012) and Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park General Management Plan (2016), the National Park Service identified another 121,015 acres of eligible wilderness within the park. In accordance with NPS Management Policies 2006, these lands will be managed so as to preserve their wilderness resources “until the legislative process of wilderness designation has been completed” (§6.3.1). In-depth information about Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park’s designated and eligible wilderness is included in chapter 4 of the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Draft General Management Plan, Wilderness Study, and Environmental Impact Statement (2015).

· International Biosphere Reserve (Designated 1980). Hawai‘i Volcanoes and Haleakalā National Parks were designated as “Hawaiian Islands International Biosphere Reserve” in 1980. Biosphere reserves are created “to promote and demonstrate a balanced relationship between humans and the biosphere.” Biosphere reserves “encompass a mosaic of ecological systems.” Through appropriate zoning and management, the conservation of these ecosystems and their biodiversity is sought to be maintained. This effort requires relevant research, monitoring, education, and training.

· World Heritage Site Designation (Designated 1987). Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1987. The United States, as a country that has ratified the World Heritage Convention, has pledged to conserve its World Heritage Sites and to protect its national heritage. The United States also has committed to ensuring the identification, protection, conservation, presentation, and transmission to future generations of the World Heritage Sites and shall endeavor by all appropriate means, and in particular through educational and information programs, to strengthen appreciation and respect by their peoples of the cultural and natural heritage of these sites.

· Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail Designation (Public Law 106-509).

Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail was designated by Congress in 2000 for the preservation, protection, and interpretation of traditional Native Hawaiian culture and natural resources. This 175-mile corridor and trail network of cultural and historical significance, traverses through hundreds of ancient Hawaiian settlement sites and more than 200 ahupua‘a (traditional sea to mountain land divisions), including Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

· Clean Air Act – Class I Area Designation (42 USC 7401 et seq.). Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is designated a Class I area under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977, which provide special protection for air quality, sensitive ecosystems and clean, clear views. Under section 169A, “Congress declares as a national goal the prevention of any existing impairment of visibility in mandatory class I Federal areas which impairment results from manmade air pollution.” State and federal permitting authorities must consult with the National Park Service regarding new sources of air pollution and impacts on park air quality related values must be considered in the permitting process.

Further, the act requires NPS involvement in natural regulatory efforts aimed at eliminating human-caused visibility impairment in all Class I areas. This designation bestows an “affirmative responsibility” on federal land managers to integrating air resource management into NPS operations and planning for the protection of air quality and related values, including visibility, plants, animals, soils, water quality, cultural resources, and public health, from adverse human-caused air pollution impacts.

Administrative Commitments

· Commercial Services and Special Park Uses. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park has a concession contract with Hawai‘i Volcanoes Lodge Company LLC for the provision of lodging, a campground, food, and retail services within the park; a special use permit with the U.S. Army for the use of Kilauea Military Camp; and a historic lease with the Volcano Art Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, to operate the Volcano Art Center Gallery. In addition, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park manages approximately 175 commercial use authorizations issued for commercial activities such as vehicle-based tours, nonvehicle based tours, bicycle tours, and guided hikes.

· Cooperating Association Agreement for Interpretation and Education. The National Park Service has a cooperating association agreement with Hawai‘i Pacific Parks Association to provide park visitors with valuable interpretive and educational materials to facilitate an expanded appreciation of the national park system.

· Cooperative Agreement for Research, Resource Management, Education, and Stewardship. The National Park Service, as a member of the Hawai‘i-Pacific Islands Cooperative Ecosystems Study Unit, partners with member universities and nongovernmental organizations to cooperatively conduct research and resource management technical assistance projects and educational activities that further stewardship of Pacific Island parks.

· Friends Group Agreement for Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, tax-exempt organization, established under the laws of the State of Hawai‘i for the purpose of providing support and assistance to the interpretive, resource management, visitor services, and research activities of the park and to provide interpretive and educational services to the visiting public.

· Memorandum of Understanding for Emergency Services. Hawai‘i County operates a small fire station at Kilauea Military Camp under a mutual aid agreement with the park, to provide 24-hour fire and paramedic level emergency medical services to the park and surrounding communities. The park also maintains agreements with Hawai‘i County for law enforcement support and use of radio frequencies. In addition, the majority of the Pacific Island parks, including Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, have a memorandum of understanding with the Pacific Area Communication Center for transfer of funding to provide dispatch services to the Pacific Island NPS units.

