Entries by Julia Diegmann

Mosquito Control Project to Save Honeycreepers Underway on Maui and Kaua‘i – Method Aims to Prevent Hawaiian Honeycreeper Extinctions

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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

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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 […]

Resisting extinction – THE NEXT TOOL FOR SAVING KAUA‘I FOREST BIRDS FROM EXTINCTION INTRODUCED

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(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 […]

Wildlife conservation agencies (state and federal) are one step closer to protecting forest birds from mosquito-borne diseases in Kauaʻi

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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 […]

Action Alert | Submit testimony for OCTOBER 13 BLNR Meeting

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Share your manaʻo by THIS THURSDAY, 10/12 on the Final Kauaʻi EA with the BOARD OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES Aloha, friends of our nā manu nahele, On October 13, 2023, the Department of Land and Natural Resources-Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DLNR-DOFAW) will be requesting the Board of Land and Natural Resources to approve […]

ALL HANDS EFFORT TO SAVE KAUAʻI BIRDS FROM EXTINCTION

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Bird experts give honeycreepers a lifeline while waiting for mosquito birth control Bird experts on Kauaʻi are using all the tools in their toolbox to keep critically endangered forest birds from going extinct. One honeycreeper species, ʻakikiki, could disappear from the wild this year due to mosquito-borne avian malaria, with another species, ʻakekeʻe, not far […]

Raise your leo: Kauaʻi Mosquito Suppression

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About the project ʻAkikiki, and endangered Kauaʻi forest bird. PC: Justin Hite, Kauaʻi Forest Bird Recovery Project Hawaiʻi’s forest birds are facing an extinction crisis. Avian malaria transmitted by non-native mosquitoes has decimated native forest bird populations. Of Kauaʻi’s 16 native honeycreepers, 10 have gone extinct. Of the remaining birds, the ʻakikiki is predicted to […]

KAUA‘I TEAM TRYING TO SAVE NATIVE HONEYCREEPERS PRESSES ON

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(ALAKA‘I PLATEAU, KAUA‘I) – From a remote camp, perched on a  narrow 3,000-foot cliff, near the top of Wainiha Valley, Justin Hite, and his team from the Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project (KFBRP), are in the midst of another field season. A season, that is probably the last for the diminutive native Hawaiian honeycreeper, the […]

EAST MAUI EA APPROVED | Update from March 24 BLNR Meeting

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Mahalo nui to the numerous voices that shared their manaʻo with the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) last Friday, March 24th. Your dedication in championing this vital cause shows the power of collective action and the impact we can make when we work together towards a common goal. We would like to extend our […]

Critical forest birds field season coming

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Kumu and haumana of Ka ‘Imi Na‘auao O Hawai‘i and staff and volunteers from the Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project held its annual Hawaiian blessing for the 2023 field season on Feb. 2, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources said. The blessing featured songs and dances to invoke the protection and goodwill of […]