Restoring Hawai`i’s Plants, Backyard by Backyard A Kaua`i man called me the other day after reading an article I’d written on forest birds. Some wedgetail shearwaters were nesting near his coastal home, and he wanted to tell me about them. … Continued
For five years, the state Department of Health has been going after the operator of an illegal dump in Wai`anae. There’s no mystery as to the responsible party. There’s no lack of evidence. On occasions too numerous to count, the … Continued
It was July 10, 1996. Leslie Doe heard a large SWOOMP! – and instantly recognized it as the sound of volatile fuel exploding. Outside, the glow from a huge ball of flame radiated from the neighboring property on Puhawai Road … Continued
Section 171-33 of Hawai`i Revised Statutes is a good law. It calls for the state Board of Land and Natural Resources to plan for the use of state lands and, in paragraph 9, mandates the board to “determine, two years … Continued
Robert Cabin leaned with one hand against a tall but scraggly lama tree in a tiny, sloping patch of forest on the Ka`upulehu lava flow on the western slope of the island of Hawai`i. The lama tree, known scientifically as … Continued
As much as cattle have helped to destroy much of the native vegetation at Pu`uwa`awa`a, they now play an important – if limited — role in its restoration. Everyone familiar with the issues at Pu`uwa`awa`a agrees that some degree of … Continued
Silk oak, also called silver oak or he oak, is not native to Hawai`i – and it’s not an oak at all. More formally known as Grevillea robusta, it is an import from Australia. But you’d never know that to … Continued
Almost a century ago, botanist Joseph Rock rejoiced in the astounding diversity of plants and animals at Pu’uwa’awa’a. It was, he wrote, “the richest floral section of any in the whole Territory.” In 1932, C.S. Judd was still able to … Continued
“The reality is, Pu`uwa`awa`a is the last remnant of a unique system chewed to death by cattle,” Hilo attorney Christopher Yuen told the state Board of Land and Natural Resources. “The state has transformed the richest, most diverse forest into … Continued
Progress at Pu`u Huluhulu Kipuka Pu`u Huluhulu is a lush, large hill surrounded by lava from the two volcanoes it lies between, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island. It protrudes from the flat plain around the Saddle … Continued