· Memorandum of Agreement and Interagency Agreement for Volcanic and Seismic Response, Monitoring, and Research. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) operates the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory adjacent to Jaggar Museum under two agreements, one for the operations of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in the park and one for the use of the buildings out of which it operates. As its mission, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory provides timely and effective disaster warnings for emergencies to land managers and the affected population using hazard assessments, eruptive and seismic response, monitoring, and research.

· Interagency Agreements for Research, Restoration, Resource Management, and Interpretation. The following agencies and organizations have interagency agreements with Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park that enable the transfer of funds and services for the protection of park resources, research, restoration, and interpretation. This also includes youth internship programs to support these purposes: Three Mountain Alliance, The Nature Conservancy, USGS-Biological Resources Division-Pacific Islands Ecosystems Research Center-Kīlauea Field Station, U.S. Department of Agriculture Quarantine Station, Hawai‘i Department of Forestry and Wildlife, Kupu Hawai‘i Youth Conservation Corps (Americorp), and the U.S. Forest Service.

· Sister Park Agreements. The park has three sister park agreements between the National Park Service and Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes, World Natural Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve, Republic of Korea; Wudalianchi National Park and International Biosphere Reserve, People’s Republic of China; and La Réunion National Park and World Heritage Site, France, to promote international cooperation and collaboration for mutual benefit of the common ideals of stewardship and preservation of resources.

· Support Pacific Island Network and Pacific West Region Functions. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park provides the following support to Pacific Island Network and Pacific West Region programs and activities:

- The Pacific Island Network Inventory & Monitoring Program, of which Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is a member, is one of 32 NPS inventory and monitoring networks across the country established to facilitate collaboration, information sharing, and economies of scale in natural resources monitoring. The park provides office space and related support facilities to the Pacific Island Network Inventory & Monitoring Program.

- Information technology personnel duty-stationed at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park are part of a network team that provides information technology support for all parks in the Pacific Island Network.

- The park is a member of the Pacific Islands Servicing Human Resources Office and the Major Acquisition Buying Office and provides office space and related support facilities. The park also provides part-time office space for a staff member of the Klamath Servicing Human Resources Office.

- The Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park fire management officer is located within the park and provides fire management support and services to all of the Pacific Island NPS units.

- The Pacific Area Communication Center is located within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park and provides dispatch services to the Pacific Island NPS units.

Assessment of Planning and Data Needs Once the core components of part 1 of the foundation document have been identified, it is important to gather and evaluate existing information about the park’s fundamental resources and values, and develop a full assessment of the park’s planning and data needs. The assessment of planning and data needs section presents planning issues, the planning projects that will address these issues, and the associated information requirements for planning, such as resource inventories and data collection, including GIS data.

There are three sections in the assessment of planning and data needs:

1. analysis of fundamental resources and values

2. identification of key issues and associated planning and data needs

3. identification of planning and data needs (including spatial mapping activities or GIS maps)

The analysis of fundamental resources and values and identification of key issues were conducted through the general management planning process. The Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park General Management Plan (2016) leads up to and supports the identification of planning and data collection needs.

Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values The fundamental resource or value analysis table includes current conditions, potential threats and opportunities, planning and data needs, and selected laws and NPS policies related to management of the identified resource or value. The analysis of fundamental resources and values is not included in this foundation document. In-depth descriptions and analysis of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park’s fundamental resources and values are included in the affected environment chapter of the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park General Management Plan, Wilderness Study, and Environmental Impact Statement, which was published in draft form in 2015 and finalized in 2016.

Identification of Key Issues and Associated Planning and Data Needs This section considers key issues to be addressed in planning and management and therefore takes a broader view over the primary focus of part 1. A key issue focuses on a question that is important for a park. Key issues often raise questions regarding park purpose and significance and fundamental resources and values. For example, a key issue may pertain to the potential for a fundamental resource or value in a park to be detrimentally affected by discretionary management decisions. A key issue may also address crucial questions that are not directly related to purpose and significance, but which still affect them indirectly. Usually, a key issue is one that a future planning effort or data collection needs to address and requires a decision by NPS managers.

Key park issues were identified and described during the general management planning process, which culminated in the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park General Management Plan (2016). Input on park issues was gathered from NPS staff, stakeholders, and the general public. Issue topics include: natural resource preservation and management, cultural resource protection and management, Native Hawaiian values and traditional cultural use, wilderness, research, climate change, visitor use, commercial visitor services, transportation, access and circulation, functional and flexible park facilities, effective and adaptable park operations, partnership and interagency collaboration, the park boundary, and management of Kahuku, which was acquired by the park in 2003. This assessment of planning and data needs prioritizes the list of plans, studies, and data needs included in the general management plan, as well as additional planning and data needs for implementing the general management plan.

