About HTF
Hawaii’s Thousand Friends is dedicated to ensuring that growth is reasonable and responsible; that appropriate planning, management, and water and land use decisions are made that protect the environment, human health and cultural and natural resources; and that decisions are made and proposals are implemented in conformity with the law.
Hawaii’s Thousand Friends is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization made up of an executive director, volunteer board, and a thousand mindful citizens like you. Hawaii’s Thousand Friends has been at the forefront of environmental litigation since its inception in 1980, successfully fighting legal cases focusing on land use planning, the Public Trust Doctrine, and native land and water rights. Board of Directors
President
Chuck Prentiss Vice President Ursula Retherford Secretary/Treasurer Bob Crone Directors Tom Coffman Lou Erteschik Carl Christensen Mike Lee Mary Steiner Executive Director Donna Wong |
Executive Director
Donna Wong has been executive director of Hawaii’s Thousand Friends since 1990.
For more than 35 years, Donna Wong has championed a litany of prominent environmental and land use issues in our island state and mentored dozens of citizens who were told by somebody to “Try call Donna Wong.” Donna’s advocacy journey began in 1980 with her election to the Kailua Neighborhood Board. She later said, “I naively thought, if only government officials knew the laws they would do the right thing. It didn’t take me long to learn that government usually only acts properly when watch-dogged by citizens.” Donna still serves on the Kailua Neighborhood Board, as well as the Oahu Island Council of the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust and the League of Women Voters Education Fund. She previously served on the State Marine and Coastal Zone Management Advisory Council, Kawainui Heritage Foundation and Conservation Voters of Hawai‘i. In 2009, Donna was named “Woman of The Year” by The Hawai`i State Commission on the Status of Women. She is only the third person to receive this award since the Commission’s beginning in 1964. The other two recipients were Dr. Donnis Thompson and Indru Watumull. Years later “and zillions of hours” of talking, educating and advocating, Donna Wong is still fighting for the same goal—to empower people with knowledge so they can participate in the decision-making process in order to protect what is important in their community and ensure that decision makers follow and uphold our laws. |
In Memorium: Chuck Prentiss
We are sad to announce that Chuck Prentiss, president of Hawaii’s Thousand Friends for more than 20 years, passed away at home on April 13, 2025.
Chuck spent a lifetime devoted to public service. He served as a planner in the Honolulu Planning Department and eventually became the Executive Secretary of the Honolulu Planning Commission.
Chuck was a staunch advocate for the quality-of-life value of long-range community planning and the importance of upholding planning and zoning laws to achieve that goal and to protect the environment.
Chuck cared deeply about community. During his career and after retirement he continued his quest to educate the public about the importance of good land-use planning as chair of Oahu’s first Neighborhood Board in Mililani, which he helped found, and then as chair of the Kailua Neighborhood Board for many years.
As President of the Board of Directors he led HTF several important lawsuits in protection of Hawaii’s environment. The Waiahole Ditch case resulted in a successful conclusion with the Hawaii Supreme Court’s decision articulating the Public Trust Doctrine as the standard by which the State must manage the distribution and allocation of all surface and ground waters as the people’s right to have the water protected for their use.
The 2004 HTF lawsuit against the City and County of Honolulu for violations to the Clean Water Act resulted in a 25-year Consent Decree to secure timely and effective environmental benefits to protect public health.
HTF’s lawsuit against the City and County of Honolulu for granting Waikiki Kyo-ya Hotel a variance to exceed height and density resulted in a Hawaii Supreme Court ruling that reversed the City and County’s approved variance.
We will miss Chuck as the Board’s leader, the depth of his knowledge of land-use laws and Oahu General and Development/Sustainable Plans and his tenacity in standing up for land and water rights.
Chuck’s impact on Hawaii’s Thousand Friends and the environment and communities of Oahu cannot be overstated. We grieve his loss, and honor him by continuing his legacy.
Chuck spent a lifetime devoted to public service. He served as a planner in the Honolulu Planning Department and eventually became the Executive Secretary of the Honolulu Planning Commission.
Chuck was a staunch advocate for the quality-of-life value of long-range community planning and the importance of upholding planning and zoning laws to achieve that goal and to protect the environment.
Chuck cared deeply about community. During his career and after retirement he continued his quest to educate the public about the importance of good land-use planning as chair of Oahu’s first Neighborhood Board in Mililani, which he helped found, and then as chair of the Kailua Neighborhood Board for many years.
As President of the Board of Directors he led HTF several important lawsuits in protection of Hawaii’s environment. The Waiahole Ditch case resulted in a successful conclusion with the Hawaii Supreme Court’s decision articulating the Public Trust Doctrine as the standard by which the State must manage the distribution and allocation of all surface and ground waters as the people’s right to have the water protected for their use.
The 2004 HTF lawsuit against the City and County of Honolulu for violations to the Clean Water Act resulted in a 25-year Consent Decree to secure timely and effective environmental benefits to protect public health.
HTF’s lawsuit against the City and County of Honolulu for granting Waikiki Kyo-ya Hotel a variance to exceed height and density resulted in a Hawaii Supreme Court ruling that reversed the City and County’s approved variance.
We will miss Chuck as the Board’s leader, the depth of his knowledge of land-use laws and Oahu General and Development/Sustainable Plans and his tenacity in standing up for land and water rights.
Chuck’s impact on Hawaii’s Thousand Friends and the environment and communities of Oahu cannot be overstated. We grieve his loss, and honor him by continuing his legacy.
