Department of Land and Natural Resources

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES
News Release

DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR

SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON

For Immediate News Release July 8, 2015 

CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH NATURE – SAVING THE RAREST OF THE RARE
WITH KAUAʻI’S PLANT EXTINCTION PREVENTION COORDINATOR

LIHU‘E — Volunteers will join conservation organizations and help remove endangered species around rare and endangered plants near the Kalalau lookout in Napali Coast State Wilderness Park. This activity will take place tomorrow Thursday, July 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Botanist Wendy Kishida from the Kauaʻi Plant Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP) and other conservation organizations will provide training for volunteers on plant identification for both native and non-native plants. This event is being sponsored by the Kôkeʻe Resource Conservation Program (KRCP) with funding from the US Fish & Wildlife Service Connecting People with Nature Grant.

Volunteers will also assist in removing invasive weeds in the vicinity of critically endangered plant species in the native forest ecosystem in Kokeʻe, Kauaʻi. Teams will also out plant native plants from the PEPP nursery. Kishida says, “We hope these hands-on activities in the forest “classroom” will connect volunteers to nature and increase their commitment to preserve the unique and rare native plant communities of Kôkeʻe.” All ages are welcome.

KRCP is a collaborative project in vegetation management of the Kôkeʻe Region, sponsored by the non-profit Garden Island Resource Conservation & Development, Inc. in cooperation with the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of State Parks and Division of Forestry and Wildlife.

KRCP involves the public in protecting native ecosystem resources and coordinating volunteers to conduct essential invasive alien species removal in selected areas. The Plant Extinction Prevention Program’s mission is to protect Hawai‘i’s rarest native plants from extinction. PEPP focuses on species that have fewer than 50 plants remaining in the wild. The U. S. Fish and Wildlife’s (FWS) Connecting People with Nature Program is dedicated to connecting all people with all aspects of the natural world – from their own backyards to FWS refuges, fish hatcheries, public lands and outdoor spaces around the nation.

For more information and to RSVP contact:
Katie Cassel or Cherith Andrade 335-0045 or [email protected]

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Media Contact:
Deborah Ward
DLNR Public information specialist
Phone: (808) 5870320