Planning and Data Needs To maintain connection to the core elements of the foundation and the importance of these core foundation elements, the planning and data needs listed here are directly related to protecting fundamental resources and values, park significance, and park purpose, as well as addressing key issues. To successfully undertake a planning effort, information from sources such as inventories, studies, research activities, and analyses may be required to provide adequate knowledge of park resources and visitor information. Such information sources have been identified as data needs.

Geospatial mapping tasks and products are included in data needs.

Items considered of the utmost importance were identified as high priority, and other items identified, but not rising to the level of high priority, were listed as either medium- or low-priority needs. These priorities inform park management efforts to secure funding and support for planning projects.

Criteria and Considerations for Prioritization. The following criteria were used to evaluate the priority of each planning or data need:

· implement actions in the general management plan

· address multiple interrelated issues

· emergency or urgency of the issue

· protect or provide a significant benefit to fundamental resources and values and/or prevent degradation of a fundamental resource or value

· enhance visitor experience

· enhance visitor and employee safety

· feasible to complete and implement within the next five to ten years

· opportunities, including interagency partnership or other assistance

· required by law or policy

High Priority Planning Needs Kīlauea Summit Site Plan.

Rationale — As the primary entrance to the park, the Kīlauea summit area, specifically along Crater Rim Drive between Jaggar Museum and southeast to Thurston Lava Tube, is the area of greatest visitor concentration, and therefore congestion, within the park.

While visitors continue to place demands on public facilities—from the park visitor center, to trails and parking lots—the area also has a high density of sensitive natural and cultural resources. Considering this high concentration of use and resource sensitivity, the general management plan identifies particular strategies for improving visitor use management within this corridor while minimizing impacts on park resources.

Specifically, the selected alternative in the general management plan calls for improved and/or reconfigured parking areas along Crater Rim Drive, better trail connections between these parking areas, a holistic analysis of individual building functions within this kauhale (campus), and minor site improvements to high-visitor-use sites to address accessibility, deferred maintenance, and enhance the visitor experience. A site plan is needed for this location to look holistically at this area and implement these actions identified in the general management plan and improve visitor experiences within the Kīlauea summit area while minimizing impacts on important resources.

Scope — This site plan would address issues related to congestion and visitor/visitor and visitor/resource conflicts within the Kīlauea summit area by implementing strategies identified in the general management plan to improve visitor circulation and the overall visitor experience within this area of the park. Specifically, this plan would evaluate and potentially reconfigure or slightly expand parking at Kīlauea Visitor Center, Jaggar Museum, Thurston Lava Tube, Kīlauea Iki, Devastation, and Pu‘u Pua‘i, and would identify site locations for several trails between these parking areas for improved pedestrian and bicycle access as part of an overall circulation plan. The site plan would also evaluate and integrate the buildings in this area as part of a kauhale (campus) and would develop an overall master plan that incorporates improvements identified within the general management plan for specific areas such as enlarging the lanai at the Kīlauea Visitor Center and siting an educational pavilion at Devastation. Finally, the site plan would prioritize and establish a road map to implementing the few capital improvements included within this plan.

Lower Kahuku Site Plan.

Rationale — Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park increased in size by more than 50% when, in 2003, the federal government acquired and added to the park 115,788 acres of land referred to as Kahuku. There are currently minimal visitor facilities in Kahuku and public access to this site has been limited since acquisition in order to protect resources within this area of the park as limited management guidance existed for Kahuku prior to the development of the general management plan. Now that the general management plan is complete, the park has specific management actions that have been identified for the lower and upper stretches of this land; however, a comprehensive site plan is needed to implement these general management plan recommendations primarily related to visitor facilities and use, such as the entrance to Kahuku, use of roads, trail management, picnic sites, and campgrounds.

Scope — This site plan would create a design that provides visitors with a sense of arrival in Kahuku as well as general orientation and information. The plan would provide detailed guidance on how best to implement the recommendations of the general management plan, including safety improvements at the entrance to Kahuku, adaptively reusing existing buildings for specific uses, and determining the numbers and locations of campgrounds, picnic areas, and trails consistent with the overall vision articulated within the general management plan for lower Kahuku. In doing so, this plan would provide smart development within lower Kahuku that provides for visitor services while protecting important natural and cultural resources in the area.

