The Army Corps of Engineers wants to consult Native Hawaiian groups before deciding to grant aquatic and watershed permits for projects such as a new pier or dam.

Corps Regulatory Program Manager Farley Watanabe says the federal government is revising its regulations for whom it must consult during the permitting process. He says the Corps wants to involve a variety of Native Hawaiian organizations _ including nonprofit groups and state agencies.

The Corps has authority over the nation's navigable waters and public wetlands.

But Watanabe, who spoke at a forum at Maui Community College on Saturday, said the Corps faces obstacles, perhaps the biggest of which is that Native Hawaiians are not entitled to direct negotiations with the federal government when it comes to projects that could affect cultural and natural resources.

Watanabe said that's because they do not enjoy federal status similar to Native American tribes.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka's Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2007 aims to change that.

The so-called Akaka bill would establish a federally recognized Native Hawaiian government, giving Hawaiians autonomy rights similar to those provided American Indians and Native Alaskans.

Watanabe said the Corps would also like to include more Native Hawaiian groups than are currently recognized by the federal agency that is supposed to protect America's historic resources.

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation only considers the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, state island burial councils and the Hawaiian artifact group, Hui Malama, in its decision-making process, Watanabe said.

"This is exclusionary," he said. "The Corps will talk to anybody else we know of who has a point of view."

Timmy Paulokaleioku Bailey said it's important for federal agencies to understand the Native Hawaiian perspective.

"We want them to know that all natural resources are cultural resources," he said. "Pull the science out of it. Look at the Hawaiian side of it."

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