Annual Reports
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2018 Annual Dinner
The HTF 2018 Annual Dinner keynote speaker was Associate Justice Michael D. Wilson. His talk was on “Climate Change and the Rule of Law.”
Justice Wilson grew up in Kailua and graduated from Kailua High School in 1971. He was appointed to the Hawai`i Supreme Court in 2014 after serving as a Circuit Court Judge of the first Circuit beginning in 2000. He is a member of the governing committee of the global judicial institute on the environment, a member of the international advisory committee for china’s ecocivilization forum, a member of the climate change task force for the international union for the conservation of nature and an adjunct faculty member at the Jindal University Global Law School in New Delhi India. Michael Wilson previously was Chairperson of the Department of Land and Natural Resources and a partner in the law firms of Pavey Wilson & Glickstein and Hart Wolff & Wilson.
Justice Wilson grew up in Kailua and graduated from Kailua High School in 1971. He was appointed to the Hawai`i Supreme Court in 2014 after serving as a Circuit Court Judge of the first Circuit beginning in 2000. He is a member of the governing committee of the global judicial institute on the environment, a member of the international advisory committee for china’s ecocivilization forum, a member of the climate change task force for the international union for the conservation of nature and an adjunct faculty member at the Jindal University Global Law School in New Delhi India. Michael Wilson previously was Chairperson of the Department of Land and Natural Resources and a partner in the law firms of Pavey Wilson & Glickstein and Hart Wolff & Wilson.
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2018 Unsung Hero Awardees Honored at the Annual Dinner
Gary Hooser
Gary is an advocate of labeling genetically modified organisms (GMO) and a leading opponent of the super ferry. He passed major legislation including the first in the nation pesticide disclosure requirement and also a law that made blocking beach access a criminal offense. From 2002 to 2010, he represented the islands of Kauai and Niihau in the State Senate, in the last four years as majority leader. He served as director of the Office of Environmental Quality control (2011/2012) and eight years on the Kauai county council. He then founded Hawai`i Alliance for Progressive Action (H.A.P.A.), currently serving as its president, and the Pono Hawai`i Initiative, of which he is the Executive Director.
Lea Hong
Lea is currently the director of the Hawaiian Islands for the Trust for Public Land. She works with communities to protect our islands’ `aina, prominently including 182 acres of the Ka Iwi Coast and 630 acres of windswept shoreline from Kawela Bay to Kahuku Point. She partnered with Aloha Kuamo`o `Aina to acquire the culturally significant 42-acres Kuamo`o battlefield in Kona. Lea was a partner and chairwoman of the Environmental and Cultural Resources Law Practice Group at Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing. She represented OHA in OHA v. NASA, winning an important decision requiring federal agencies to do appropriate cumulative impact analysis in environmental assessments. She also was an attorney with the Sierra club Legal Defense Fund, which represented Hawaii’s Thousand Friends in five Clean Water Act lawsuits.
Gary Hooser
Gary is an advocate of labeling genetically modified organisms (GMO) and a leading opponent of the super ferry. He passed major legislation including the first in the nation pesticide disclosure requirement and also a law that made blocking beach access a criminal offense. From 2002 to 2010, he represented the islands of Kauai and Niihau in the State Senate, in the last four years as majority leader. He served as director of the Office of Environmental Quality control (2011/2012) and eight years on the Kauai county council. He then founded Hawai`i Alliance for Progressive Action (H.A.P.A.), currently serving as its president, and the Pono Hawai`i Initiative, of which he is the Executive Director.
Lea Hong
Lea is currently the director of the Hawaiian Islands for the Trust for Public Land. She works with communities to protect our islands’ `aina, prominently including 182 acres of the Ka Iwi Coast and 630 acres of windswept shoreline from Kawela Bay to Kahuku Point. She partnered with Aloha Kuamo`o `Aina to acquire the culturally significant 42-acres Kuamo`o battlefield in Kona. Lea was a partner and chairwoman of the Environmental and Cultural Resources Law Practice Group at Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing. She represented OHA in OHA v. NASA, winning an important decision requiring federal agencies to do appropriate cumulative impact analysis in environmental assessments. She also was an attorney with the Sierra club Legal Defense Fund, which represented Hawaii’s Thousand Friends in five Clean Water Act lawsuits.
Senator Mike Gabbard presenting Lea Hong and Gary Hooser each a certificate of recognition and appreciation from the Hawaii Senate.
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Kirsten Turner, represented Congresswomen Tulsi Gabbard to present certificates to Gary Hooser and Lea Hong. Kirsten Turner presented a message from Congresswomen Tulsi Gabbard’s office to HTF Board Chair Chuck Prentiss thanking Hawaii’s Thousand Friends for the work the organization has done for nearly 40 years to “preserve our state’s precious natural resources” and “protect our environment, our health and our Native Hawaiian resources for our community’s future.”
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Donna Wong, executive director, presenting certificates to HTF’s 2018 Unsung Heroes Gary Hooser and Lea Hong.
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Unsung Hero Awards
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Begun in 1992, this award recognizes individuals working to protect Hawai'i's land, culture and environment.
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2005 Unsung Hero Muriel Seto,
with Ed Case 
2012 Unsung Heroes
Cliff Slater, with wife Bobbie, Paulette Kaleikini, John Pritchett 
Moses Haia, 2006 Unsung Hero
Lea Hong, 2018 Unsung Hero
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2010 (Attorneys who have done legal work for HTF)
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Web Site Photos
Most nature photographs used throughout this web site taken by board member Tom Coffman.