Wilderness Stewardship Plan.

Rationale — Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park includes approximately 123,000 acres of designated wilderness, but with the completion of the general management plan and associated wilderness study, the park is now recommending wilderness designation for an additional 121,015 acres located within Kahuku, an area of the park that was added in 2003. If designated, these lands would nearly double the designated wilderness in the park. Regardless of designation, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park will continue to manage both designated and eligible wilderness consistent with NPS management policies and the Wilderness Act. Considering the unique wilderness management issues within Kahuku, particularly as they relate to the park’s needs for restoration and visitor access, the park needs an overarching wilderness stewardship plan to guide the preservation, management, and use of wilderness resources.

Scope — With the overarching goal of restoring, protecting, and enhancing the Hawai‘i Volcanoes Wilderness, the wilderness stewardship plan for Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park would set long-term goals and objectives, identify issues and opportunities, and provide a decision-making framework and appropriate actions to preserve and, if necessary, improve wilderness character in the Hawai‘i Volcanoes Wilderness now and into the future. The plan would identify desired future conditions and establish indicators, measures, and standards beyond which management actions would be taken to maintain or restore desired conditions for wilderness character. The plan would also include extent necessary determinations for commercial services in wilderness.

The plan would consider ongoing and projected climate change impacts on wilderness character, and desired future conditions may be limited by future climates.

Trail Management Plan.

Rationale — Although Hawai‘i Volcanoes

National Park includes more than 155 miles of trails, the current configuration of this trail network does not efficiently match visitor demand. To address this issue, the general management plan identifies a number of general areas in which historic trails could be restored or minor loop trails constructed to disperse visitor use, and states that trail linkages between current trails could be built to make the trail network more efficient. This guidance needs additional planning to be successfully implemented.

Scope — To implement this guidance, this plan would comprehensively assess the existing trail system to 1) identify desired conditions and maintenance guidelines for each trail based on use and resource concerns, 2) prioritize current trails for maintenance, and 3) identify historic trails to be restored and specifically site limited new loop trails and trail linkages to be constructed to best meet visitor demand and address protection of natural and cultural resources.

This plan would also identify allowable uses along each new trail segment based on guidance in the general management plan.

Air Tour Management Plan.

Rationale — Under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations part 136, appendix A (formerly Special Federal Aviation Regulation 71), 14 companies were initially authorized to fly up to a total of 28,441 air tours (22,758 helicopter and 5,683 fixed-wing) annually over Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park and within a half-mile buffer of the park boundary below 5,000 feet above ground level. Based on reporting data from 2015, approximately 15,000 helicopter and fixed-wing air tours were flown above the park and within the half-mile buffer zone that year. Although these air tours adversely affect the visitor experience as well as natural, cultural, and wilderness resources within the park, there are currently no mandatory flight routes or no-fly zones over particularly sensitive areas and limited regulations exist to ensure pilots follow best management practices to mitigate or reduce impacts to these park resources.

Scope — The Federal Aviation Administration, National Park Service, and the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center are working together to develop the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park air tour management plan/environmental impact statement.

The objective of this plan, as outlined under the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 2000, “shall be to develop acceptable and effective measures to mitigate or prevent the significant adverse impacts, if any, of commercial air tour operations upon the natural and cultural resources, visitor experiences, and tribal lands.” In April 2011, the Federal Aviation Administration and the park released the preliminary alternatives for this plan, and have currently analyzed public comments and refined the alternatives. Decisions made through this plan may impact both the visitor experience and natural and cultural resources in the park. The lead agency for the air tour management plan / environmental impact statement is the Federal Aviation Administration; the National Park Service is a cooperator.

Accessibility Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan.

Rationale — NPS Director’s Order 42: Accessibility for Visitors with Disabilities in National Park Service Programs and Services commits park units to identifying barriers that limit access to park programs, facilities, and services; and to developing transition plans and identifying how these barriers will be removed (where feasible) and when.

Although the park has identified physical accessibility barriers within the park and has developed strategies for removing these specific barriers to improve accessibility, these projects have not been prioritized as a whole, especially in the context of visitor use and resource sensitivity. Instead, allocation of funding is currently driving the implementation of these projects without an eye to the highest needs of the park.

Scope — Considering these needs, this accessibility plan would prioritize these accessibility projects based on the desired visitor experiences throughout the park balanced with the conditions of park fundamental resources and values. Due to the number of sensitive natural and cultural resources, the park would benefit from holistically analyzing impacts associated with all accessibility projects.

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