The Nature Conservancy - What's Being Said

We Want To Hear From You!

We extend an open invitation to anyone who would like to have a dialogue with us about our Forest Recovery Project, or other aspects of our conservation programs.

Please contact us via email forestrecoveryproject@tnc.org or call Evelyn Wight in Honolulu at (808) 587-6277.

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Learn more about the Forest Recovery Project

Hawai'i community members speak about the decline of Hawaii’s native forests and the Conservancy’s Forest Recovery Project:

Now that I understand, if I was you, I’d do the same thing. All the science, the tools, it makes sense now. They’re not just coming here to hunt, they’re coming here to train our people and help us learn about our environment.

- Stacy Horner, Moloka‘i resident and hunter

Jim Haynes

As a Hawaiian, I have a lot in common with Walter Ritte and I have a lot of respect for him. We agree on protecting the native forest, but we differ on the methodology and the sense of urgency. One of the most beautiful and ancient Hawaiian forests in the state is simply disappearing. Only 15% of Molokai’s core native forest is left today and what remains is being eaten by pigs and goats, choked by weeds, burned by fire, and changed by man. This sad fact has implications for everyone who, like me, loves Moloka‘i – diminished fresh water supplies, reef sedimentation, and the irreversible loss of cultural and ecological treasures. This same situation is repeated on all our beloved Hawaiian islands.

I first got involved with The Nature Conservancy because they were working to protect the remaining native forests of Moloka‘i - and all of Hawai‘i - and because TNC is made up of local people who care deeply about Hawai‘i. They are a part of the community and they involve the community in their decisions. They have done so with their latest forest recovery project, too.

TNC is noone’s enemy and I reject the position that they are trying to take anything from future generations of Hawaiians. They are working to save these places so our grandchildren and our grandchildren’s grandchildren can know the places and the plants and the forests that our ancestors knew and loved. I believe Walter is forcing a false choice between hunting and conservation. Hunting is an important part of life in Hawai‘i and The Nature Conservancy is not trying to deny that to anyone. For nearly twenty years, they have worked with the Moloka‘i community and with volunteer hunters to control pig and goat populations on their preserves. This partnership should and will continue. Also, many TNC employees are hunters as well as conservationists who care deeply about preserving nature, hunting, and cultural resources.

The Forest Recovery Project TNC is planning will enlist the help of conservationists from New Zealand to test new ways to control introduced animals in the core, native-dominated forest, and to gather new research data about feral animals in Hawaii. The work is planned on private conservation lands in remote locations. Hunting will go on for Moloka‘i and the rest of Hawai‘i in the many areas outside core native forests that have already been lost to past ranching and agriculture, development, weeds, and foreign animals.

Put simply, there will always be pigs, goats and deer on Moloka‘i and across the state of Hawai‘i, but unless we take strong action now, we may not always have our native forests.

I honor Walter for his leadership and believe we have a common goal of preserving our native forest. Though we may disagree on the approach, I believe we all want the same thing: to mālama our native ‘āina, on Moloka‘i and across the Hawaiian islands.

- Jim Haynes, Maui resident
Jim Haynes is an alumnus of the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. Haynes is a board member of The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i, the UH Board of Regents and the Maui Arts and Cultural Center. He is a member of the Maui Rotary Club and a trustee of Seabury Hall and was the 1997 recipient of the Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce O‘o Award for Hawaiian Businessman of the Year. In 2005 Haynes received the T. S. Shinn Award from the Maui Chamber of Commerce for outstanding community service and business leadership.

I am a New Zealander of Maori descent from the Ngai Tahu Iwi (tribe).

I have hunted all my life - all of my family are hunters. It was a sport for us as we were growing up.

I have been working with Prohunt for 10 years. When I first started, I was lucky to work doing something I loved. My ideals have changed with time though; now I love doing it for conservation. I have seen the results of what we've done: you can see the native plants blossoming after we take away the animals that are damaging the forests. I’ve seen how forests can recover when non-native animals are removed.

I enjoy the outdoors but now I also enjoy the conservation part - helping our endemic flora and fauna that are on the brink of extinction in New Zealand, and in other areas around the world.

I'm looking forward to coming to Hawai‘i to work with the people there. I understand the reaction of "why bring in outsiders." But we're just doing conservation work to protect the native forests and all that belong in them. We're going to hire local people in Hawai‘i which will give us the opportunity to learn from them also. We're coming to Hawai‘i with an open mind. We're not saying our way is the only way. We may find there are other effective ways that work better. We want to learn too and we're only going to be there a short time. I know we're going to learn from the excellent hunters and conservationists in Hawai‘i. We're going to demonstrate a new style of monitoring and hunting non-native animals. I hope there will be an exchange of ideas that we can both learn from.

Hunting for conservation is different than other kinds of hunting. When the average person pig hunts in New Zealand, they let their dogs loose, they find the pig and attack it. In our approach, we use smaller dogs to find the pig and bail it until their master comes; our dogs don't pack up and attack the animals like most hunters’ dogs generally do in New Zealand. We use an organized, systematic approach to target a population within a conservation area, rather than just looking for one individual animal. We cover an area thoroughly, using GPS’s to track where we go every day so we can see if we missed any areas. The way we hunt is different and not much gets away because of this full coverage approach. We believe if you're going to hunt an animal you should dispatch it quickly and humanely so that it doesn't suffer. We retrieve as much of the meat as is safe to retrieve, to avoid waste, just as local hunters do.

At times in New Zealand we have similar challenges explaining our hunting approach to locals and we have to talk to local Iwi. We are tangata whenua (people of the land) and we want to take care of our land. In certain conservation areas in New Zealand, we remove feral animals completely so we can save our endemic flora and fauna that is endangered. But in other areas, we only control the population so there are animals left for people to hunt. I wouldn't like to see all the pigs go because I like to hunt and eat them too. And we need to keep hunting available in some areas for our young people and their children, just as we need to save native flora and fauna for their enjoyment in the future as well - there is a fine balance. As a hunter and conservationist, I agree with hunting animals in order to save the forest and all that belongs in it. I believe that's what they want to do in Hawai‘i also. I see a lot of similarities between myself and Hawaiians - we have similar approaches to life, and we have much in common.

You can never get the conservation message across to some people in New Zealand. Usually they are trying to keep a hunting area or a lifestyle for themselves. They aren't thinking about the broader need of the community or the native forests. I've found they'll try to bring the culture aspect of Maori rights into the argument to try to get their way. This is sad, since conserving native lands is the only way to truly preserve our culture.

Sometimes outsiders can bring a new and different perspective. I'm really looking forward to coming to Hawai‘i and working there. I know I'll learn a lot and hope it will make a difference for Hawai‘i conservation and the preservation of native forests for native Hawaiians and future generations to enjoy into the future.

- Steve Broughton, Prohunt employee

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Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Photographer/Org (prickly pear cactus); Photo © Photographer/Org (cheetah); Photo © Photographer/Org; Photo © Photographer/Org (scientist).