Cultural Resource Impacts

Cultural and Archeological Resources

The most recent Archaeological Inventory Survey conducted for the TMK parcel was in 1990, which was then reassessed in 2006. A Cultural Impact Assessment was also conducted in 2006.

The Project Study Area is located within the traditional land division (ahupuaa) of Waikoloa in the South Kohala district. The current Project area is smaller than, and included within, the study area assessed in 1990 and 2006.

While the proposed Project Study Area was not a center of traditional settlement or cultivation during the Pre-Contact period, it was frequented by groups of Hawaiians traveling through the area on established trails. The area was traditionally sparsely inhabited due it its harsh terrain. The archaeological traces of these activities, though faint, are detectable. During the post-Contact period, the area was used predominantly as grazing land for cattle, sheep, and horses and is therefore likely to contain remnants of ranching activities. There is also the potential to encounter archaeological evidence of military use in the Project area associated with World War II era training conducted within the Former Waikoloa Maneuver Area. The area served as a military training camp and artillery range from 1943 to 1945.

Lava tubes were evaluated in the 2006 AIS, based on public concern in the area as part of the earlier development efforts however, no lava tube system was found or evaluated during surveys. No ongoing traditional cultural practices were identified within the study area. None of the community contacts queried for the Cultural Impacts Assessment identified any on-going traditional cultural practices, cultural sites or concerns specifically within the project area.

The current Project area is smaller than, and included within, the study area assessed in 1990 and 2006. The 1990 identified one archaeological feature, which the State Historic Preservation Department determined that further treatment was necessary. Otherwise there was no evidence of either pre- or post-contact use within the entire project area. This assessment and recommendation were reaffirmed in the 2006 Archaeological Inventory Survey (AIS). Based on the 2006 study, the archaeological features present within the Project Study Area are likely to occur at low density, be relatively small, and be widely dispersed; no ongoing traditional cultural practices were identified within the study area.

Given the amount of time elapsed since the previous AIS, Waikoloa Solar will consult with an archaeologist and State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) to determine if an update to the AIS is warranted. A Preservation Plan for the project will also be submitted to SHPD for review to address any mitigations that might be necessary as a result of the update.