Like a dagger through the heart, the state-owned Piha tract tears straight through the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge. Technically, Piha is part of Hawai`i’s system of forest reserves, set aside in the early part of the 20th century to … Continued
Black-footed Albatross Not Endangered: That’s the final determination of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in response to a petition to list the species Phoebastria nigripes as endangered. The petition was filed seven years ago by Turtle Island Restoration Network … Continued
The National Park Service is worried about water. More specifically, it fears that the underground flows that feed the fishponds and anchialine pools at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park will be interrupted or polluted if areas mauka of the park are … Continued
Some of them leak like sieves, losing (or wasting, some might say) millions of gallons a day of diverted stream water into the ground. But achieving greater food security without the 130 or so earthen reservoirs throughout the state would, … Continued
The Kaua`i Island Utility Cooperative has lost its “priority position” to generate hydropower using irrigation systems and land in west Kaua`i managed by the state Agribusiness Development Corporation. Last month, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an order dismissing the … Continued
Jawmin, the company logging sandalwood from former Hokukano Ranch land in Kona, is emerging from its year-long bankruptcy. On August 12, Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris granted Jawmin’s motion to close the case after Jawmin arranged for a third-party loan to … Continued
In April 2005, the owner of a nursery in Waimanalo noticed a fungus he did not recognize on an `ohi`a. A month later, a rose apple tree above Maunawili was heavily infested with a similar rust. Within six months, the … Continued
Riviera Resort Redux: Remember Charles Chidiac’s failed efforts to build a resort in one of the remotest areas of the state? It did not end well, with more than 16,000 acres near South Point, on the Big Island, being turned … Continued
Getting species added to the state’s noxious species list isn’t easy. Any proposed plant must meet five criteria to be designated. For species that are already in Hawai`i, designation helps to provide the legal authority to control them, including a … Continued
Buildup in Guam, Cuts in Inspections Increase Brown Tree Snake Risk Here “About a dozen species of native forest birds were present and in stable populations” when the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) arrived in Guam in the late 1940s, … Continued