Justin Hite
Mosquito Project Coordinator, DOFAW; Former KFBRP Field Supervisor
Justin, now Mosquito Project Coordinator with DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife and formerly KFBRP’s field supervisor (2015–2023), traces his path from a teenage birdwatcher in Berkeley to nest-searching for ʻakikiki and ʻakekeʻe on the Alakaʻi Plateau, a wet, black-water “waffle” reached by helicopter or a seven-hour hike. He tells the stories of individual birds, including Pakele, who kept breeding until she was the last ʻakikiki anyone could find (last seen in August 2025), and Carrot, the last breeder in his valley, who died of an infection in captivity after being flown to Maui. He describes the grief of watching territories empty in a forest that still looks perfect, the crew’s shared guilt over Carrot, and his quiet goodbye visit to Pakele’s territory the week before the interview. Justin remains “tempered” but hopeful: he sees mosquito control as a workable fix for the one main threat, points to the puaiohi and to refuges like Hakalau, and says more funding and support are needed. He closes by saying he feels a duty to gather the stories of the more than 100 ʻakikiki he knew, an idea he also raised in an earlier planning conversation with Angela as a book or digital compendium with Hawaiian cultural voices and art.
