1/10/24 – KAUAʻI AVIAN RESCUE AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS MOVING TO SINGLE SITE
Posted on Jan 10, 2025 in BLNR, Forestry & Wildlife, Main, News Releases, slider
| JOSH GREEN, M.D. GOVERNOR |
DAWN CHANG |
KAUAʻI AVIAN RESCUE AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS MOVING TO SINGLE SITE
Click on photo to view video
HONOLULU – The cancellation of a decades-long set-aside of land from the state of Hawai‘i to the County of Kaua‘i has paved the way for Kaua‘i’s renowned forest bird and seabird recovery and protection programs to move into a joint facility.
Today, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR), approved Kaua‘i Mayor Derek Kawakami’s request to cancel Governor’s Executive Order (EO) 4045. The first EO, in 1955, was issued to the county as the Hanapēpē Dog Pound site.
The Kauaʻi Humane Society utilized the property for 46 years and subsequently, in 2015, the BLNR approved the use of the premises for Hawaiian stewardship programs.
In the DLNR Land Division submittal to the land board, Mayor Kawakami indicated the site is no long being used for stewardship and while the county has tried to maintain it and fenced it off, squatters have moved in. The county will remove the squatters and their personal effects before the cancellation takes effect.
The property will be utilized for the benefit of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, College of Natural Sciences, Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit (PCSU) on behalf of the Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project (KFBRP), the Kaua‘i Endangered Seabird Recovery Project (KESRP), and the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaiʻi (RCUH). The term of the no-cost lease is 25 years.
Dr. Shaya Honarvar, PCSU Director and Principal Investigator for KFBRP and KESRP said, “Our mission is to protect and restore Hawaii’s native species, ecosystems, and cultural resources. The forest bird and seabird recovery projects on Kaua‘i epitomize this mission by combining research and conservation of federally and state protected native birds; some of which would already be extinct without the intervention of the project’s talented and dedicated teams.”
From the BLNR submission, “Due to the recent dramatic declines in forest bird populations on Kaua‘i and new advances in technologies to address their primary threat, mosquito-borne diseases, KFBRP’s budget and staff have recently increased almost two-fold. KFBRP has outgrown the small commercial real estate property it has rented since 2011. Meanwhile, KESRP has been occupying a small container at the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) base yard but needs to find a permanent home.”
Dr. Lisa ‘Cali’ Crampton, KFBRP Project Leader, said, “This allows us to share staff knowledge and skills more easily. A major synergy will be having space for cross- training, not only with our seabird partners, but also with our DLNR colleagues. There are many overlaps between various types of avian research and conservation, so being together provides great learning opportunities.”
The property is very close to where DLNR/DOFAW is developing a westside base yard. DOFAW Kaua‘i Branch Manager Sheri S. Mann said, “We hope to break ground in the next six months. The proximity of these projects, who we already collaborate with frequently, is going to enhance our shared endangered bird protection mission.”
“With the extinction crisis we’re facing, having a shared baseyard will allow us to streamline field operations, share equipment, vehicles, and other resources. Having a united front allows us to expand our outreach to the community. It’s not just about doing the critical conservation work—it’s about showing how important our native species are to the health of our ecosystems and the cultural heritage that makes our island so special,” said Dr. Julia Diegmann, KFBRP planner.
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RESOURCES
(All images/video Courtesy: DLNR)
HD video – Media clips of KFBRP and KESRP (various dates and locations on Kaua‘i):
Photographs – KFBRP and KESRP (various dates and locations on Kaua‘i):
Media contact:
Dan Dennison
Communications Director
Dept. of Land and Natural Resources, State of Hawai‘i
Email: [email protected]
