Sierra Club Says
Maui Camping Rules Not OK

An official of California's Sierra Club says Maui County's strict camping rules may be appropriate for hippies, but not for members of a staid and respectable conservation club.

Jim Dodds of the Sierra Club complained in a letter to Maui Mayor Elmer Carvalho that county rules permit only 10 tents at a time at Kalama Park in Kihei.

This is a problem for Dodds, who would like to bring 60 members with 30 tents to Kalama Park during the Easter holidays.

Dodds told the Mayor that, "We believe that your regulations are an attempt to control a population that flies down from the mainland and then floats around the Islands without adequate funds, regard for private property and respect for camping regulations.

"We understand the problem, Mr. Mayor," he said, "and we have great sympathy with your attempts to solve it. But in this instance we believe that we are one of the babies thrown out with the bathwater."

Speaking of his group, Dodds said that "unlike many of our mainland compatriots, we spend money".

Dodds asked that the Mayor and the County Council consider amending the law to permit his group to bring more than 10 tents to Kalama Park.

Last May, the Council passed a new ordinance which cut in half the number of County overnight camping parks, increased camping regulations and provided stricter penalties for violators.

The current law makes County camping regulations considerably more restrictive that either State or Federal camping laws on Maui.

At the time the law was passed, Cravalho called it "a forward step".