I am confused about the whole Doris Duke harbor situation.

I’ve lived two blocks from the beach access to “Cromwell’s” since the early 1960s. I grew up there and spent countless days fishing, diving, surfing, and yes, jumping, into and around the Doris Duke harbor. As my small-kid-time friends could attest to, there is probably no one alive who spent more time there than I have.

In 2016 when Shangri La — the museum at the estate of the late Doris Duke — invited neighbors to attend a community meeting about dismantling the breakwater, I was appalled and went to the meeting to oppose it.

Instead I found Shangri La had done a massive environmental investigation on how to restore to original condition what the Duke tobacco heiress created with excavators and dynamite at huge environmental impact to marine life. It was explained how social media had exponentially increased activity at Cromwell’s, and accidents and incidents were increasing proportionally. I recalled growing up watching ambulances take out victims of the shifting tide and sands who dove into the pool naively.

Now that I have my own kids, I took them to the harbor to teach them about the dangers of nature, but was so overwhelmed by the crowds and dangers of broken beer bottles that I stopped visiting myself.

I have a bachelor’s of science degree in fisheries, and was stunned by a neighbor calling the harbor a turtle nesting habitat. Turtles nest on sand, and as evidenced by the return of turtles to Bellows Beach during the COVID-19 shutdown, human presence is the biggest deterrent. I can identify most of the marine life around the harbor, from chaetodons to pocillopora, and do not see anything but benefit from a careful dismantling of the breakwater that was built with dynamite.

I stood up and supported Shangri La’s thoughtful approach and willingness to spend millions of dollars to restore the shoreline. Finally, the taxpayers wouldn’t be on the hook for a neglected property fraught with liability. I just will have to store the fond memories of backflips into the pool at high tide, and catching papio when the ‘iao swarmed into the pool by thousands one summer. I also chased the DDT truck down Kahala Avenue on warm summer nights, and will gratefully not see that again either.

I called the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and asked to be informed of any hearings and to be allowed to testify. No one responded.

Now, I am shocked to find out that the state took deed to the property, and we taxpayers are now footing the bill for what a well-funded, philanthropic organization was willing to pay for itself.

Can someone explain what’s going on? Or do the feds have to get involved with this one, too?

Matt Lyum, who has a bachelor of science degree in fisheries biology, is a small business owner and volunteers for several nonprofits.