Off to NOAA

July 29, 2015

This summer I signed up for Dean Antolini’s Domestic Ocean and Coastal Law class.  I absolutely love taking these environmental law classes - I learn so much about our environment, I get to do research and advocate, and I get to go on field trips!  Gotta love those field trips.

Most unfortunately, I was unable to go on the fish market/auction trip or on the Makai to Mauka field trip.  Wayne and I had done the second field trip before, so that wasn’t so bad, but I was dying to go see the fish auction.  Unfortunately, that morning was my inaugural Board of Directors meeting for Family Programs Hawaii.  I needed to go to that one.  But that was ok - this field trip was more than awesome.  We went to the newly inaugurated (well, inaugurated last year) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Daniel Inouye Pacific Regional Center (NOAA PRC) on Ford Island.  

The NOAA PRC is on the northwest corner of Ford Island, and it is constructed using two aircraft hangars, Buildings 175 and 176, which were constructed in 1971.  The NOAA PRC had to incorporate these two hangars, still riddled with bullet holes from that fateful day, December 7, 1941, a result of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  These hangars are part of the National Historic Register, and thus much red tape ensued in trying to consolidate the NOAA activities on Oahu.  It is home to the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service, the National Ocean Service, the National Weather Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Center and Marine and Aviation Operations, the International Tsunami Information Center, and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center among several others, to include my beloved Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

The building is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold rated building.  What is a LEED building, you ask?  I’d be very happy to tell you!  LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across energy savings, water efficiency, carbon dioxide emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.  Points are awarded to those categories, and the total sum yields the rating.  The certification threshold for gold is 60-79 points.  You can see the guide to certification here.

One of the features is the parking lot - not only does it serve as a parking lot, it captures rain water and routes it to collection tanks that provide water for irrigation and flushing the toilets in the restroom.  There are automatic blinds on the Diamond Head and Ewa windows that adjust during the time of day, controlling the direct sunlight entering the building and contributing to the air conditioning and energy management.  Notice the use of daylight to minimize the amount of power needed.  I just wouldn’t want to clean those windows!

The building has a fascinating air cooling and ventilation system.  Cold ocean water from wells deep below the building go into cooling towers on the roof.  This cools the air, which flows downward into a main shaft in each hangar, travels under a raised floor, and is vented into the office spaces.  The warm air rises and is carried out by the ducting in the false ceiling.  I don’t know that the system is perfected, we were sweating bullets as we went through some of the laboratory spaces.  The building is powered by a large photovoltaic system - amazing.

The ground floor lobby, exhibits, library and dining facility are a large part of Building A, which interconnects the space between the two renovated hangars.  The walls are adorned with photos that used to grace the walls of the NOAA facilities in Hawaii Kai - I was happy to see my friends had been transported.

But enough about the building, time to talk about the field trip!

The class met at the Arizona Memorial parking lot at 8:00 am (well, there were one or two stragglers, but not bad), and those of us with military ID (and car stickers) divvied up the visiting crew.  We needed to be across the bridge before 9:00, as it was going to be opened from then until noon.  We got across the bridge without incident and made our way to the beautiful structure you see above.  We gathered in the dining area outside the (very popular) cafeteria, and waited for our hosts.  Paulo Morin and Mike Lamier greeted us as I scurried around getting the field trip waiver signed.  Not many people read the waiver, but it was quite clever.  Hazards of the trip included crossing a bridge and having conversations with federal employees.  Very witty, Dean, very witty.

We were given a very brief tour of the lobby where Mike told us about the construction of the building, and explained the eco-friendly features contained within.  We were all duly impressed!  Well, I was.  From there we entered into the workspaces.  The interior conversion of the hangar was truly impressive.  Like the connecting building, the hangar makes use of available natural sunlight, and there are research/relaxing areas where you are surrounded by the beauty of Hawaiian plants.  The spaces are very open, and sound definitely travels.  We really needed to be on our best behavior while there.

From there we went up to the second floor, and walked through the geospatial cubicle area, where we were further chastised to whisper while transiting through the area.  I can see that a group of our size would be rather loud, and could cause some serious disruption of any and all work efforts.

