It all started with an anonymous letter which stated that the city was negotiating with a group to hold a large concert at Magic Island. The trees, the letter said, would block the view of the stage and the city had planned to remove and/or relocate them.

This was hard to believe. Outdoor Circle staff members speak with the city's Division of Urban Forestry at least three times a week about various tree issues — especially plans that affect street trees and those in city parks. No one ever told us about a plan to remove or relocate trees at Magic Island. Nor had they told us about a large concert scheduled for spring 2008. We later learned that city employees and consultants were ordered to keep the plan under wraps. The more we learned, the more we understood the reason for all this secrecy.

We wrote to Honolulu's director of parks and recreation and learned that it was true. For more than a year, the city has been working with a group called Blue Planet Festival. The plan is to hold a two-day symposium on energy sustainability and then a two-day music and arts festival at Magic Island. Festival promoters hope 25,000 to 30,000 people will attend the concert, with plans to grow the annual festival's attendance to as many as 50,000 in the future.

After many apologies for not conferring with us sooner, the parks department arranged for the head of the Urban Forestry Division to meet with Outdoor Circle staff for a first-hand look at the trees targeted for removal/relocation. Initially we were told that the list included eight to 10 trees, all of which had been badly burned by coals dumped by picnickers and needed to be removed because they posed a threat to the public. This, the parks director told us, would create an excellent opportunity to educate the public about the damage that carelessly dumping hot coals can inflict on our trees. However, during our site visit we were shown 15 trees and later learned that the true number could run as high as 20. Most of the trees are mature monkeypods, whose dense canopies make ideal shade for park users. Fewer than five of the trees showed signs of being seriously burned.

The irony of this potential debacle was not lost on us. A group claiming to promote sustainable energy and operating under an umbrella of environmental sensitivity wants to rip out and relocate mature trees to improve views for concert attendees and television cameras. In addition, the promoters say the event will close all of Magic Island for public use for several days. The only people allowed in will be those who pay for a ticket, with the price yet to be determined. The event also will restrict public access to and usage of other parts of Ala Moana Beach Park.

Promoters and city officials told us this is the only location on O'ahu large enough to accommodate the event. Perhaps they're not familiar with Aloha Stadium? Blue Planet Festival also claimed that the city will benefit because it will leave the park better than when they began.

But it was unable to explain what its plan was or how the park would be enhanced. It is hard for us to believe that removing and/or relocating 15 or more trees from the center of Magic Island will enhance it at all. Instead, it will make most of Magic Island hot with little to no shade, and will discourage O'ahu families from enjoying the park's benefits.

The Outdoor Circle believes that making permanent changes in a park to accommodate a temporary event is unconscionable. We believe it is the city's responsibility to be a good steward of our park lands and not a promoter of paid events.

We urge the people of Honolulu to closely monitor this still-evolving story. That's certainly what The Outdoor Circle intends to do.

Mary Steiner is CEO of The Outdoor Circle, founded in 1912 to preserve and protect the beauty of Hawai'i. She wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.