Island Hopping: Saving Species in the Tropical Pacific

Island Conservation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and The Nature Conservancy complete implementation on Palmyra Atoll, Line Islands.

As of Thursday, June 30, 2011, Palmyra Atoll Restoration Project implementation was completed. It has taken a monumental effort and years of planning to reach this point and would not be possible without our donors, supporters, and friends.

The Research Vessel Aquila arrived at Palmyra in early June. Team members from Island Conservation, US Fish & Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, the US Department of Agriculture, and the US Geological Survey arrived by both boat and plane to launch the effort to protect and restore Palmyra by removing non-native, invasive rats from the islands of the atoll. Nearly 40 people in all were on the ground at Palmyra last month to take part in the project. Everyone involved worked extremely well together during long days of fieldwork and they completed the operation efficiently, safely, and successfully. You can read more about the operation and see photos of the partners in action on the project website https://www.islandconservation.org/palmyra-atoll/

Our very dedicated Palmyra Project Manager, Alex Wegmann, said it best, “As with all IC projects, we are riding a groundswell of support generated by all of you. This project has been 7 years in the making, and has benefited from direct and indirect support from each of you. Thank you for this!”

Some IC staff members will be arriving home soon and others will accompany the Aquila on to its next destination. The project at Palmyra is part of a collaborative effort by three separate conservation projects to restore not just one, but a series of islands in the Pacific this summer during a combined 27,000km expedition – the first of its kind – while sharing vessel, helicopters and equipment among the three projects. These projects will safeguard native animals and plants on Palmyra Atoll, Enderbury and Birnie in Kiribati’s Phoenix Islands Protected Area, and Henderson Island in the United Kingdom Pitcairn Islands Overseas Territory, by removing introduced invasive rats from these islands.

Thank you for your continued support and dedication to saving species from extinction!

Want to see more of Palmyra? Check out our photo slideshow!

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