We made our way to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center control room.  I personally would call it a war room - multiple displays and computers are behind a glass wall, which is fronted by a conference room.  This is the room where the Center team members give their press briefings any time there is an event that requires coverage and monitoring.  The computer room and conference room were empty of employees, but we were assured that if an event occurred, the room would be swarming with team members.  I can believe it.  As a side note, this is a much, much better place for the Warning Center than its predecessor.  The former Warning Center was in Ewa Beach, right in the tsunami flood zone.  I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to go to and from work if an event actually occurred.  I have bicycled past the old Warning Center, and it is relatively modest.  It would be hard to house all the scientists simultaneously.  I think.  The new NOAA building seems like it may be in a flood zone, but I’m going to have to check that out.  We were reassured that the building itself is certified tsunami-proof, and in all my time working on Ford Island, I never experienced flooding.

We got to go outside in the socializing zone, and to see the ships (one of which was the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer), along with the Sea-Based X-band radar (that one is the property of the US Navy).  Magnificent, but in 91 degree weather with no trade winds, I wanted to go inside quickly.

From there we were transferred over to Alan Andrews, a dedicated, energetic, and enthusiastic scientist who does bond radio carbon dating and lead radium dating of fish.  His work helps to give life history parameters for marine organisms, lending insight into the longeivity of different species.  Alan uses a micro drill to go into an odelisk extraction from the ear bones of fish.  Based upon levels of radiation in the bones, he is able to date them by comparing it to radioactive fallout from atmospheric atomic experimentation.  He also is able to determine age and maturity levels of the fish, and estimates that the life span of fish is grossly underestimated.  His findings then are presented in order to inform policy makers on how to regulate commercial and private fishing.  His species of the moment, or the species information he shared with us, was of the orange roughy.  Very neat.

Following this we did a quick tour of the fish dissection/extraction room, Science on a Sphere (a room sized, global display system that uses computers and four video projectors to display planetary data on a six foot diameter sphere that looks like a giant, animated globe), and then we were whisked off to the conference room to be regaled and impressed by NOAA scientists.  We were first impressed by Kelvin Gorospe of the Reef Fish Monitoring and Management Science Center.  Kelvin is part of the Fish Ecology and Monitoring Team.  The team goes out and does assessments of the types, number, and size of fish throughout the Hawaiian islands.  The amount of work that is done by the team members is incredible.  For the stationary count, working in pairs, they go dive for a half an hour, collect the data, and then come back up to enter the information into a database.  Each diver operates in a virtual cone that extends 7.5 meters on both sides, yielding a 15 meter radius of responsibility.  They also do towed diver surveys to target rare, large (>50 cm) species.  The last method used is remote underwater videography, which is exactly what it sounds like.  A remote controlled device with video camera within.  This work is part of the Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program, and provides scientific information that supports ecosystem approaches to management and conservation of coral reefs.  They travel on the NOAA ships Hiʻiʻalakai and Oscar Elton Sette, monitoring 1200 nautical square miles.  Human impacts on the numbers of fish and coral are grim.  Now comes the question of how to improve our human actions in order to rejuvenate and regenerate our reef ecosystems.  

Wayne and I have both been through training similar to that done by the team, albeit only for the island of Oahu.  The training was hosted in the Waikiki Aquarium, and we both did many dives where we did our counts and submitted the results online.  Wayne did so many of them that his name was actually listed as a major contributor on the website.  This was sponsored by Reef Environmental Educational Foundation (REEF).  I think this is what started me down my environmental conservation/preservation path.  At least where the ocean is concerned.  Click on the word REEF above if you are interested in learning more.

Next up with the National Marine Sanctuary Supervisor, Malia Chow.  The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary was designated in 1992, and it was the only single species sanctuary in the Nation.  The original proposal was only for Kahoʻolawe in the 1970s, but then all waters and islands were later proposed to be included.  There is a Sanctuary Council comprised of private citizens, members of the business community, and government.  There was little cultural representation originally, but the council is now largely comprised of Native Hawaiians.  Malia is moving the Sanctuary in a new direction.  The March 2015 Draft Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement have proposed an ecosystem based sanctuary rather than a single species sanctuary.  It will be interesting to see how this develops, especially if the Pacific Northwest Humpback Whale distinct species is delisted.  But donʻt get me started on that.

