- Keith Robinson (Niihau owner)
Infobox biography
name = Keith Robinson
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height = height|m=1.78
weight = convert|75|kg|lb|abbr=on|lk=on
religion =Episcopal Church in the United States of America
nationality = flagicon|USA American
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university =University of California Davis Keith Robinson is the manager of the
Kauai Wildlife Reserve , aBotanical Garden on the Hawaiian Island ofKauai . [ [Other Views by Keith Robinson 1997 http://starbulletin.com/97/07/28/editorial/otherviews.html] ] As an heir ofEliza Sinclair , Keith owns the Hawaiian island ofNiihau with his brother Bruce Robinson. His distinctive traits include wearing denim jeans, a greenhard hat , and aGlock pistol in a shoulderholster , carrying amachete , and driving a 1984 Nissan 4x4 pickup truck. Keith Robinson stands 5'10" tall and weighs 165 lbs. [Nurturing Natives http://starbulletin.com/97/07/14/features/story4.html] ]Keith attended
University of California Davis and graduated with a degree inagronomy and ranch management. After college, Keith served in theUS Army before returning to Hawaii. Upon returning to Hawaii, Keith worked Koolau Ranch onKauai seven years and operated a commercialfishing vessel on Kauai for another seven years.Keith Robinson has been credited for keeping numerous plants from becoming extinct, [ [Hawaii Plantsman Confounds Greenies http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_5_19/ai_97874292] ] including the
Cyanea Pinnatifida grown by Keith Robinson, but still on thelist of extinct plants . "I've spent eighteen years and more than $250,000 doing this work, and I estimate it would cost the government or environmental groups $10-20 million to create a comparable reserve. I've done all phases of it myself; scouting, seed collecting, seed germination, planting, transplanting, watering, growing, fencing, fertilizing, and insecticide spraying. In most environmental groups or botanical gardens, the work is highly compartmentalized. You get your plant scouts, your seed collectors, your nurserymen, and people on the grounds. They all have different duties, and their duties never change, so none of them has a broad overview of what's going on. They don't know what specific problems there are at various stages where you're trying to produce the plants." [ [Hawaii's rare breeds: after decades of solitary effort to save Hawaii's rarest plants, one man halts his efforts in response to government-environmentalist attacks private property rights. http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-4636133/Hawaii-s-rare-breeds-after.html] ]Keith Robinson has openly expressed concerns about his family's ability to continue to maintain private ownership of
Niihau due to government and environmental groups. There are environmental lawsuits against the family by groups such asEarthjustice , [ [Hawaii Plantsman Confounds Greenies http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_5_19/ai_97874292] ] and paying taxes on the island casts an extremely heavy burden on the profits of the Robinsons' interests in agricultural companies on Kauai. Keith Robinson has compared his plight onNiihau toRuby Ridge and theWaco Siege , threatening to defend his island with force if necessary. [ [Robinson Crusader 2005 documentary http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0495623/] ]Keith and Bruce Robinson have been offered over one billion dollars US for
Niihau , and turned it down. [ [Robinson Crusader 2005 documentary http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0495623/] ] Keith had repeatedly expressed his hopes to keepNiihau private to preserve the environment and traditions of the 150 to 200native Hawaiian inhabitants and has occasionally taken large losses to do so. Keith has stated "I estimate that we have lost somewhere between $8-9 million trying to keep people employed. This figure does not count income loss from giving free housing and free meat to a community of 150-200 people." [ [Other Views by Keith Robinson 1997 http://starbulletin.com/97/07/28/editorial/otherviews.html] ]References
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