“When I talk about rat lungworm, I immediately get people’s attention,” said Jon Martell, a Hilo physician and one of the speakers at a recent community symposium on the subject. “It touches on their fundamental fears and ‘ick’ factors,” he … Continued
The Waikoloa Hilton parking lot is full of cats. Signs around the lot ask that visitors not feed them, as they are being cared for by AdvoCATS, a Kona group that, according to its website, helps “abandoned and homeless felines.” … Continued
Blue states and red states were the subject of a talk by Jack Mayer of the Savannah River National Laboratory in Aiken, South Carolina. But Mayer wasn’t discussing partisan politics. Rather, he was discussing the spread of wild pigs. On … Continued
Rewriting the Family Tree: In a development made possible only with the latest techniques in DNA sequencing, researchers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics have tracked down the ancestor of Hawaiian honeycreepers, those birds … Continued
Last month, The Wildlife Society, a national association made up mostly of specialists in the area of wildlife research and management, held its annual convention at the Waikoloa resort, on the Big Island. Over the four days of discussions and … Continued
The lawsuit brought by Sydney Ross Singer to defend the red mangrove from eradication efforts has finally ended. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Hawai`i Tourism Authority settled with Singer last December. The remaining defendants – … Continued
Hawaiian Sandalwood ‘At Risk’: United Plant Savers, a group dedicated to protecting native medicinal plants and their habitat in the United States and Canada, has now added six species of Hawaiian sandalwood to its list of “at-risk” species. The list, … Continued
The man who sued to stop the mangrove eradication project on the Big Island, Sydney Singer, has developed a reputation for activism on behalf of non-native species that are targeted for control by mainstream conservation groups. In addition to his … Continued
Kona Blue Escapes Fine for Pen’s Coral Damage Fining a company for damaging coral inside a boat harbor just didn’t seem fair. So instead of imposing the $6,750 fine its staff had recommended, the state Board of Land and Natural … Continued
The Department of Land and Natural Resources, the state’s first line of defense against environmental and ecological depredations, has been hit hard over the last two years with blows to its budget. In light of the serious budget shortfalls that … Continued