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Environment & Ecology
Add your commentA Walk in the Park
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Pala`au State Park hasn’t weathered too many changes in its 80 year history, and Molokai wants to see it stay that way. The latest project is going to make it a bit more accessible, but will also work on restoring native plant species to the area.
Ke `Aupuni Lokahi (KAL), a nonprofit organization, has teamed up with the park’s owners, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, the park’s administrators, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, and its neighbor, Kalaupapa National Historical Park, to provide “a place-based learning experience.”
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Construction is scheduled to start next year, when a half-mile natural pathway will be cut, guardrails at the scenic overlooks, and native and culturally-significant non-native plants lining the pathway.
The path would be accessible across from the pavilion and picnic area, makai side, but not immediately visible, as to blend in with the natural environment.
Stephanie Dunbar-Co, the project’s coordinator for KAL, said the process needs a “community component.” The public is encouraged to submit written comments about the park’s proposed addition until March 25, when Dunbar-Co will review and include them in the Environmental Assessment draft. The draft then goes to the Office of Environmental Quality Control, who approve of the project or not.
“Tell us what you want,” she said.
The current draft is available online at http://alapalaau.com/ (allow 15 minutes for the very large document to load), or at the Molokai Public Library.
“This year we’re building up a community stewardship hui, so when the project is implemented, we’re making sure the trail is clear and there’s maintenance for native plants,” Dunbar-Co said.
The Big Wave That Didn’t
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As sirens rang out along the coastline last Saturday morning, hundreds of residents packed up their cars and families, hit the store for supplies filled up on gas, and headed for the hills.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning at 12:46 a.m. on Feb. 27 following an 8.8 earthquake in Chile. Government agencies – county, state and federal – began implementing evacuation plans, safety and security along shorelines, and informing the public of the pace of the storm through the media.
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Invasive Diseases
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Community Contributed
By Glenn I. Teves, County Extension Agent, UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
The term ‘invasive species’ usually conjures up images of a new weed choking out our native forests or a new animal like the coqui frog chirping and keeping you up at night, but there are also diseases that if allowed to enter Hawaii can create havoc on our crops. One such disease has arrived, but not yet on Molokai.
The Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus or TYLCV in one of the most devastating diseases of tomato and was first found in the Mediterranean. It has since found its way to the US via the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Florida, and California. In Hawaii, it was recently found on North Shore, Oahu and Wailuku, Maui. Most likely, TYLCV arrived with an infected plant. The disease causes stunting of the plant and leaves, and causes a yellow curled or wrinkled edge on leaves. The leaf margins will curl upward, giving them a cup-like appearance, but the worst of all is the flowers will drop off before maturing. Without flowers, you have no fruit.
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Management of TYLCV usually involves removing diseased plants, and controlling weedy members of the tomato family, including popolo or night shade, kikania, and apple of peru, among others. Controlling whiteflies in crops is also important. With the early discovery of this disease, many TYLCV resistant varieties have been developed and are being tested in Hawaii. Some of the seed companies developing TYLCV resistant varieties including BHN Seed, Golden Valley Seed, Sakata Seed, Seminis Seed, and Israeli seed companies Hazera, Zeraim Gedera, and Nirit Seed. For more information, you can download a free publication on disease at UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources website.
Grow Your Own Dinner
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As everyone scrapes the bottom of the barrel to put food on the table, an old idea is picking up new steam for its cost-cutting, and environmentally-friendly philosophy.
Permaculture is a way of farming that simply let’s nature do its thing. And seasoned permaculturalist Joe Kennedy, who owns Molokai Island Farms, wants this farm-heavy island to know about it.
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Kennedy is hosting a practicum workshop for those interested in permaculture, which can easily be translated into a small family garden. He will be teaching water harvesting, creative mulching, small-scale aquaculture and planting a food forest.
A food forest is the opposite of a farm, where everything is in neat rows and farmers can manage how many products they have from year to year. But by planting spinach for example, underneath trees, the shade helps the spinach grow faster and the root systems work together for nutrients.
Permaculture methods plant perennial products, such as the ‘everlasting species’ – trees. Kennedy grows avocados and mangos among his many other products.
