So, you want to get involved with protecting Hawaii’s native wildlife while you are visiting our beautiful island of Maui? Here is information on the Hawaii Wildlife Fund and projects that it is involved in. Have some real meaningful fun while you are visiting Maui.
HAWAI’I WILDLIFE FUND (HWF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of Hawaii’s native wildlife through research, education and conservation. HWF’s team are educators, conservationists, researchers, naturalists, communities, volunteers and donors devoted to the preservation of Hawaii’s fragile marine ecosystem and inhabitants. We bring a variety of experiences together to serve a common goal.
Hawai’i Wildlife Fund leads research, monitoring and conservation efforts to help protect Hawai’i’s fragile marine ecosystem. Interested? Please email us at wild@aloha.net. Mahalo!
RESEARCH PROJECTS
Hawksbill Sea Turtle Recovery Project
Hawaiian Monk Seal projects
Makai Watch
CONSERVATION PROJECTS
HWF Hawai’i Island Marine Debris Removal
Waiohinu – Ka`u Forest Reserve Protection
Managing Better Together Learning Network
Maui Reef Fund
Hawksbill Sea Turtle Recovery Project
HWF has been conducting research and monitoring the nesting activities of hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) since 1996. There are fewer than 100 adult female hawksbills known to nest in all of Hawai‘i. The species is listed as endangered in Hawai‘i and worldwide and needs our protection. Through conservation efforts, public awareness, beachfront lighting reductions, fence repairs, dune restoration, beach cleanups, radio and satellite telemetry, coordination of a Turtle Watch program, and determining in-water distribution and abundance, HWF is helping to preserve hawksbills and their nesting habitats.
VOLUNTEER WITH HWF
Hawaiian Monk Seal projects
From 1996 to 2007, HWF voluntarily coordinated the Monk Seal Watch on Maui, educating the public and protecting monk seal “haulouts”. After one year of service as HWF’s Monk Seal Watch Coordinator, Nicole Davis was hired through the National Marine Fisheries Service to continue this work with federal funding and to coordinate strandings on Maui. Volunteers with the Monk Seal Watch create a “safety zone” around hauled out seals, marking the area with yellow tape and standing guard to ensure the animals are not disturbed.
SEALS
Seal Research:
HWF is currently assisting National Marine Fisheries Service in establishing a Main Hawaiian Islands photo ID catalogue.
HWF’s co-founder, Bill Gilmartin, coordinated the relocation of aggressive male monk seals from the Northwestern Islands to the Main Hawaiian Islands in an effort to reduce the “mobbing” of females by males during breeding.
HWF conducted monk seal research on Midway Atoll for three years in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. The resulting data are used by the National Marine Fisheries Service to assist in the recovery of this unique and endangered species.
Contact HWF:
Phone
808.280.8124
Email
wild@aloha.net
Website
www.wildhawaii.org
http://www.wildhawaii.org/projects.html#recovery
