Why Hawaii Remains So Beautiful For Your Vacation

May 20th, 2009

The first thing you’re likely to notice about Hawaii as you descend to the airport on your destination island is the purity of its beauty. One group is responsible for that: The Outdoor Circle (TOC).  Founded almost a century ago, TOC’s determined mission is to protect that beauty.

You won’t see a billboard anywhere, but that wasn’t always the case.  In 1925, TOC established a foothole and, through awareness efforts and pressure on the state legislature, all billboards were banned statewide. But TOC’s efforts to protect Hawaii are far broader than watching for billboards.  Most of what they do has resulted in subtle phenomena that rarely occur around the world.

Since 1948, the Outdoor Circle has been at the forefront of successfully preventing the skies over Hawaii from becoming littered with aerial advertising.  In 2006, The Outdoor Circle persuaded the State Legislature to ban the elsewhere-pervasive billboard trucks in Hawaii. Early Outdoor Circle members are responsible for the planting of a lot of Oahu’s largest and most recognizable trees.  TOC works closely with the government to ensure that Hawaii’s tree protection laws are enforced and that public trees are properly maintained.

Land use is a core issue for TOC — especially when it concerns the inappropriate use of special places such as landmarks, parks and green space, or in the protecting of view planes. The next target: those unsightly utility wires that get in the way of otherwise perfect views. In recent years The Outdoor Circle and other organizations have made some progress in supporting laws that require new developments to place utilitiyutility to invest in doing so.  But TOC charges on resolutely.

So a lot of effort has gone into the environment you’ll enjoy.  As the The Outdoor Circle slogan says:
“What you see is what we protect.”

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Posted by Bruce Fisher  @AlohaBruce

Entry Filed under: In General, Kauai, Maui, Molokai, Oahu