By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Columnist

News that state and federal agencies plan to poison rats and shoot or trap rabbits on the seabird sanctuary island of Lehua, north of Ni'ihau, stirred several readers to respond.

Kane'ohe resident Cheryl Chung said she plans to protest the killings. Several folks wrote The Advertiser to suggest trapping the rabbits rather than killing them.

"I think it is highly unlikely that a costly, time-consuming humane effort would be launched, taking into account how important the bird populations are in the Hawaiian Islands," said Connie Cwynar, a volunteer with the House Rabbit Society, a California-based international organization that promotes rescuing abandoned rabbits and finding homes for them. "However, the ethical issue is certainly important enough to be presented."

Florida resident Steve Rosen, who trapped 300 black-tailed jackrabbits last year at Miami International Airport, said it's not a big problem.

"We've done it. It can be done with rabbit traps using the best Washington State Red Delicious apples you can find," Rosen said. "The bunnies could be located at a sanctuary like we did with the jackrabbits."

Wildlife officials know it can be tough to balance the survival of one living thing over another.

Like virtually every small island in the Hawaiian archipelago, Lehua is an important seabird nesting site. But nesting success would be greater if rabbits didn't eat the vegetation that can shelter the nests, and rats didn't eat both vegetation and eggs and young birds.

A brown noddy colony once present on Lehua has disappeared, and although no one can prove rats are responsible, that's one possibility, said Chris Swenson of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He said the rabbits look like standard domestic rabbits, often black and white. Their populations rise when there's a lot of rain and crash when it's very dry.

Swenson said the Fish and Wildlife Service and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which are preparing an environmental study on the rat-rabbit eradication, haven't ruled out any options. "We're just collecting reactions to help us determine what's practical and realistic," he said.

A public hearing is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. June 9 at the Lihu'e Neighborhood Center on Kaua'i. Send comments to Swenson, Project Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 300 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 3-122, Honolulu, HI 96850, or fax to 792-9580.

Jan TenBruggencate is on special assignment aboard the Hokule'a. If you have a question or concern about the Hawaiian environment, reach Timothy Hurley at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com, (808) 244-4880 or P.O. Box 156, Wailuku, HI 96793.