Emma's Column
On Returning to My Islands There is an awakening moment, every once in a while, when I am staring up into a tree and then suddenly notice all the fruit hidden among the leaves. Every time I come back to … Continued
Federal Case in Honolulu Casts Light On Traffic in Endangered Species
A Honolulu man charged with violating federal and international laws barring trade in endangered species is scheduled to stand trial in U.S. District Court in Honolulu later this month. The case, says Leslie Osborne, the assistant U.S. attorney handling it, … Continued
Pig Deaths Quench Hopes to Employ Helicopters to Spread Rat Bait in Forests
August 28, 2003: The day Tonnie Casey had awaited for years was at hand. Finally, she was going to supervise the helicopter drop of tons of pellets containing rat poison across hundreds of acres of land at Keauhou Ranch, near … Continued
What Went Wrong?
Although the state Department of Agri-culture had not released its investigation of the Keauhou Ranch experiment involving the aerial broadcast of rat poison, documents obtained by Environment Hawai’i reveal a series of missteps, if not out-and-out regulatory violations, that culminated … Continued
Natural Areas Commission Rejects Plan For Kayak Concession at 'Ahihi-Kina'u
In a rebuke to the administration of Governor Linda Lingle, the Natural Area Reserve System Commission rejected a proposal to allow a kayak concession in the very first unit of the system – ‘Ahihi-Kina’u, on the South Maui coast. The … Continued
Hawai'i's Forest Birds: Is Recovery Possible? FWS Biologists Discuss the Prospects
“When I first arrived in Kona,” wrote R.C.L. Perkins at the turn of the 20th century, “the Great ‘Ohi’a trees, at an elevation of 2,500 feet, were a mass of bloom and each of them was literally alive with hordes … Continued
DHHL Forest Restoration Plan Starts with Logging on Mauna Kea
High on the eastern slope of Mauna Kea, blustery trades clear the air of the lingering mists rising from the earth, freshly quenched by a late January storm. The sea of kikuyu grass is unbroken but for the occasional koa … Continued
Editorial: To Save Endangered Birds, State Must Shift Course
The ostrich is not native to Hawai’i, but it has taken a firm foothold here, in the ranks of the state bureaucrats charged with managing the recovery of the islands’ dwindling numbers of endangered forest birds. That’s the only possible … Continued
Board Talk
DLNR to Revamp Commercial Use Rules After Getting an Earful from the Public A new permit system for surf schools, kayak renters and other commercial operations multiplying like bunnies along Hawai’i’s beaches is probably not going to be in place … Continued
West Maui Development Threatens To Swamp County Water Department
The fever to wring as much money as possible from the fallow sugar and pasture lands of picturesque West Maui is putting the squeeze on the county’s Department of Water Supply. Anticipated development on that side of the island is … Continued