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Environment

News stories regarding Molokai’s outdoor environment

Pilot Explains West Molokai Accident

Monday, April 14th, 2014

For John Weiser, the pilot whose plane crashed on his west Molokai airstrip on Feb. 27, it was a 1 in 10,000 accident.

“I must have landed on this airstrip more than 10,000 times in the last 30 years with no trouble,” he said, adding that he has more than 20,000 pilot hours logged. “When I came in to land that day, I was off-center. I should have turned around and come back, but instead, I did the turn and when I rolled out, I was in the trees.”

Weiser said his private grass airstrip on his Papohaku property has runway lights, and though some are out, he still lands at night, as he did on Feb.…

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Tagging Kioea: Learning about Molokai’s Rare Shorebirds

Thursday, April 10th, 2014

Tagging Kioea: Learning about Molokai’s Rare Shorebirds

Wildlife biologist Dan Ruthrauff stood for 12 hours in Kaunakakai’s Koheo Wetland — blinded by wind and blowing sand — waiting for one of the world’s rarest shorebirds to show up. In his hand, he held a string that, when pulled, would harmlessly close a net over an unsuspecting bristle-thighed curlew — a pencil-legged, long-beaked, speckled brown bird known in Hawaii as the kioea.

Ruthrauff, a biologist with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) at the Alaska Science Center, was one of three wildlife scientists waiting patiently to capture kioea last week. Their goal was to place color-coded tags on their legs, along with geolocators that will provide tracking data on the birds’ migration routes between Alaska and the Pacific Islands, before gently releasing the birds.…

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Molokai Says Goodbye to Island Air

Sunday, April 6th, 2014

Molokai Says Goodbye to Island Air

On April 1, Island Air took off from Molokai for the last time after the company announced last month that it would end its service to the island. Terry Cole is an air traffic controller on Molokai and snapped this shot from the tower.

“There were quite a few cars parked on the hill waving goodbye, and the pilot expressed his sadness about not coming back,” she said.

Island Air CEO Paul Casey told the Dispatch that the company waited until it was “sure that the residents of Molokai had adequate service” before deciding to “redeploy our aircraft to another route that needs more capacity.”…

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Rhinoceros Beetle Huge Threat

Thursday, April 3rd, 2014

Community Contributed

By Glenn I. Teves, County Extension Agent, UH CTAHR

It moved around undetected for almost two years before it was found through a routine survey by University of Hawaii and USDA Plant Protection and Quarantine (USDA-PPQ) officials. The Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle (CRB) is one of the largest beetles to invade Hawaii and was discovered in an area surrounding Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. By that time, it was found in a one mile radius around the base. Red flags were raised in 2007 when it was first found in Guam, an island half the size of Molokai where a major U.S.…

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The Importance of the ‘Aha Moku System

Thursday, April 3rd, 2014

Community Contributed

Opinion by members of the Kawela Moku

This represents individual mana`o from members of the Kawela Moku, and is not intended to speak for the Aha Kiole as a whole.

Hawaii Mowat on historical perspective

In the past century, the health of Hawaii’s ecosystem has severely declined. With the change of powers, came the change of the way we did things in Hawaii. Agriculture, development, invasive species, etc. has wreaked havoc on Hawaii’s natural resources and it seems as if the western way of land management does not work for Hawaii so the ancient yet sophisticated system must be revived.…

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Molokai’s Champion of Change

Thursday, March 27th, 2014

Molokai’s Champion of Change

Jon Brito calls the summer he decided to take a break from pursuing his Bachelor’s degree a defining moment in his life. That was when he solidified his passion for conservation and natural resource management — a passion that’s now landed him a national honor. The 24-year-old from Molokai has been selected as one of the White House’s Champions of Change that recognizes those around the country who engage the next generation of conservation stewards — and one of only two youth leaders to be awarded.

“Jon’s commitment to the environment and his selfless mission to protect Hawai’i’s precious land and culture is inspiring,” said U.S.…

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Low Chill Temperate Fruits

Thursday, March 27th, 2014

Low Chill Temperate Fruits

Community Contributed

By By Glenn I. Teves, County Extension Agent, UH CTAHR

Low-chill fruits are temperate fruit varieties developed for warmer conditions, such as parts of Florida and California, but many will set fruit even in the cooler parts of Hawaii. Varieties requiring 100 to 200 chill hours are the best bet in Hoolehua, while others up to 300 chill hours may fruit in Kalae and Maunaloa.

Breeders in Israel have developed low-chill apples, including Anna, a variety resembling Red Delicious. Dorsett Golden, resembling Golden Delicious, is from a seedling found in the Bahamas. A recent University of Florida development is the TropicSweet apple.…

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Panel Speaks on GMOs and Biotech

Wednesday, March 26th, 2014

Panel Speaks on GMOs and Biotech

Agriculture and food sustainability is a growing interest in the community and as technologies change, varied practices lead to clashing opinions on the best agriculture methods and safety. To address some of the latest controversial topics in the industry, the Molokai Farm Bureau hosted a presentation last Tuesday, led by three independent experts in ag technology. They answered questions and provided educational outreach to the community advocating scientific advances in biotechnology and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).

“A lot of what’s going on in agriculture right now is because somehow the technology and communication have not synced,” said Mae Nakahata, an agronomist at Hawaii Commercial and Sugar Company on Maui, secretary of the Hawaii Farm Bureau and vice president of the Hawaii Agriculture Foundation.…

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Welcoming FoodCorps Hawaii

Wednesday, March 26th, 2014

Welcoming FoodCorps Hawaii

Sust`ainable Molokai News Release

This past Friday, March 14, Sust`ainable Molokai welcomed the FoodCorps Hawaii state team to Molokai. The team consists of eight service members, with five from Hawaii Island: Jane Lee serving at Kohala Elementary, Julia Nemoto at Mala`ai Garden, Jessica Sobocinski at Honaunau Elementary, Kalu Oyama at Na`alehu Elementary and Leina`ala Kealoha at Kua O Ka La Public Charter Schools. Additionally, Tasia Yamamura is serving at Ma`o farms on Oahu and here on Molokai, Lacey Phifer and Simon Mendes are our service members. The state fellow is Amelia Pedini, and our host site leader from the Kohala Center is Nancy Redfeather.…

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Hawaiian Airlines Welcomed Back

Thursday, March 20th, 2014

Hawaiian Airlines Welcomed Back

As Hawaiian Airlines officially launched its new service, `Ohana by Hawaiian, to Molokai last week, hundreds of residents and officials celebrated an occasion that for many, felt like a homecoming for the company.

“Molokai has been part of our ohana for the last 85 years,” said Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian Airlines (HA) president and CEO. “For the last 10 years, we have not been able to operate here, but every single one of those days in between we’ve been working on plans to bring this wonderful day to fruition. It’s great to be back and have had such tremendous support from this community.”…

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