HI SB1178

Appropriates funds from general revenues for fiscal year 2018-2019 to hire four full-time equivalent (4.0 FTE) permanent positions at the University of Hawaii for the Hē'eia National Estuarine Research Reserve.

The four positions are: reserve manager, education coordinator, research coordinator, and cultural resource coordinator.

Hē'eia was officially designated as the twenty-ninth site in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System on January 19, 2017, located on Oahu's windward shore and including Hē'eia state park, fishpond, and marine waters with reefs.

The University of Hawaii's Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology serves as lead agency for implementing the reserve's management plan, with partners including the Hawaii Community Development Authority and Department of Land and Natural Resources.

The appropriation supports initial staffing necessary to develop and manage the reserve; the legislature notes the federal government matches state appropriations at a 70 percent (federal) to 30 percent (state) basis.