The last part of the day I participated in was the briefing led by Athline Clark, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Superintendant. The Monument was established by Presidential Proclamatin 8031 on June 15, 2006.  It is managed by the Department of Commerce (NOAA), the Department of the Interior (US Fish and Wildlife Service), and the state of Hawaii (Department of Land and Natural Resources).  The Monument is also a World Heritage Site, designated as such in 2010.  And itʻs big, measuring approximately 140,000 square miles.  This makes it the largest fully protected conservation area under the U.S. flag.  It would stretch from New Orleans to Las Vegas.  Take that, Texas!

Interesting facts to know, the Monument has over 70 airplane wrecks and over 60 shipwrecks.  And did you know that the Vietnam cease-fire was signed on Midway Atoll?  I didnʻt, and I went there.  Shame on me.  And, because of limited access, stones were studied at Mokumonomono that allowed cultural heritage practitioners to return to the main Hawaiian islands and reconstruct heiaus.  Impressive.  The Monumentʻs purpose is to preserve access for Native Hawaiian cultural activities, to carefully regulate educational and scientific activities, foster visitation in a special area around Midway, to prohibit unauthorized access to the Monument, to phase out commercial fishing over a period of five years, and to ban other resource extraction and waste dumping.  Thatʻs a huge order.  

We were behind schedule, so we were limited in our questions and answers during these presentations.  I left shortly after, and missed the final brown bag presentation in order to get to school in time for my final Professional Responsibility class.

Iʻm going to miss taking my Domestic Ocean and Coastal Law class.  Thank you Dean A!

To Bird, Or Not to Bird

I woke up a little stiff this morning, but not too bad.  I woke up once during the night and looked outside the window- lots and lots of stars.  But, alas, by morning the cloud cover rolled back in by sunrise, and we were greeted with a light, misting rain. Of course, no rain, no rainbow, which showed up at about 7:30 am.  Yay, rainbow!

Last nightʻs sleep was a little restless for me - I had dreams of being pushed multiple times throughout the night.  Breakfast was a treat, pumpkin pancakes with chocolate chips!  Along with our usual eggs, fruit and other goodies.  We got off to a bit of a late start, but all was still well in the world.  It gave me the opportunity to have a little quiet time to write about yesterday, and our time with Baron.  What a wonderful man.  I hope he stays for a while longer!!!  After 13 years, Iʻd imagine that the solitude gets to be a little bit too much.

The rain started back up again in earnest after breakfast, so went over to the garage to get boots and rain jackets.  It took a while to find a pair of boots large enough, but at last I found the right size!

We then headed off to find Steve, our birding guide, back at Pua ʻAkala.  We were hoping to see some of the endangered birds of the forest.  Hakalau is home to four of six endangered Hawaiian forest birds - the ʻAkiapolaʻau, Hawaiian ʻAkepa, Hawaiian Creeper, and the ʻIo.                                                       

Alas, luck was not overwhelmingly with us today.  We heard the ʻAkepa, but did not see.  We did see one ʻIo, though, but it was too quick for me to photograph.  That's ok, though, the lush canopy of trees and the sounds of the birds overhead were enchanting.  We saw lots of Iʻiwi, their flamboyant red plumage highly visible in the trees.  We did get to see the earlier Hakalau plantings.  It is amazing how quickly the koa grows, and how large the ferns get.  

After about 12:30, it was time to head back to the cabin to eat lunch, pack out, clean up, and he’d home.  Naturally, Iʻm a bit anal retentive when it comes to meeting SP time, so I allowed for no lolly-gagging around the lunch table!  :)  We did make short order of things, and after divvying up what would remain with Baron, and what would go to Rhiannon’s mom, we commenced out of the park towards Big Island Candy.  We did a pass-off of Rhiannon to her family once we were out of the park, and headed off into the rain.

