Honolulu Advertiser:
When you press your hand against the warm, red earth of Kaho'olawe, the island presses back.
It is awake. Alive. Aware. If you sit still long enough, you can hear it whisper to you.
That feeling, that connection to the island, has inspired essays and photo collections and mele. It inspired men and women to risk their lives to occupy the island during scheduled live-fire training in the 1970s. It has inspired hundreds of volunteers to brave the heat of the sun and the pierce of the wind to put native plants into the soil.
That feeling is what made the 50 years of bombing practice so heartbreaking. It is what fills a visitor to Kaho'olawe in its present state so full of hope.
This week, the Navy officially transfers control of access to the island to the state. During the next four months, the Navy will wrap up work on the island and demobilize operations. The Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission, or KIRC, a state agency,will continue to work on restoring and replanting the island.
To appreciate what Kaho'olawe looks like right now, you have to call to mind what it looked like before.
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