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Conservation Partnership Protects One-of-a-Kind Snail

Entire Known Population of Rare Native Tree Snail will be Protected

HONOLULU, HAWAI'I — January 5, 2009 — An agreement between The Nature Conservancy and Ponoholo Ranch will help protect a one-of-kind population of Hawaiian tree snails in the Kohala region of the island of Hawai‘i. 

The 15-year management agreement with ranch owner Pono von Holt covers a 96-acre parcel that takes it name – Pūpū Kani Oe – from a native tree snail that exists only there.

“This is the only population in the whole world,” said Jon Giffin, the Conservancy’s Hawai‘i Island field representative. “This small parcel and an adjacent parcel support the entire known population of the Pūpū kani oe (Partulina physa) tree snail.”

Historically, Partulina physa were found throughout the island of Hawai‘i. But up until 1992 there had been no recorded sightings of the species for more than 46 years. Extensive U.S. Fish & Wildlife surveys on Hawai‘i Island between May 1995 and December 1997 resulted in the location of a single population, inhabiting a narrow range in the Kohala Mountains.

“The Fish & Wildlife Service has designated Partulina physa as a ‘species of concern,’” said Jody Kaulukukui, the Conservancy’s senior protection specialist. “It is not an endangered species, which is surprising given that this is the only population.”

The Ponoholo Ranch parcel consists of a long plateau along the rim of Honokane Valley. It lies adjacent to other private forested lands at elevations between 3,400 and 3,800 feet.  

“It’s a very wet rain forest that receives more than 100 inches of rain annually,” Giffin said. “It is an interesting section of land in that one side – the eastern boundary – follows the rim of Honokane Valley. It is just a sheer cliff with a 2,000 ft. drop to the valley bottom.”

The area provides habitat for common native forest birds such as the ‘apapane, ‘amakihi and ‘elepaio. The Hawaiian owl, or pueo, and the endangered Hawaiian hawk, ‘io, have been seen here, while the endangered Hawaiian duck, koloa, utilizes nearby streams for feeding and resting.

“Vegetation on the parcel has been severely degraded by wild cattle and feral pigs,” Giffin said. “But the necessary forest structure (trees, shrubs, herbs and epiphytes) is in place to allow the native forest to regenerate naturally once the threats are removed.”    

Active conservation work on the parcel is already underway. Five years ago, ranch owner von Holt placed the land within the Kohala Watershed Partnership. He is one of 11 public and private landowners who belong to the partnership, which was formed in 2003 to protect water resources and watershed functions of the Kohala Mountains. (As a non-landowner in the Kohala region, the Conservancy is an associate partner.)

Since then, the partnership has fenced three sides of the Pūpū Kani Oe parcel and removed most of the wild cattle. Future plans call for the removal of feral pigs and weed control. “The partnership is already doing many of the things we would like to do,” Kaulukukui said. “But they are now in a position where state watershed funds and federal grants are being greatly reduced and could use our help.”

The Conservancy’s management agreement is separate from the watershed partnership, Giffin said, adding, “We will support the partnership with any of its ongoing work. But what we are going to be doing that they are not doing is baseline biological surveys to see what native resources are up there. We are also going to draft a management plan for the 96 acres. That management plan will be centered on protection of the tree snails.”

The Partulina physa tree snails reside in the native ōhi‘a trees. Giffin said the Conservancy would determine their exact locations and distribution before taking protective action. The primary threats are predation by rats and possibly the introduced predatory rosy wolf snail (Euglandina rosea). 

According to Kaulukukui, the Conservancy’s agreement with Ponoholo Ranch is its first with a major private landowner in the Kohala region. “We’ve had meetings with all the key private landowners in the area, asking them to participate in a conservation management agreement,” she said. “Ponoholo Ranch was the first one to do it. We are hoping that others will also participate.”

“The conservation management agreement will enhance our ability to practice good land stewardship by combining Ponoholo Ranch resources with the expertise, experience, and resources of The Nature Conservancy,” said von Holt. “The restoration of native forest in the Pūpū Kani Oe parcel will benefit the watershed of the Kohala Mountain, the livestock entities that depend on it, and the community of Kohala.”

The management agreement allows the Conservancy to conduct weed and feral animal control activities, maintain existing trails, monitor for native and non-native plants and animals, conduct site visits, construct and maintain fences, and construct and maintain campsites, but does not obligate it do so.  It does not restrict any landowner rights, but facilitates a partnership between Ponoholo Ranch and the Conservancy. 

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.