As we were driving down Saddle Road, we saw the most beautiful rainbow that almost drizzled like melting ice cream.  Oh, to not be driving the truck!  When we got out of the truck at Big Island Candy, we were overwhelmed with heat and humidity.  Huge change after the last two day, we had even been running the heater in the truck on the way down the mountain!  We are back to reality.  

As we entered into the airport, we saw yet another magnificent rainbow (we are, after all, on the Rainbow Isle) that spanned the area.  Picture 1/3 rainbow to the left, blue sky in the middle 1/3, and 1/3 rainbow to the right.  Nature is enough to give you chicken skin.  

Following a beer and a miso soup, it was time to begin boarding the plane.  A quiet flight back, it gave me time to think and to write.  I was sad to have spent this wonderful time away from Wayne, but I wouldn’t trade it at all.  It was lovely.

Welcome to the Place of Many Perches

So have you ever been able to plant an endangered tree?  We each did today, under the tutelage of Baron.

A little now about Baron, taken from articles sent to us by Dean A.  

Baron Horiuchi has spent over 13 years developing and implementing propagation and out-planting methods for endangered Hawaiian plants at the Hakalau Forest NWR in Hawaii. He has created a unique program that engages many conservation partners and volunteer groups in the management of the Hakalau Forest greenhouse operation. Baron has aided in the recovery of seven species of endangered plants, including two species with fewer than three individuals remaining in the wild. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service awarded the 2012 Rachel Carson Award for Scientific Excellence to him for his scientific contributions toward native plant propagation and restoration.  Because of his persistence and ingenuity, the populations of endangered plants such as the lobeliad Cyanea shipmanii, with only three known individuals in the wild, have increased 30-fold, elevating their potential for recovery and reducing their risk of extinction. More than 6,000 other plants of seven endangered species have been propagated from seeds and cuttings, greenhouse grown and out-planted into protected areas. He has planted over half a million koa trees!  The result of all these efforts is the return of forest habitat. Native forest birds have returned to an area that was open pasture from cattle grazing just 20 years ago. Many of the native bird species, such as ‘apapane, ‘i‘iwi, Hawai‘i ‘elepaio, and Hawai‘i ‘amakihi, are seen regularly within the replanted areas. In addition, the endangered Hawai‘i creeper and akiapōlā‘au regularly forage in the replanted koa groves.

And this was our host, a man who made this greenhouse happen with his own two hands, and out of his own pocket.

The morning started typically - first one awake, I started the coffee, and went outside to see what the world had to offer.  It was raining, and the clouds were coming in on us.  Nēnē were at the back door, enjoying themselves.  Lauren and Hillary made us a robust eggs and bacon breakfast, and we had bagels, and fruit.  Full bellied kind of day.  I filled my day pack with water and jerky, and we went outside with Baron somewhere around 9 am.

We started out with a tour of Baron’s first greenhouse - a reclaimed dog kennel that he took over when the refuge had to get rid of its dogs, they had gone out and eaten nēnē, also an endangered species.  He didn’t ask his bosses, he just took it over and began his out planting operation.  

There are well over a half million plantings.  Talk about impressive.

One of the things that Baron showed us was a species of mint that had been thought to be extinct, but was discovered in Hakalau in 1990.  Baron sent clippings off to the Bishop museum while trying to figure out the species.  A year later (yes, the Bishop museum has to be busy), the reply was that the mint was the phyllostegia brevidens.  Baron found it in at least one other location in Hakalau, and began cultivating it.

We then toured the greenhouse where most of the plantings exist - the sign the entry says “Laulima,” which translates into “many hands working together.”  That sign was carved by visitors and gifted to Baron.  The hands on either side of the sign vary in size, which represents the wide diversity of ages in the volunteers who come here.  The sign at the top of the blog is the original sign, still lovingly kept in the greenhouse.

Then it was on to the new greenhouse, contracted and constructed without consulting Baron.  It has a little work left to do. What was very impressive was outside the greenhouse - all the water used in the greenhouse comes from a cachement system.  Baron is working to get all of the water collection tanks connected in order to be able to use the water more efficiently.  Right now the tanks are full thanks to the recent tropical storm, but it isn’t always that way.  Connecting the tanks will make Baron’s job a little easier in times of drought.

