Army Wants to Keep 22K Acres of Hawaiian Training Land Forever
Published Date: 4/18/2025
Notice
Summary
The Army plans to keep about 22,750 acres of training land at Pōhakuloa on Hawai'i Island, where they’ve been training since World War II. They’ve studied how this might affect the environment and will decide within 30 days how much land to keep. This move impacts local communities, the environment, and military training, with no new costs announced yet.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 1 mixed.
Retention alternatives can cause adverse impacts
Under the three action alternatives (Maximum Retention ≈22,750 acres; Modified Retention ≈19,700 acres; Minimum Retention ≈10,100 acres plus 11 miles of roads and training trails), the Final EIS indicates significant adverse impacts could occur on land use (land tenure), biological resources, cultural practices, and environmental justice. The Final EIS also identifies measures intended to mitigate those adverse impacts.
No-Action would shift benefits and harms
If the No-Action Alternative occurs (Army use ceases when the lease expires in 2029), the Final EIS finds this could produce significant adverse impacts on biological resources, socioeconomics, and utilities but significant beneficial impacts on land use, cultural practices, and environmental justice. The No-Action scenario therefore creates both gains and losses for local communities and services.
Army prefers modified land retention
The Army identified the Modified Retention alternative as its Preferred Alternative, which would retain approximately 19,700 acres of State-owned land at Pōhakuloa Training Area. The Army based this preference on the alternative's ability to meet the mission and on public comments and environmental, social, technical, and economic considerations.
Mitigation measures identified in Final EIS
The Final EIS states that the Army has identified measures to mitigate the adverse impacts it found for the action alternatives. These mitigation measures are included in the Final EIS as ways to reduce impacts on land use, biological resources, cultural practices, and environmental justice.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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