(Honolulu) – On a typical misty morning at the University of Hawai‘i’s Lyon Arboretum in the Manoa Valley, Dr. William Haines dips a net into a small pond. Months prior, staff here drained the pond to remove invasive fish, then refilled it and stocked it with aquatic plants. A researcher with the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife’s (DOFAW) Hawai‘i Invertebrate Program, Haines is now removing predatory dragonflies from the water before he introduces one of their cousins to the pond.
Forestry & Wildlife
(Maunakea, Hawai‘i) –On Sunday and Monday a half-dozen Palila, hatched and raised at the San Diego Zoo Global’s (SDZG) Keauhou Bird Conservation Center, flew in the open air for the first time in their lives. Palila, a distant relative of finches are the last surviving members of sixteen species of finch-billed, seed-eating birds in the main Hawaiian Islands. They were once found on Kaua‘i and O‘ahu, but are now found only high on the slopes of Mauna Kea.
(Pu‘u Maka‘ala Natural Area Reserve) – Towering above the highest trees in this Hawai‘i Island Natural Area Reserve, a 105-foot-high meteorological tower, with millions of dollars of high-tech sensing equipment attached to it, is the final component of the National Ecological Observatory Network or NEON.
(Wailua Loop Road, Kaua‘i) – Until a week ago, the Keahua Bridge, better known as the Wailua Loop Road Bridge, had its concrete dividers and walk-way covered in graffiti. The bridge is a popular stop for sightseers, hikers, swimmers and stream-waders. The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) staff on Kaua‘i contacted the art program at Kapa‘a High School to propose a way to combat the vandalism and beautify the bridge structures, which are only a few years old.
(Pu‘u Maka‘ala Natural Area Reserve, Hawai‘i) – Two ‘Alalā in the Pu‘u Maka‘ala Natural Area Reserve have reached a new milestone, one not seen in the forests of Hawaiʻi for almost 20 years. They have built a nest. In early April, team members observed two birds, Mana'olana and Manaiakalani beginning to build a nest platform structure near their 2017 release site.
(Hilo) – One of the most rugged and hard-to-reach beaches in Hawai‘i has been infamously dubbed “plastic beach, trash beach and rubbish beach.” Not so long ago the strips of white sand at Kamilo Point on Hawai‘i Island were chest-high in plastic debris, off all sizes, shapes and variety; washed ashore by ocean currents.
(Honolulu) – Kohala lands within the Kula Iwi (homeland) of Kamehameha the Great on Hawai‘i island; stunningly beautiful coastal pasture in Hāna, Maui; restored access to a Hawaiian fishpond on Kaua‘i’s north shore; and two tracts of high-quality O‘ahu forest can now be protected for public benefit with the help of grant funding from the State Legacy Land Conservation Program.
(Honolulu)-The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) has scheduled an open meeting to discuss the recently issued draft of its Tantalus-Round Top Drive Corridor Management Plan (“Draft TRTD-CMP”). The Draft TRTD-CMP identifies management issues in the area and recommends actions that should be undertaken to maintain and enhance the corridor.
(Honolulu) – In the coming days and months it’s going to be hard to avoid the phrase, “Mālama Hawai‘i," when flying, staying in a hotel room, watching TV or enjoying the outdoors throughout the Hawaiian Islands. DLNR and the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA) have partnered to launch Mālama Hawai‘i, a comprehensive campaign designed to educate and remind visitors and kama‘āina about being respectful of the islands’ natural resources, protecting wildlife, and staying safe at all times while in Hawai‘i.
People who participated in the community forum on Rapid Ohia Death held at the West Hawaii Civic Center in Kona on March 30, 2019, again break into small groups for a second question and answer session with the experts.