We spent some time choosing and then planting trees.  I chose a polymorpha - ʻŌhia - as did a few others.  Dean A chose an ʻŌhia Lehua, and Grant a Pukiʻawe.  It was quite a bit of work to clear the area, break the soil, and do the planting.  But it was wonderful, and the smell of freshly dug earth relaxing. 

After the planting, we began creating cuttings - mint.  The “extinct” Brevidens, and Velutina and Racemosa.  It feels almost like you are killing them when you make the cuttings, you are brutal with your gardening scissors, and yet not.  I think we made hundreds  of cuttings.  And we squished seed pods for planting berry trees.  That was some hard work, and made the fingers tired.  Every time I thought I had popped open all the seeds, another cherry showed up.  We needed rolling pins!

And then it was lunchtime, and getting ready to head to Pua ʻAkala cabin.

On the ride over we saw Erckels Franklin, green neck pheasants, Hawaii creepers, ʻElepaio and ʻOmaio.  What a treat!  It makes me wish someone else were driving so I could take out my camera and shoot stills.  Of course, if you donʻt put your camera into your camera bag, you arenʻt going to get those stills. The pictures you see here are from my iPhone.  Good pictures, but I wish I had remembered to put the Olympus in the truck!

The cabin is part of the Pua ʻAkala Ranch, which was built in 1883 by D.H. & E.G. Hitchcock.  They were the owners of Hitchcock & Co. Sugar Plantation.  Built originally as a vacation house by the Hitchcock family, traveled to by mule from Hilo, the cabin became a bunkhouse and rooms were added when the Shipmans leased the land to raise cattle.  The house is made of koa, has seven rooms, a corrugated roof, is on the National Register of Historic Places, and ghosts.  The cabin is haunted, possibly by two spirits.  One is a young child, and one an older man.  Freakily, Allieʻs picture shows a face in the window.  Unfortunately, I donʻt have that one to share. 

I had made jerky from about four pounds of beef the night before we came here, and split it into two bags (different seasoning mixes).  It was quite popular, especially with Conrad, but both Rhiannon and I left some out for the spirits in the house.  Uncle Likeke often told us stories about spirits in the night, and that they would leave him be if there was food around.  Couldnʻt hurt, right?  We also made sure not to make a full circle around the house - by completing a full circle, you take away some of the energy of the house with you.  These are not happy spirits, so no full circle from us. 

We managed to see Iʻiwi, two ʻIo (Hawaiian hawks), and very possibly a Hawaiian creeper right by the cabin.  

Then it was rallying time, and time to go down slope further into the forest.  This time, we were hunting after Pilo beans, an orange bean related to coffee.  Baron will be smashing these, roasting the seeds, and using them to make warming beverages.  Probably coffee.  We went exploring, looking for birds, and were treated to lovely, little flitting birds going around overhead.  And as the sun was starting to get ready to set, there was an exquisite rainbow over the forest canopy.  Almost the golden hour.

Then it was back to the cabin, where we took turns getting showers (yes, warm water!) while our stir fry dinner was being prepared.  It was a fun, conversation filled supper.  After Dean A headed back up the hill, we started out playing hearts.  That lasted maybe a round, and then Grant pulled out Apples to Apples.  Itʻs hard to describe, but a player throws down a red card that has a word on it, and then all the others throw down a green card that may (or may not!) relate to the initial card.  We played until a little after 10 pm, with lots of ghost talk story.  There was too much cloud cover to see the stars, so we headed off to sleep.  Another time perhaps.

Headed off the Beaten Path

I woke up extremely excited this morning - we are finally on our way to Hakalau!  I had checked in last night for our Hawaiian flight, and was raring to go.  I wound my way into the inter island terminal, grabbed a snack, and linked up with Dean Antolini, we made the arrangements for driving, and then we were boarding and on our (slightly delayed) way!

