Island Conservation
Television special documents Lehua Island Restoration Project. (HONOLULU) – The recent project aimed at eradicating invasive rats from the State of Hawai‘i’s Seabird Sanctuary on Lehua Island is the subject of a half-hour long TV documentary that chronicles the operation from beginning to end. Scheduled for broadcast on KFVE-TV (K5) on Saturday, Oct. 21st and Sunday, […]
After the Island Invasives Conference, James Russel explores the high latitude island of St. Kilda which has had human influence for thousands of years. St. Kilda is a remote island group in the North Atlantic off the coast of Scotland. Having made it to Scotland, and then the Outer Hebrides, it made sense to hop one […]
Research highlights the value of island restoration and the importance of long-term monitoring for the prevention of seabird extinctions. Though seabirds are named and well-known for the ample time they spend in and above the ocean, they also depend on the land, with islands being especially significant. Through migration, foraging, and nesting, seabirds bring sky, […]
Conservation Biologist Dena Spatz reflects on the Biodiversity Days Conference and the “Half-Earth” project sparked by scientist E.O. Wilson. By: Dena Spatz During the first week of March, 2017, I joined hundreds of people at the “E.O. Wilson Foundation’s Biodiversity Days Conference“. The theme for the event was “Half-Earth”, a call to action to save the […]
Island Conservation Restoration Specialist Mele Khalsa visits a Hawaiian charter school classroom to educate students on native seabirds and the threats they face. By: Mele Khalsa I’m nervous. I’ve been staying up late for days—weeks really—since I’d first learned I was going to be presenting the Lehua Restoration Project to students from the Hawaiian language […]
Conservationists move 15 Black-footed Albatross chicks to O’ahu to protect the species from sea level rise. The James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge in O’ahu, Hawaii has welcomed 15 Black-footed Albatross chicks (Phoebastria nigripes) to their new home this month. The chicks were born about three weeks prior on Midway Atoll, where approximately 90% of their […]
After decades of restoration, Big Rat Island is on its way to becoming quality seabird habitat once again. The Abrolhos Islands off the coast of Western Australia have undergone years of restoration aimed to rid the archipelago of invasive species like rats, feral cats, and ice plant, which have inhibited burrowing bird species from nesting. The […]
Research finds important ecological linkages between the terrestrial and marine environments of the Line Islands. The Line Islands are positioned approximately 1,000 miles south of Hawaii, which also serves as the nearest land mass. With notable contrast to the surrounding barren open ocean, the modest sprinkling of isolated atolls is bursting with life. Though remote, the islands and […]
Conservation fieldwork on explosive-ridden, ecologically and culturally rich Kaho’olawe Island is as rewarding as it is challenging. Everyone in Hawaii knows Kaho’olawe Island is littered with unexploded ordnance (a.k.a. bombs). For anybody who doesn’t know, the island was used as a bombing test site by the U.S. military from 1941-1990. But leftover ordnance is not the only problem […]
A middle school educational program focused on Invasive Species and Seabirds will kick off this school year. A new Invasive Species and Seabirds curriculum has been developed for middle schools and it’s free to all educators! The curriculum was developed with an eye towards rural island communities’ middle schools, but will be of interest to […]