Nature Conservancy expanding forest recovery efforts
Advertiser Staff
HONOLULU - The Nature Conservancy has announced that it is in the final stages of work on its Forest Recovery Project on Maui and is beginning its planned projects on Moloka'i and Kaua'i over the next few weeks.
The Forest Recovery Project is designed to research and test new methods and technologies to protect Hawaii's endangered native forests, the organization said in a news release. This short-term project is being conducted primarily on Nature Conservancy preserves and private lands with the help of the New Zealand firm, Prohunt, after a year of statewide community outreach.
On Maui, threats from destructive non-native feral animals have now been further reduced on more than 7,500 acres of remote private conservation lands, including the Conservancy's Waikamoi Preserve on East Maui and Kapunakea Preserve on West Maui, according to the release.
On Moloka'i, projects will protect 4,600 acres of steep, remote terrain in the Conservancy's Kamakou and Pelekunu preserves, as well as adjoining private conservation land in the higher elevations of the island's eroding south slope.
"The community has asked us to limit the project to the steep, upper elevations of the south slope, and only the mauka portion of Pelekunu Valley," said Ed Misaki, director of the Conservancy's Moloka'i program. "As a result, this project is mainly focused on the 2,500-foot back cliffs of Pelekunu and the remote upper parts of the Kamakou watershed, where cliff heights range from 3,000-4,000 feet. We're excited to get started testing these new strategies to protect our native forests in some of the most inaccessible areas of Moloka'i."
"We've held more than 30 meetings with the community on Moloka'i over the last year and spoken with hundreds of people who support this project," Misaki added. "We all want the same thing for Moloka'i - to sustain our lifestyle, protect our water supply, and to have healthy forests and reefs."
On Kaua'i, surveying and monitoring work will be conducted on 2,000 acres of the island's remote mountainous central interior.
