How do you restore Hawai`i’s dryland forests? The question is a hard one to answer. Because so little is left of the forest types that once blanketed the islands’ leeward slopes, any restoration is bound to involve a level of … Continued
In the next decade or so, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply will introduce desalinated water into its municipal supply for Wai`anae, not because the island is short of groundwater, but because it’s cheaper than drilling new wells in wetter … Continued
Setback at Midway: The tsunami that hit Midway atoll last month washed tens of thousands of albatross chicks off the island, while at least a thousand Bonin petrels were buried alive in their burrows. The short-tailed albatross chick, whose hatching … Continued
“When I talk about rat lungworm, I immediately get people’s attention,” said Jon Martell, a Hilo physician and one of the speakers at a recent community symposium on the subject. “It touches on their fundamental fears and ‘ick’ factors,” he … Continued
Last month, The Wildlife Society, a national association made up mostly of specialists in the area of wildlife research and management, held its annual convention at the Waikoloa resort, on the Big Island. Over the four days of discussions and … Continued
Rewriting the Family Tree: In a development made possible only with the latest techniques in DNA sequencing, researchers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics have tracked down the ancestor of Hawaiian honeycreepers, those birds … Continued
Blue states and red states were the subject of a talk by Jack Mayer of the Savannah River National Laboratory in Aiken, South Carolina. But Mayer wasn’t discussing partisan politics. Rather, he was discussing the spread of wild pigs. On … Continued
The Waikoloa Hilton parking lot is full of cats. Signs around the lot ask that visitors not feed them, as they are being cared for by AdvoCATS, a Kona group that, according to its website, helps “abandoned and homeless felines.” … Continued
The man who sued to stop the mangrove eradication project on the Big Island, Sydney Singer, has developed a reputation for activism on behalf of non-native species that are targeted for control by mainstream conservation groups. In addition to his … Continued
Hawaiian Sandalwood ‘At Risk’: United Plant Savers, a group dedicated to protecting native medicinal plants and their habitat in the United States and Canada, has now added six species of Hawaiian sandalwood to its list of “at-risk” species. The list, … Continued