Hawai‘i’s Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (CWCS)
A Model Conservation Program for Endangered Species
The state of Hawai‘i supports more biologically unique species than any other state.
Unfortunately, Hawai’i, also having more imperiled biota than any other state, parallels this high level of endemism. Over 1,100 “at-risk” species have been identified, including at least 183 plant species requiring immediate intervention to prevent their extinction.
In 2005, as part of the State’s continuing participation in the State Wildlife Grant (SWG) program administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the Hawai‘i Department of
Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) comprehensively reviewed the status of the State’s native terrestrial and aquatic wildlife species.
The resulting Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (CWCS) contained the following elements: the distribution and abundance of Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN), the location and condition of SGCN habitats, threats to SGNC or their habitats, conservation actions, plans to monitor SGNC and their habitats and methods to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation actions, and procedures to revise the CWCS every 10 years. Hawai‘i’s CWCS was developed and written by a synthesis of existing information.
Much of this information was gathered during technical workshops and public open houses.
This review identified over 6,000 SGCN and developed seven conservation objectives: protect and restore native habitats and wildlife species, combat invasive species, improve data collection and management, improve cooperative conservation partnerships, increase education and outreach, support policy changes to aid conservation, and increase funding to implement conservation actions and enforcement.
The State Wildlife Grants, as well as other federal grant programs, support a wide variety of cooperative conservation programs in which the DLNR participates. These programs range from those that support landscape level conservation such as watershed partnerships and the
Landowner Incentive Program to those that are focused on individual species (e.g., bird and plant captive propagation).
Supporting these programs are numerous advisory and working groups, comprised of individuals from federal and state agencies, non-government organizations, community groups and the private sector. These groups coordinate conservation activities and provide a forum to exchange ideas and information. The ultimate goal of these groups is to promote the most efficient use of available personnel, funds and knowledge for conservation in Hawai‘i. Below are three examples of cooperative conservation programs.
Of the more than 140 native breeding species and subspecies of birds that occurred in Hawai‘i prior to colonization by humans, more than half are extinct. Among the remaining 71 taxa, 30 are federally listed as endangered and 15 are on the brink of extinction, numbering fewer than
500 individuals. The Zoological Society of San Diego, in collaboration with the USFWS, DLNR and private landowners, maintains two captive breeding facilities, one on the Big Island and one on Maui.
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The goal of this program is to establish self-sustaining populations of birds in the wild using management programs including captive propagation and reintroduction. During the past 12 years, the program has accomplished much to preserve Hawai‘i’s endangered bird fauna. The program has developed propagation and release techniques for most of Hawai‘i’s remaining species.
Since 2005, 757 chicks of 14 Hawaiian species and subspecies have hatched in captivity including 7 endangered species. From 1999-2006, 115 captive-bred Puaiohi have been released into the Alakai Swamp of Kauai. This is the first program for an endangered passerine that collected wild eggs, artificially hatched the eggs, hand reared the nestlings, and released the captive birds into the wild. Subsequent to the release, pairing of released birds with wild birds was documented, as was successful breeding.
This complete reintroduction program, from the wild to captivity and back to the wild was accomplished in only three years. The program also manages all of the remaining Hawaiian
Crow (‘Alala), which is extinct in the wild. Since the mid 1990s ZSSD has increased the number of ‘Alala from 14 to 53 individuals. Plans are underway to release ‘Alala back into the wild. In addition to such on the ground conservation efforts, over 1,500 local students tour the Big Island facility annually and learn about native Hawaiian birds and their conservation.
Hawai‘i’s flora is diverse (~ 1200 species) and unique with 90% of the species being endemic.
Unfortunately, over 100 plant species have gone extinct since human colonization of the islands and an additional 600 species are considered very rare by the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), USFWS and the state of Hawai‘i. Most of Hawai‘i’s lowland habitats have been lost to agricultural development, aggressive invasive species and urban sprawl.
Given this, the majority of rare plants is found at high elevations and cannot be grown at low elevation facilities. To facilitate the propagation of rare plants, the state, in cooperation with the
USFWS (Ecological Services and Private Stewardship), University of Hawai‘i’s Center for
Conservation Training and Research, Lyon Arboretum, National Park Service, National Tropical
Botanical Gardens, and Maui Nui Botanical Gardens, established and maintains mid-elevations nurseries on the four major islands.
Together these nurseries house thousands of individuals from over 600 plant species. The goal of these facilities is to propagate plants for re-establishment in protected landscapes and in the last two years approximately 15,000 plants have been outplanted into protected habitats.
In Hawai‘i, over 50% of the total land area is privately owned. To promote cooperative conservation, the State has developed a program that provides technical and financial assistance to landowners to protect and restore at-risk species and their habitats. The primary source of funding for Hawai‘i’s landowner assistance program is a federal funding program called the
Landowner Incentive Program (LIP).
Projects funded to date benefit over 180,000 acres on property owned by 25 private landowners, and benefit hundreds of at-risk species. The landowners and the state provide at least 25% in matching funds or in-kind services. Federal partners that participate in the implementation of these projects include NPS, USDA, USFWS and USGS. Many private landowners are fearful
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that participating in cooperative conservation projects that benefit threatened or endangered species may result in future restrictions being placed on their property.
While the various cooperative conservation programs in Hawai‘i have been highly successful in achieving the conservation objectives developed through the CWCS process, there are several factors preventing even more progress. Inadequate funding prevents the implementation of the sort of landscape level cooperative conservation projects essential to the recovery of Hawai‘i’s native ecosystems.
The highest priority for conserving rare species in Hawai‘i is to protect native habitats from alien plants and animals. Fencing is most often used to protect areas from non-native animals, and to a lesser degree from non-native plants. Because fencing larger areas is more efficient than fencing smaller areas, the projects that provide the greatest per dollar are expensive. In addition, most areas of intact native habitat are in inaccessible by road and materials and workers must often be transported via helicopter, further increasing costs.
Because of these high costs, the demand for funds far outweighs funding appropriated. During the first three years of the Landowner Incentive Program, for example, the State received 74 requests for over $8,600,000 in funding. Unfortunately, federal funding allowed us to award just fewer than three million dollars to private landowner projects. This year the State received 20 requests for over $2,700,000 and Hawai‘i was not awarded any federal funds for the program.
Another example of inadequate funding is the threatened and endangered plant program funded for Hawai‘i, funded solely by Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act. Last years funding averaged $2,100 per listed species.
Unpredictable funding hinders long-term planning and disrupts the continuity of cooperative conservation programs. Because of the constant influx of invasive species, even “restored” or protected areas require long-term maintenance if long-term conservation benefits are to be achieved. The high cost of conservation projects in Hawai‘i often results in single projects requiring more funding than any set of programs can provide during a fiscal year. Without the assurance that subsequent years’ funding will be available, such projects often do not get initiated, or take multiple years to accomplish.
Formula-based ranking is sometimes based on inappropriate criteria that result in critical programs having little or no funding. For example, the State Wildlife Grant funds are intended to support projects that benefit species with the greatest conservation need, but instead are awarded to states based on their land area and population size (which means Hawai‘i is awarded the minimum funding level, which is 1% of that appropriated, even though it has the most at-risk species.).
The state of Hawai‘i and all of its many partners have been building the capacity for cooperative conservation programs that leverage funds from multiple programs and maximize benefits to
Hawai‘i’s rare species. Without some minimal level of consistent annual funding, the continued viability of these valuable programs is uncertain and the sad fact will remain that Hawai‘i will continue to lead the nation in having the most threatened and endangered species and the endemic species continue to be under the threat of extinction.
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