We met up with Grant and Rhiannon at the airport, and then Dean A & I went with Baron Horiuchi to pick up the other four wheel drive vehicle.  I’ll tell you more about Baron in a bit, with help from Dean A’s fabulous preparatory email.

The headquarters building is only a few minutes from the airport, but quite a distance away from our final destination, the forest preserve itself.  We signed our waivers, I turned in a copy of my driver’s license, and then we were off to pick up our fellow travel mates, and head to KTA for grocery shopping.

We had already paired off into meals and preparation teams, so Rhiannon and I headed out to get the lunch meals preparations.  And dark chocolate.  A good amount of it.  We tried to shoot for one hour, and we almost made it.  I’ve heard the Dean is a stickler for being on time, I certainly didn’t want to blow the schedule on my first day of the trip!

Hillary, Lauren, Allie and I were in one truck; Dean A, her son Conrad, Rhiannon and Grant were in the other.  It is certainly quite a drive to get up to the refuge, and we were enjoying chatting, and I was trying to figure out how to bluetooth pair my phone to the car radio.  Hillary was reading the manual, but we couldn’t find it.  Lauren, though, found the USB port, and we were off and cooking with gas, listening to music on our way.

Yes, I’m a geek.

We stopped halfway up Mauna Kea and were treated to a talk by Rhiannon on the local flora.  I wish I had a tape recorder on her as she spoke, I would love to transcribe everything she told us. I fear that is going to be an enormous problem for me on this trip.  I could lug around the iPhone with the record function on, but it just doesn’t seem practical…

It wasn’t too long after our side rest break that we were headed of of Saddle Road and into the park.  We cruised in, enjoying ourselves, and then we went off road.  I put the truck in park, went to four wheel drive, and we headed further into the beauty of the forest.

The first thing we went through were fields and fields of Mauna Kea sliversword plants, otherwise known as ‘ahinahina.  An endangered species, silversword are particularly adapted to little rainfall, harsh weather, a huge ultra-violet impact from the sun and a cindery substrate that holds little water.  One of the most uniquely adapted plants in this alpine zone is the beloved ‘ahinahina or silversword. The leaves are thick and groove-shaped for catching rain. They are covered with a mat of tiny silver hairs that both reflect the heat of the sun and absorb whatever moisture there is from the passing mists.  Some of the magnificent ‘ahinahina on Mauna Kea live up to 50 years before flowering once and dying.  Find out more about ‘ahinahina here.

We traveled along the road - we were the photo car, stopping continuously to get pictures, and going up and down a rocky, roller coaster of a road.  Of course, Dean A must know everyone in the environmental world - we stopped and pulled over as a car approached us and stopped.  It turns out that it was Jack Jeffrey on the road, famous photographer, and occasional bird watching tour guide at Hakalau.  Look him up.

At one point, a small, black feral pig jumped through a wire fence, and ran across the road.  Dean A had stopped just in front of us, and Conrad’s arm was pointing in the brush where it was rooting. We also saw ʻalala (Hawaiian crow) on our way up.  They were huge.  Oh, and tons of nēnē!

A little further down the trail, we stopped again to look at the ugly plant called gorse.  Gorse is a horrible, introduced weed that is slowly (or not so slowly) taking over the hillsides of Mauna Kea.  It is extremely competitive, displaces cultivated and native plants, and alters soil conditions by fixing nitrogen and acidifying the soil. It creates an extreme fire hazard due to its oily, highly flammable foliage and seeds, and abundant dead material. It not only increases the risk of fire, but also produces a hotter fire than most weeds. This fire risk increase threats on the margins of native vegetation. Because of various characteristics of the plant, the soil is often bare between individual gorse plants, which increases erosion on steep slopes where gorse has replaced grasses or forbs. Spiny and mostly unpalatable when mature, gorse reduces pasture quality where it invades rangeland. Gorse understory in forests interferes with cultural operations, increasing pruning and thinning costs, and can interfere with the growth of conifer seedlings. Click the photo to find out more.

We continued on until the sun was starting to set into Micronesian looking clouds, and we finally entered into the refuge where we would be staying for the weekend.

