Former MauiTime Editor Anthony Pignataro wrote about this case in an article headlined Maui groups sue DLNR over Ka‘anapali tour boats, noting, “Draper, the hui Na Papa‘i Wawae ‘Ula‘ula and the West Maui Preservation Association are suing DLNR over the way it currently issues permits to the many tour boats that use Ka‘anapali Beach.” The suit itself, Civil No. In 2017, Draper’s suit against the Department of Land and Natural Resources was the first legal action taken by Na Papa‘i and WMPA. Their narratives, and how they helped to ignite current movements also based on past land struggles, are highlighted in my book Keka‘a: The Making and Saving of North Beach West Maui. He, alongside other “intervenors,” paved the way in practical terms for the scaling back of the mega resort plans at Keka‘a, and instead fought for the inclusion of community voices in the overall development process. As a longtime resident, Draper has been fighting this fight for decades and was pivotal in helping to negotiate some public spaces in the North Beach case fought in the 1990s. This movement to reclaim the shoreline, in practical and epistemological ways, also spawned the watchdog Facebook page called “Access Denied! Surf? Fish? Dive?” which currently has over 5,000 members online.įor Randy Draper, all of this is a fitting response to his decades-long battles on Maui and elsewhere in Hawai‘i – first to gain access to the shoreline and then to enforce this access for the community, which is sometimes blocked through a myriad of actions. Working in conjunction with the West Maui Preservation Association, a nonprofit organization “dedicated to preserving, protecting, and restoring the natural and cultural environment of West Maui, its coasts, and its nearshore waters,” Na Papa‘i, and the various individuals listed in each of the cases, launched six lawsuits in Maui County against landowners and other entities that would in some way impede access to and limit enjoyment of West Maui’s beaches.
Na Papa‘i became official in 2017, “an unincorporated association of West Maui residents and other beach users who are concerned about protecting and preserving the quality of life and environment for West Maui communities particularly as it relates to the public’s use and access of the shoreline.” Na Papa‘i Wawae ‘Ula‘ula was created to protect the community’s right to enjoy places like this Launching this group were community members Randy Draper, Lance Collins, Kai Nishiki, Tamara Paltin, and Autumn Ness. No longer willing to stand by while getting squeezed out of beaches – or at least, no longer willing to remain silent about being blocked from accessing the shoreline and feeling squeezed out of beaches and the ocean – some West Maui community members and concerned citizens then created Na Papa‘i Wawae ‘Ula‘ula informally in 2014 to protect the community’s right to enjoy these places in both traditional and contemporary ways. The website also includes links to the cases, statutes, and ordinances that protect the public’s right of way to Hawai‘i’s beaches and trails.Ī community resource such as this was long overdue, and an easy reference point for all of Hawai‘i’s shoreline access points was needed. It lists West Maui’s shoreline access points, maps, and photographs. The website was created with the information gathered. A few years ago, I was approached by the HK West Maui Community Fund to help document shoreline access points in West Maui.