Kaua‘i forest bird rescue and recovery organizations joining forces in one facility

Hawai‘i Board of Land and Natural Resources members last week approved a request from Kaua‘i County Mayor Derek Kawakami to cancel a 1955 executive order that set aside state land for the county as the Hanapēpē Dog Pound.

That move paves the way for several of Kaua‘i’s renowned forest bird and seabird recovery and rescue programs to become roommates, bringing their efforts together in a joint facility.

The property — which was previously used nearly 50 years by the Kaua‘i Humane Society and in 2015 approved for use by Hawaiian stewardship programs — will now house the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa College of Natural Sciences Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit on behalf of the Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project, Kaua‘i Endangered Seabird Recovery Project and Research Corporation of the University of Hawaiʻi.

Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project Leader Lisa “Cali” Crampton said being together in one building with the other forest bird research and rescue organizations will allow her staff to share its knowledge and skills more easily with the others.

“A major synergy will be having space for cross-training, not only with our seabird partners, but also with our [Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources] colleagues,” said Crampton. “There are many overlaps between various types of avian research and conservation, so being together provides great learning opportunities.”

The state Land Board is leasing the building to the organizations at no cost for 25 years.

Kawakami indicated the site is no longer being used for stewardship. While Kaua‘i County tried to maintain it and fenced it off, squatters moved in.

The county will remove the squatters and their personal effects before the cancellation of the executive order becomes effective.

“Due to the recent dramatic declines in forest bird populations on Kaua‘i and new advances in technologies to address their primary threat, mosquito-borne diseases, [Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project’s] budget and staff have recently increased almost two-fold,” says the request to the state Land Board. “[Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project] has outgrown the small commercial real estate property it has rented since 2011. Meanwhile, [Kaua‘i Endangered Seabird Recovery Project] has been occupying a small container at the [Hawai’i Department of Land and Natural Resources] Division of Forestry and Wildlife base yard needs to find a permanent home.”

The property is close to where the Division of Forestry and Wildlife is developing a base yard on the west side of the island. Kaua‘i Branch Manager Sheri Mann said the state agency hopes to break ground in the next 6 months.

Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project Planner Julia Diegmann said with the extinction crisis Kaua’i faces, having a shared base yard will allow all of the organizations and the state to streamline field operations as well as share equipment, vehicles and other resources.

“The proximity of these projects, who we already collaborate with frequently, is going to enhance our shared endangered bird protection mission,” said Mann.

Having a united front also will allow them to expand their community outreach.

“It’s not just about doing the critical conservation work — it’s about showing how important our native species are to the health of our ecosystems and the cultural heritage that makes our island so special,” said Diegmann.

The mission of the Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Natural Sciences is to protect and restore Hawai‘i’s native species, ecosystems and cultural resources.

Combining the efforts of all of these research and rescue organizations and housing them in one facility is as natural as the forest birds they aim to protect.

“The forest bird and seabird recovery projects on Kaua‘i epitomize this mission by combining research and conservation of federally and state protected native birds; some of which would already be extinct without the intervention of the project’s talented and dedicated teams,” said Shaya Honarvar, director of the Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit and principal investigator for the Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project and Kaua‘i Endangered Seabird Recovery Project.