Trés jolie, n’est-ce pas?

When we got to the cabin, I was surprised by how non-camping like it is.  There are 8 bunk beds in the one room, a large communal kitchen with a gas stove (and what appears to be a gas heater), a shower, and a Paloma hot water system.  

While spaghetti dinner was being prepped, Baron held court.  The refuge, he told us, is for the birds.  Never mind the native trees (although without them, the birds would not have returned) that he has helped to cultivate- his life’s passion, it seems - the refuge is for the birds.  He told us about the pig problems on the mountain, particularly as it related to the hapuʻu fern.  The pigs uproot it to get to the base, creating big holes that fill with water.  This in turn attracts mosquitos, and they are encroaching further and further up into the sanctuary.  This is terrible, because the mosquitos bring disease that kills off our already endangered bird species.

After dinner, the Dean started conversation - everybody, tell the most remote place you have ever been.  We shared stories of travel and experiences - what a widely traveled group we are!

Unfortunately, I was the first to fade, and the Dean broke things up before 9 pm.  A number of us went out to look at the stars, but not I.  Oh well.  Tomorrow.

Getting Ready to go to Hakalau

Today I get to head out to Hakalau, a national wildlife refuge established in 1985 to protect and manage endangered Hawaiian forest birds and their rain forest habitat. Located on the windward slope of Mauna Kea, the Hakalau Forest Unit supports a diversity of native birds and plants equaled by only one or two other areas in the State of Hawai’i.  It is a damp and chilly location, so, as you may notice, I am geared up for warmth.

Much of Hawaii’s native lowland habitat was degraded following the Polynesians’ arrival over a thousand years ago. In the late 18th century, cattle, goats, and European pigs were released into the forests, and hundreds of additional alien plants, animals, and insects have subsequently been introduced. Most lowland plants seen today like the orchid, ginger, and plumeria are aliens or nonnative. Introduced animals such as Mosquitoes, wasps, Small Asian Mongooses, cats, and rats have also harmed Hawaiian habitat and native species.

Grazing pressure by cattle and pigs has resulted in the replacement of Hawaiian plants by more competitive alien grasses and shrubs within the upper portions of Hakalau Forest. Below this pasture area, the native tree canopy is still intact, but the native understory has been replaced by alien grasses, blackberry (Rubus spp.), Banana Poka (Passiflora tarminiana), and English Holly (Ilex aquifolium). The replacement process may have been accelerated by efforts to create more pasture land through bulldozing and burning, and by logging mature trees for timber and fence posts.

Eight of the 14 native bird species occurring at Hakalau are endangered. Thirteen migratory bird species and 20 introduced species, including eight game birds, as well as the endangered ʻopeʻapeʻa (Hawaiian hoary bat, Lasiurus cinereus semotus) also frequent the refuge. Twenty-nine rare plant species are known from the refuge and adjacent lands. Twelve are currently listed as endangered. Two endangered lobelias have fewer than five plants known to exist in the wild.

Hakalau was once a thriving, multiethnic sugar plantation town up until the early 1960s when the plantation originally called Hakalau Plantation Company began to decline. In 1963 it was merged into the Pepeʻekeo Sugar Company, in 1973 merged into the Mauna Kea Sugar Company, and the mill shut down in 1974.

Since 1989, over 400,000 koa, ‘ōhi‘a, and other native plants have been planted in this area as part of the refuge's reforestation program.  At the lower elevations - 2,000 to 3,600 feet - the forest is predominately ‘ōhi‘a trees with an understory of nonnative trees and shrubs, such as christmasberry, clidemia, an strawberry guava. Above 3,600 feet, the invasive trees and shrubs drop out and the forest is dominated by ‘ōhi‘a and koa trees with an understory of ferns and native flora. A remnant of dry ‘ōhi‘a forest is found at the highest elevations and includes sandalwood and māmane.

We will be doing service work by planting native species, and getting rid of invasive species.  We will also be going on a bird watch!  And to a haunted cabin!  My only sad point is leaving my hubby and kitties behind.  :(

Time for an adventure!