Ko‘oko‘olau

Bidens micrantha ssp ctenophylla or ko‘oko‘olau. Dry Forest Plants of Hawai'i. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has designated approximately 11,640 acres as critical habitat for three endangered Hawaiian plants, the koʻokoʻolau, wahine noho kula, and uhiuhi. This designation encompasses primarily state and federal lands – much of which has already been designated as critical habitat for other species. It will help protect Hawaiʻi’s dry forests, less than two percent of which remains, and on which these three endangered species, and many others, depend on for their survival. “The Service is committed to working with partners to recover koʻokoʻolau, wahine noho kula and uhiuhi, and the more than 400 threatened and endangered plants endemic to Hawaiʻi,” said Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office Field Supervisor Mary Abrams. “Including these three species, twenty-five percent of the endangered plants in the Hawaiian Islands are found in dry forest habitat.” This critical habitat designation follows extensive collaboration with local landowners, federal and state agencies, and private partners to develop comprehensive conservation strategies that protect federally listed and imperiled species for the continuing benefit of the American people. A number of landowners entered into memoranda of understanding with the Service to establish management actions that support the recovery of the listed species on their lands. “These types of agreements give landowners the flexibility to manage their private lands, while still providing for the recovery of endangered species,” said Abrams. “The benefits of these partnerships and the conservation actions they represent on private lands have enabled approximately 7,027 acres of lands to be excluded from the critical habitat designation.”