(ALAKA‘I PLATEAU, KAUA‘I) — An airborne war against avian-malaria-spreading mosquitoes is actively underway on Kaua‘i, and on Maui. In the 2013 film “Planes,” audiences of all ages became familiar with a crop duster named Dusty. On Kaua‘i conservationists are flying a helicopter version of Dusty to spread a harmless bacterium in native forests inhabited by […]
(HONOLULU) – The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation has announced a $644,758 grant to the Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project (KFBRP) to support on-the-ground efforts in its battle against avian malaria. The grant was awarded Tuesday. A like amount of grant funding was also awarded to the University […]
The Birds, Not Mosquitoes (BNM) partnership received the Hawai‘i Conservation Alliance’s (HCA) Conservation Innovation Award on July 31 during the 31st annual Hawai‘i Conservation Conference in Honolulu. The award recognizes new technologies or techniques used in conservation activities that lead to significant advances to the structure or nature of environmental conservation in Hawai‘i. In choosing BNM […]
The Kaua’i Forest Bird Recovery Project is partnering with Birds, Not Mosquitoes, and Kamehameha Schools to honor our beautiful and endangered manu through art. We will be hosting an art show at the Kaua’i Society of Artists gallery at Kukui Grove Center from 11/1 -11/8/2024. Finished artwork can be shipped to KFBRP PO Box […]
(LĪHUʻE, KAUA‘I) – A display in the Līhuʻe Airport is showcasing the unique wildlife found on Kaua‘i and the threats it faces from invasive species. The Garden Island Arts Council teamed up with Hallux Ecosystem Restoration, LLC, to create the large window display. As part of the ‘Year of the Forest Birds’ (ka Makahiki o […]
(KŌKE‘E STATE PARK, KAUA‘I) –A muddy and weary team from the Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project (KFBRP), arrived here in time for the annual blessing of the field season for conservationists working against the clock to save numerous species of Hawaiian Honeycreepers from extinction. For more than a decade, the hālau from Ka ʻImi Naʻauao […]
Several Hawaiian honeycreepers are facing imminent extinction due to avian malaria carried by invasive southern house mosquitoes. Members of the multi-agency partnership Birds, Not Mosquitoes (BNM) have begun releasing non-biting male southern house mosquitoes on Maui and Kaua‘i to reduce their populations. Following years of rigorous study and analysis, the releases began in November 2023 after regulatory […]
2024 is Ka Makahiki o Nā Manu Nahele: The Year of the Forest Birds, a time to celebrate the jewels of our Hawaiian forests. Our native forest birds are uniquely Hawaiian: they exist only in the Hawaiian Islands and nowhere else in the world. These birds have critical ecological roles as pollinators, seed dispersers, and […]
(KOKE‘E-WAIMEA CANYON STATE PARK, KAUA‘I) – A dozen researchers and technicians last week began releasing incompatible male mosquitoes to try and stop the near-certain extinction of at least four species of Native Hawaiian honeycreepers. A first for Hawai‘i, the release took place just off a road on the Alaka‘i Plateau on Kaua‘i. The release of […]
HONOLULU — The Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) are one step closer to protecting forest birds from mosquito-borne diseases in key high-elevation native forest bird habitat on Kauaʻi, with their proposal to employ Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT) to reduce mosquito populations. A jointly prepared Environmental Assessment […]