Bill seeks more funding for hiking trails and education

A Senate bill making its way through the state Legislature would boost funding to improve state-owned trails across Hawaii and promote hiking safety and etiquette.

Sen. Laura Thielen (D, Hawaii Kai-Waimanalo-Kailua) introduced Senate Bill 2331 this year to secure what she said is long-overdue funding for the state’s recreational trails. The bill crossed over to the House and was referred to its Water and Land Committee.

Thielen said that for more than 25 years, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources has been operating with a trails budget of less than $2 million even though the number of hikers and trails has grown.

“Since that time, we have had an explosion in the popularity of hiking and a tremendous number of additional trails, so that we’re trying to manage miles of trails across our state with millions of people going on them every year,” Thielen said.

DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife, which runs the Na Ala Hele Trail &Access Program, currently has a statewide inventory of 128 recreational trails and roads spanning about 855 miles.

Originally, Thielen sought an additional $1.8 million but the latest version of the bill leaves the amount to be determined.

“We know by looking at our trails that the sanctioned trails are in very bad condition and need to be managed,” she said. “And then the unsanctioned trails need to be marked. There needs to be greater education on social media about how difficult some of these places are, so people are not getting in above their head.”

The bill cites the popular Manoa Falls as a trail that requires frequent staff visits to maintain dated facilities, diverting resources from other trails statewide.

The funds also would be used for a public awareness campaign on hiking safety and etiquette.

The bill is supported by DLNR, the Sierra Club of Hawaii and Maunawili Estates Community Association, which represents about 600 residents.

“Many of the current challenges associated with trails are due to heavy use, exacerbated by social media, drawing attention to formerly little-known trails …, ” said DLNR Chairwoman Suzanne Case in her testimony. “Moreover, some trail users are unaware or unprepared for the specific trail conditions of the area they are visiting.”

In the current fiscal year, DLNR’s trails program received only about $1.2 million from a federal grant and other sources.

From 2006 to 2016, the number of Honolulu Fire Department rescues on Oahu’s mountains nearly tripled, according to SB 2331, with each helicopter-assisted search-and-rescue operation costing about $1,500 per hour. In 2017, HFD said it made 367 hike-related rescues.

Thielen said many trails popularized by social media, such as Maunawili in her district, are being accessed through neighborhoods, subjecting residents to loud noises, littering and people trampling through yards and asking to use bathrooms.

One strategy, she said, would be to help establish staging areas for hikers so residents would not be disturbed.

Thielen said the additional funding would be a small investment toward keeping people safe and reducing the state’s liability for injuries and damage.

“If we don’t do it, we could be seeing, unfortunately, some deaths,” she said, “and the state’s going to be liable for it.”