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Pacific
Islands Project Highlights
`Ola`a-Kilauea
Partnership
The Partnership has recently expanded from 32,000 acres to approximately 420,000 acres with the addition of the entire National Park and Kamehameha Schools lands (Keauhou Ranch - 30,000 acres and Kau/Kona lands - 150,000 acres). Current Partners and land acreage include:
- Kulani Correctional Facility (State) - 7,400 acres
- Puu Makaala Natural Area Reserve (State) - 12,400 acres
- National Park Service (NPS) - Hawaii Volcanoes National Park - 219,000 acres
- Kamehameha Schools (KS) - 189,000 acres
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
- U.S.G.S. Biological Resources Division
- U.S.D.A. Forest Service
- The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii
Biological Importance and Management Goals: The project area contains one of the best remaining native forest ecosystems in Hawaii with high diversity and general lack of invasive weed species. The area is essential habitat for four species of endangered forest bird, and also supports the endangered io, nene, Hawaiian hoary bat and twenty-two rare plant species including ten endangered species. Management goals include enhancing the long-term survival of native ecosystems and managing a large contiguous area across ownership boundaries. Management and research are currently focused on removing or reducing impacts from feral animals, alien plants and non-native predators, restoring native habitat and endangered species, and providing work training to Kulani inmates.
Source(s) of Funding: Partners have contributed approximately 500,000/yr in funding and in-kind services (e.g. inmate labor). Outside grants have provided an additional $100,000 - $300,000/yr.
Accomplishments
- The Partnership is currently jointly managing 14,100 acres. Four fenced units are pig free (6,800 acres). Feral pig control is currently underway in three units (7,300 acres), and we are planning on fencing an additional 15,000 acres in 2004. These units are all linked to fenced management units on state and/or park land and include some of the best quality native forest in Hawaii.
- The Partnership expanded to include the 30,000 acre Keauhou Ranch which links forested ecosystems from Kulani to the Mauna Loa Strip Road section of the park. KS is beginning a planning effort for the Ranch focused on restoration, education, stewardship and conservation.
- Kulani staff and inmates built a native plant greenhouse at Kulani and started propagation and outplanting to restore and landscape Kulani and other Partnership lands.
- The Partnership continued restoration of Mauna Loa silversword and expanded the rare plant restoration program to include other endangered species. We are outplanting these species in fenced, pig-free exclosures on Kulani and KS lands. Partnership continued restoration of Mauna Loa silversword and expanded the rare plant restoration program to include other endangered species. We are outplanting these species in fenced, pig-free exclosures on Kulani and KS lands.
- Project staff and Kulani inmates controlled and mapped invasive alien plants throughout Kulani Correctional Facility, and staff completed three years of surveys of alien plants in three management units. ject staff and Külani inmates controlled and mapped invasive alien plants throughout Kulani Correctional Facility, and staff completed three years of surveys of alien plants in three management units.
Future Projects: Long-term goals include enhancing the long-term survival of native ecosystems and cooperatively managing a large contiguous landscape across ownership boundaries. The highest priority projects include completing fenced units, planning/fundraising for new fenced units, feral ungulate control, fence maintenance, rare plant restoration, ongoing control of priority alien plants and developing a strategy for control of mouflon sheep. Over the next year, Partnership members will also be strategizing about how to effectively plan for and manage a large landscape which includes the additional KS lands (150,000 acres of Kau and Kona lands) recently added to the partnership.
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