Native Plant Propogation and Habitat Restoratiob at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, Hawaii
Hakalau Forest NWR was established in 1985 under the authority of the Endangered Species Act to preserve and protect five species of endangered forest birds and their rain forest habitat. While most of the 32,730 acre refuge is closed canopy forest, over one hundred years of cattle grazing, logging and burning have converted about 5,000 acres (2,023 ha) of upper elevation forest into open woodland and pasture dominated by introduced grasses. Other portions of the refuge encompass relatively intact native forest including some of the last montane, mesic koa 'hi'a (Acacia koa-Metrosiderospolymorpha) forests in the world. These areas contain some of the highest densities of native forest birds in the State of Hawai'i as well as 29 rare and endangered plant species and the endangered Hawaiian Hoary Bat. A primary goal for this refuge is to restore native forest in pasture areas enhancing and increasing native forest bird habitat and aiding in the recovery of endangered flora and fauna. The first crucial steps toward restoration have already been taken by eliminating domestic cattle grazing, fencing management units, and controlling weeds and feral ungulates, halting destruction of the forest, and allowing the process of natural recovery to begin.
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Author(s): Baron Horiuchi, Jack Jeffrey
Publication: National Nursery Proceedings - 2000
Event:
Western Forest and Conservation Nursery Association Conference
2000 - Kona, HI