“Farmers are under pressure to grow huge amounts – from the media, the state and the public,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy’s workshop is guided by the Permaculture Research Institute, and is from Feb. 18 – 21. It costs $395 – 450 and includes camping and most meals. A discount will be given to Molokai residents.
The Gorilla Ogo Removal Team Is Back!
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Community Contributed
By Cecile Walsh
The Gorilla Ogo Team was delayed for a few months, but wants to let the community know that they are back on Molokai to remove this harmful pest. The last Gorilla Ogo removal event was carried out in Kaunkakai Harbor in August 2009.
Along with community volunteers the team was able to remove fourteen thousand pounds of this invasive Gorilla Ogo from the harbor area. The Ogo team returned to Molokai this January 2010, to find an alarming amount of Gorilla Ogo washed up along the beach in front of the canoe shacks. It was apparent that there was even more invasive Ogo in January than there was in August, so the team decided to conduct another Gorilla Ogo removal event at the harbor.
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From February 16-19, the Ogo team will be working within Kaloko eli Fishpond a few miles west of Kaunakakai Harbor. We will be collaborating with the non profit group Ka Honua Momona International. We are planning to conduct outreach activities with KHM’s staff, volunteers and educational groups during our week at Kaloko eli removing Gorilla Ogo. At the end of March we will be on the east end, working within Ualapue Fishpond removing this beast, the Gorilla Ogo.
Volunteers can contact Hoala Davis, at KHM's office 553-8353
Seal Slaying
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A Molokai monk seal has once again captured the island’s attention – this time for his unfortunate death. A male monk seal that has been known to swim in Molokai waters for the past several years was found dead on Dec. 14, 2009.
NOAA officials say he was intentionally shot, after performing a necropsy, and have opened an ongoing investigation on why and how the animal met its fate. It is against the law to kill an endangered species, like the Hawaiian monk seal, and being found guilty can carry a fine up to $50,000.
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Too Few Tuna
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NOAA News Release
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is dropping its baseline catch limits for bigeye tuna by 400 metric tons. The new limit applies to the U.S. pelagic longline fisheries in the western and central Pacific Ocean that will stand through 2011. The limits are being placed because the species’ Pacific Ocean population is subject to overfishing.
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Once the 3,763 mt catch limit is reached in any of those years, retaining, shipping or landing bigeye tuna caught in the western and central Pacific Ocean will be prohibited for the remainder of the year, with limited exceptions. The catch limit will not apply to the longline fisheries of American Samoa, Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Members of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, the international body which manages highly migratory fish species like bigeye tuna, agreed to the catch limits in both their longline and purse seine fisheries at their meeting last December.
Earlier this year, NOAA published a rule limiting fishing days by purse seine vessels and restricting tuna purse seine sets on floating objects known as fish aggregation devices, in an effort to reduce the catch of juvenile bigeye tuna.
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources. Visit http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov
Floods ID Molokai as Disaster Area
USDA News Release
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated Hawaii and Maui counties in Hawaii as primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused by drought that occurred from Jan. 1, 2009, and continuing.
Kalawao County was designated a natural disaster area Dec. 9, 2009, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met.
Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will take into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.
In Good Hands
The waterfalls, lo`i and lush, green vegetation that cloak the Kawaikapu watershed on Molokai’s east end are here to stay. The Molokai Land Trust (MLT) purchased a 196.4 acre section of the sacred grounds last week.
“This land needed a better future and Molokai Land Trust offered a permanent solution by putting the land into conservation versus sold and developed,” Greg Gordon said.
Gordon originally turned to Ke Apuni Lokahi, a local community development non-profit organization, to help him find a safe owner for the land. They put Gordon in touch with MLT.
Last year, MLT took a major leap towards purchasing the land with a $767,976 grant from DLNR’s Legacy Lands Conservation Program.
“767,976 – that is a number I will not forget for as long as I live,” Haase said.
The County of Maui came through last month with the final piece of the puzzle - $480,000 through its Open Space, Natural Resources, Cultural Resources and Scenic Views Preservation fund. Last Monday, MLT officially gained ownership of the land from the Gordons.
“It’s our first land that we actually outright own,” Haase said. “Now, we actually have some tangible results, which is a very nice feeling.”
MLT was formed in 2006 to preserve and restore land on Molokai. Along with Kawaikapu, they currently hold 99-year leases on 1,695 acres of land on the island’s west end.
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