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The Nature Conservancy in Hawaii Home Places We Protect Forested Watersheds Invasive Species Marine Conservation Climate Change Hikes Get Involved News Room Ways of Giving Contact Us |
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Fire Again Threatens Nature Conservancy’s Honouliuli PreserveSeptember 4, 2005—Fire is once again threatening rare and endangered native Hawaiian wildlife in the Nature Conservancy’s Honouliuli Preserve, west of Honolulu in the Wai’anae Mountains. The fire, which started early yesterday afternoon in Kunia on adjacent Del Monte agricultural lands, quickly spread into the preserve and has already destroyed more than 160 acres. The fire is burning in the central portion of the preserve, where a similar fire scorched more than 200 acres in July of 2004. Unlike that fire, however, this one has spread into `Ēkahanui Gulch, one of the Conservancy’s priority areas for managing and protecting rare and endangered native species. “This is the fourth wildfire that has threatened our preserve in the last 16 months and by far the worst in terms of impact to native species and habitat,” said Pauline Sato, the Conservancy’s O`ahu Program Manager. “Years of work, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of supplies and human effort, could be undone with this fire.” The Conservancy’s Honouliuli Preserve stretches across 3,582 acres on the southeast slope of the Wai`anae Mountains from Makakilo to Schofield. It is home to more than 90 different rare and endangered plants and animals. `Ēkahanui Gulch contains numerous rare and endangered tree snails and has been designated as “critical habitat” for the Oahu `elepaio, an endangered native forest bird. There are fewer than 1,000 O`ahu `elepaio found in the Wai`anae Mountains. The Conservancy has been monitoring the population and helping to improve the success rate of hatchlings by trapping rats near the nesting site with the assistance of the Army. “This past spring, we saw 15 of 20 pairs of birds successfully produce at least one fledging,” said Sato. “We don’t know if they can survive this fire. Our priority is to prevent it from spreading further into `elepaio territory and our native forest restoration sites, where hundreds of rare and endangered plants have been introduced.” Sato said light morning rains had slowed the spread of the fire and that the dramatic flames and smoke of yesterday were not visible today. However, as the day heats up and smoldering trunks reignite, flames could easily start up again. The fire started yesterday afternoon around 1:30 p.m. on Del Monte Ranch lands across from the Hawai`i Country Club in Kunia and quickly spread up hill. The Honolulu Fire Department’s Air One helicopter began dropping water on the fire later in the day and was soon joined by a private helicopter contracted by the state. There were Fire Department personnel on the ground as well. All worked until dusk trying to stop the fire. The Nature Conservancy crew started their day today before sunrise to get gear, equipment, and personnel ready. They contracted a private helicopter to start water drops early in the morning. The Honolulu Fire Department also was back out at the site this morning. Due to the serious threat of this fire, the Conservancy has flown in six wildfire-trained staff from the neighbor islands to assist. They will accompany the Conservancy’s four-person O`ahu crew, with three more helping with logistics. For More Information:
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