The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) will be hosting community informational briefings throughout the pae ‘āina to raise awareness on the number of military leased lands set to expire between 2028 and 2031.
Upcoming:
Watch the November 26th session at UH Hilo:
Thursday, December 4 — Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll without consulting the Advisory Committee he recently appointed, compelling OHA Interim Administrator and CEO Summer Sylva to respond. Here are Green’s letter and Sylva’s response:
Monday, November 17, 2025 — OHA Board of Trustees Chairperson Kaialiʻi Kahele sent a letter and accompanying enclosure to national leaders of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, requesting inclusion of Section 2831 in the final version of the FY 2026 NDAA, along with a targeted amendment requiring formal consultation with OHA and Native Hawaiian organizations.
Thursday, November 13, 2025 – The OHA Board of Trustees adopted a number of actions and directives to the administration regarding OHA’s positions on military leased lands. Notably, the Board included in OHA’s 2026 legislative package a bill calling for a constitutional amendment (CONAM) on the 2026 general election ballot that would prohibit live-fire military training on public trust lands. This proposed legislation was also recently endorsed at the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs Convention in Keauhou, Kona, in early November by an overwhelming 3-to-1 margin.
Thursday, November 13, 2025 – Governor Green announced his Advisory Committee for Military Leased Lands and OHA responded:
Wednesday, November 12, 2025 – Duane Kurisu, Kamanaʻopono Crabbe, and Lynelle Marble of the Hawaiʻi Executive Collaborative issued the following statement:
“On land leases, we have requested that the Governor respond to the urgent need for a transparent, community-centered process in the negotiations and are navigating complex relationships for the benefit of Hawai‘i’s long-term interests. We’re being deliberate—seeking real openings for community voice, not symbolic gestures“.
Pōhakuloa Training Area Military Installation Land Ownership Map
U.S. Army Training Lands – Oʻahu
U.S. Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility and NASA Kōkeʻe Park Map
In the summer of 1964, the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources leased thousands of acres of public trust lands to the U.S. Department of Defense for a period of 65 years. Most of these leases were issued for $1 for the entire term and were executed as a condition to prevent the United States from setting aside these lands under Public Law 86-3, the Admissions Act adopted on March 18, 1959, specifically sections 5(d) and 5(e).
There are a number of leases and easements throughout the State that expire between 2028 and 2031. These leases are held by the United States Army, the United States Navy, and the United States Air Force on the islands of Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu, Maui, Kauaʻi, and Niʻihau. These lands are part of the public lands trust, as described in section 5(f) of the Admissions Act—crown and government lands of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi that were confiscated following the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893.
The lease at Pōhakuloa Training Area on Hawaiʻi Island and the leases on Oʻahu at Kahuku Training Area (KTA), Kawailoa–Poamoho, and Mākua Military Reservation (MMR)—all expire on August 16, 2029. These leases are held by the United States Army.
OHA produced a short documentary highlighting the historical and cultural significance of Pōhakuloa, as well as the controversies surrounding the U.S. military’s actions there.
OHA Board of Trustees Chair Kaialiʻi Kahele’s letter to Hawaiʻi Governor Josh Green
DLNR Report in response to House Resolution 199 – Oct 2025
OHA’s request to create a Permitted Interaction Group to investigate Army Training Land Retention
Joint Statement from Native Hawaiian Community Organizations
Hawaiʻi Military Land Use Master Plan – U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
U.S. Senate Bill 2296 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
DOD NOI NUMBER 4710.03- Native Hawaiian Organization (NHO) Consultation
DLNR Non-Acceptance of the Final Environmental Impact Statement_May 14, 2025
1959 Admissions Act – Territorial Delegate John Burns
1963 CODEL letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara
1963 Secretary of Defense letter to Representative Thomas Gill
1963 Senator Daniel Inouye letter to Chairman Russell
1963 Senator Daniel Inouye letter to President John F. Kennedy
Green Should Rethink His Strategy On Army Land Leases – Civil Beat – 11/13/25
Hawaiʻi Governor Names Advisory Panel For Military Land Negotiations – Civil Beat – 11/13/25
OHA wants more say in military lease negotiations – HPR – 11/13/2025
OHA Chair Kai Kahele on $6M emergency relief fund, military land leases – HPR – 11/13/25
Office of Hawaiian Affairs says governor rushing deal over military training lands– Hawaiʻi News Now – 11/12/25
OHA: Give Native Hawaiians A ‘Meaningful Voice’ In Military Land Negotiations – Civil Beat – 11/11/25
Native Hawaiian groups call for OHA support in ‘epic battle’ over military land leases – Hawaiʻi News Now – 10/16/25
Should OHA Play A Bigger Role In Military Lease Negotiations? – Civil Beat – 10/16/25
Pōhakuloa at a Crossroads: What Happened, and What’s Next? – Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi – 6/2025
OHA Issues Statement On Rejection Of Pōhakuloa EIS – Big Island Video News – 5/12/25
Pōhakuloa: A Land Beseiged– Puanani Fernandez-Akamine – 9/2024
To Cede or to Seed: Has the election changed the State of Hawaiʻi’s approach to the expiring military leases?– Naka Nathaniel – 12/2024
Pōhakuloa and the Legacy of Resistance – Chair Emerita Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey – 6/2025
The Army and Pōhakuloa– Puanani Fernandez-Akamine – 9/2024
Military leases raise questions of security, sacrifice, and the future of Hawaiʻi – Natali Segovia and Wayne Chung Tanaka – 10/2025
No More Military Leases: Building a Future Grounded in Hope – Bronson Azama, Dianne Deauna and Aree Worawongwasu, for Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi – 1/2025
BLNR Rejects the Army’s FEIS for Pōhakuloa– Puanani Fernandez-Akamine – 6/2025
OHA Responds to Efforts to Fast-Track Military Lease Renewals– Puanani Fernandez-Akamine – 12/2025
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