Hunting & Fishing

Rising from the Rocks

Wednesday, September 4th, 2013

Native plants making a comeback

Editorial by Catherine Cluett

We’re bumping along a rocky track, ascending steeply through a landscape some would call lunar. Ahead of us is mostly gray—Kawela’s barren, stony slopes and gulches, topped by a thin line of green where the mountaintops meet the sky. But I can’t help turning in my seat of our all-terrain vehicle toward the view behind us—each bump expands a breathtaking panorama of Maui to the east, Lanai’s slender back, the turquoise fingers of Molokai’s south shore reef, and the slopes of Pu`u Nana to Molokai’s west.

In the years before European contact in the 19th century, these mountainsides were covered in lowland forests, according to historic records.…

Posted in Environment & Ecology, Hawaiian Culture, History, Hunting & Fishing, Sustainability, Water

1 Comments

Partnering for Preservation

Wednesday, August 14th, 2013

Protecting Molokai’s Watersheds

An understanding of the connections between mountains and ocean — mauka and makai — is rooted in ancient Hawaiian culture. Today, invasive species and human impacts are threatening to clog Molokai’s reef — the most extensive coral reef in the Main Hawaiian Islands — with sediment washed down from the mountain slopes. Today, scientists are doing studies to provide proof of this evidence and offer their data to help find solutions. And today, Molokai residents are meeting together to discuss those solutions and taking action to protect the island’s most valuable resources — both the mountains and the ocean.…

Posted in Community, Environment & Ecology, Government, Hawaiian Culture, Hunting & Fishing, Sustainability, Water

2 Comments

Hale Connects People to Land and Sea

Monday, May 27th, 2013

At Ka Honua Momona (KHM) Ali`i fishpond, workers take breaks in the shade of a large traditional thatched hale, where it is cool even on the hottest days. Office workers can look out at the hale and 30-acre pond from the windows of the sustainable office building where administrative work supports KHM’s mission of sustainability.

KHM hasn’t always had these amenities. The office and hale are the newest addition to the Ali`i fishpond, which nine years ago was overgrown with mangrove and knee-deep in mud. Today, because of the efforts of staff and volunteers eager to preserve the site’s ancient heritage, the Ali`i and Kalakoeli fishponds serve as a place for learning, sharing and restoring.…

Posted in Art, Community, Community Development, Culture & Art, Education, Energy, Environment, Environment & Ecology, Hawaiian Culture, Health, History, Hunting & Fishing, Island Youth, Sustainability, Water

Add your comment

Maximum Protection, Minimal Change at Papohaku

Wednesday, May 15th, 2013

Papohaku sand dunes protect the water from runoff and nearby homes from high tide swells. Now the system that guards so much could receive some protection from human threats. The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) proposed increased protection for the Papohaku dune system. While the changes will not likely bring enforcement of stricter development rules, officials said they hope the protection would raise awareness of the dunes’ value.

A 500-page document dedicated solely to the preservation of the dune system at Papohaku stresses the environmental and cultural value of the system. Molokai wildlife biologist Arleone Dibben-Young, who served as a consultant for the preservation plan, said these dunes shelter homes from high swells and shield the ocean from red dirt run-off that comes with rain from the mauka regions.…

Posted in Environment & Ecology, Government, Hunting & Fishing, Sustainability, Water

1 Comments

Changes to Wildlife Rules

Wednesday, April 17th, 2013

Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is working to protect watersheds, native species and agriculture with proposed amendments to their administrative rules. The rule changes aim to prohibit the transport and release of introduced invasive wildlife, including mongoose, ants, snakes and ungulates, said Laura Goodmiller of DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife.

“Introduced species negatively affect Hawaii’s environment in a variety of ways, including predation and competition to indigenous species, damage to watersheds, the spread of pathogens and diseases, and threats to agriculture,” she said.

Goodmiller and other DLNR representatives presented the changes at a public forum on Molokai April 3.…

Posted in Environment, Environment & Ecology, Government, Hunting & Fishing

Add your comment

Tradition of Adaptive Management

Tuesday, April 9th, 2013

Community Contributed

By Aha Kiole O Molokai

When it comes to the land and ocean, we are aware that laws have been created and maintained by the State of Hawaii, with the intent to help regulate the usage and continuity of the resources. It has become evident that the management system long-used in Hawaii has not served to keep Hawaii’s resources healthy and abundant. One of the key differences between our current state practices and traditional Hawaiian resource practices — and why the system of the past worked — is that each island and moku division based their management decisions on the environmental conditions of their own areas.…

Posted in Community, Environment & Ecology, Hawaiian Culture, History, Hunting & Fishing, Sustainability

Add your comment

Managing the North Shore

Sunday, April 7th, 2013

Traditional fishing practices along Molokai’s north shore could soon be supported by law if a new proposal is approved by the state.

The Mo`omomi area, which provides food for Ho`olehua homesteaders through its ocean resources, is closer to receiving official state designation as a community-based subsistence fishing area (CBSFA). Conservation group Hui Malama O Mo`omomi organized the official proposal for the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and has presented it at a series of meetings with fishermen, homesteaders and the public. After the group has allowed time to receive public comments and questions, they will present it to the DLNR at a public hearing.…

Posted in Agriculture, Announcements, Community, Community Development, Culture & Art, Environment, Environment & Ecology, Hawaiian Culture, Health, Hunting & Fishing, Kalaupapa, Sustainability, Water

Add your comment

Tonight’s DLNR Meeting on Wildlife Rule Amendment

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013

DLNR News Release

The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) will host a public hearing tonight to receive testimony on proposed amendments to Hawaii Administrative Rules, Title 13, Subtitle 5, Part 2, Chapter 124, “Indigenous Wildlife, Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, and Introduced Wild Birds.”

The primary purpose of the proposed amendments is to prohibit and deter the transport and release of introduced wildlife. Introduced species can impact Hawaii’s ecosystems and economy by introducing harmful predation and competition to indigenous species, damaging watersheds, spreading pathogens and diseases, and harming agriculture.

“The movement of live, introduced wildlife poses direct threats to our native ecosystems, and the proposed amendments will help prevent harm to our natural resources and economy,” said William J.…

Posted in Announcements, Community, Environment, Environment & Ecology, Government, Hunting & Fishing, News Releases

Add your comment

Public Shoreline Management Meeting Friday

Thursday, March 28th, 2013

Community Contributed By Walter Ritte

On Friday March 29, Good Friday, an important meeting is being called by the Pala`au Moku of the Aha Kiole O Molokai. A “Shoreline Management Plan” from Ilio Point to Pelekunu on the north shore of Molokai will be presented.

The plan gives management powers of the shoreline resources to the community. Rules are needed in order to preserve the resources so our children and their children will be able to have free fish, limu, opihi, he`e, lobster, crabs, etc.

Come and learn, and share your mana’o and help manage the Ho`olehua icebox. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m.…

Posted in Agriculture, Announcements, Community, Environment & Ecology, Health, Hunting & Fishing, Sustainability, Water

Add your comment

NOAA Proposal Aims to Save Coral

Wednesday, February 6th, 2013

The south shore of Molokai boasts one of the largest fringing coral reefs in Hawaii, providing a home for fish, a draw for tourism, shelter from ocean storms, and sustenance for the local economy. Coral is fragile, though, and biologists fear these valuable organisms could be extinct by the year 2100. This is why the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) proposed to list 66 species of coral as endangered or threatened, an action that could protect the island’s reef.

Of the 66 species that NOAA may soon list as threatened or endangered, three exist in Hawaii, and two – montipora patula and montipora flabellata– call the Molokai area home.…

Posted in Agriculture, Announcements, Community, Environment & Ecology, Government, Hunting & Fishing, Kalaupapa, Sustainability

Add your comment

Submission Deadlines

Advertising

Content

To print on:

Hunting & Fishing

Rising from the Rocks

Native plants making a comeback

Partnering for Preservation

Protecting Molokai’s Watersheds

Hale Connects People to Land and Sea

Maximum Protection, Minimal Change at Papohaku

Changes to Wildlife Rules

Tradition of Adaptive Management

Managing the North Shore

Tonight’s DLNR Meeting on Wildlife Rule Amendment

Public Shoreline Management Meeting Friday

NOAA Proposal Aims to Save Coral

Submission Deadlines

Advertising

Content

To print on:

Hunting & Fishing

Native plants making a comeback

Protecting Molokai’s Watersheds

Don't have a Molokai Dispatch ID?