Monsanto Fund Donates $20,000 for Molokai Watershed Protection
Monsanto Molokai News Release
The Monsanto Fund awarded a $20,000 grant to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) of Hawaii for watershed protection at Kamakou Preserve on Molokai. Since 2006, the Monsanto Fund has contributed a total of $130,000 to TNC’s protection and restoration efforts of critical watershed and fragile ecosystems on Molokai.
Located high in the mountains of East Molokai, the 2,774-acre Kamakou Preserve is a rainforest like no other on the planet. This magnificent natural treasure not only shelters hundreds of native plants and animals, but also serves as an important source of water for the island and its people.
TNC’s work at Kamakou Preserve, in collaboration with the public and private landowners of the East Molokai Watershed Partnership, is focused on invasive animal and weed control.
“Molokai’s forested watersheds today are under constant assault from established and new invasive species,” said Ed Misaki, TNC’s Molokai Program Director. “Feral ungulates (hoofed animals) like wild pigs, goats and deer are steadily eroding fragile topsoil. Once this soil disturbance occurs, invasive plants that did not evolve here, like blackberry and strawberry guava, steadily displace our native forests and watersheds. Once lost, they may be impossible to fully restore at any price.”
The Monsanto Fund’s gift allows TNC to leverage an additional $40,000 in matching funds from the state’s Natural Area Partnership Program, essentially tripling the value of the grant to a total of $60,000.
The funding enables TNC to collect important data about the progress of their conservation efforts using Global Positioning System technology and inspect, maintain and improve fencing that protects the rainforest from feral animals. In 2011, the Conservancy surveyed more than 17 miles of fence in and around Kamakou Preserve. In addition, the funding allows for removal of ungulates and invasive species from protected areas; coordinate community outreach and education activities such as an annual Earth Day event; distribute a biannual newsletter to all residents; and lead monthly hikes, school field trips and volunteer activities in Kamakou Preserve.
“We commend The Nature Conservancy’s director Ed Misaki and his staff for their dedication, perseverance and accomplishments over the years in preserving and restoring Molokai’s critical watershed,” said Dawn Bicoy, Monsanto’s community affairs manager. “This remarkable team understands the problems that impact our island’s watershed and continue to provide tangible long-term solutions to ensure water for future generations. Their important work impacts all our lives, and our company’s employees are extremely proud to support their efforts.”
Visit the Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of the Monsanto Company, at monsantofund.org.
4 Comments
20 g thats all! they worth 12 billion.with this $$$ NC can hire 1 worker at 10 $ an hour for 1 year or buy a used 4×4…or hire ray foster for a month…. its chump change compaired to what they are doing here….hoolehua landscape looking like the moon.
I see where you are coming from,when we have the vog over our island and Monsanto’s big tractors are tilling the earth it very bad for us to all breath. A good example is going up Kalae Highway and you can see all the dirt flying , the vog in the air its not good for any life forms to be breath. Someone mention before about the papayas and coffees if they will be affected by the sprays. I thought about this and if they are spraying during a windy day the spray will drift on these crops. Its interesting because the State Ag Park is also full of GMO products being grown, how does that affect the Organic farm in the Ag Park? People buy these products, are they safe from all the sprays from Mycogen Seeds and Monsantos spraying. Today as I was driving into town there was a big cloud of red dirty blowing around in the wind as the tractor was tilling away, so you had to roll up your car windows.
The seed companies employ a lot of people, so we need to research other companies to come to Molokai that will not be bad for the people and environment.
we have the land why not search for a more longterm crop, that will not lead to plowing every few months and get rid on all that GMO? sure long term crops will take longer to mature which will lead to more time before a profit is seen but how about the long term effects on the island? a long term crop could be started along with a short term just to bring in some money, then slowly expand on the long term crops. this 20K is merly pocket change, given out just to keep favor for all the discruction. these GMO crops will have long term consequesces on the land and if these do get into the organic farms they too could be easily taken over by monsanto.
It’s about money, power, and greed. It has nothing to do with planting the right kind of crops or long=term investments into orchard production, or even for farming food, as we know it. It’s about owning and patenting the seed; thereby controlling the food market and controlling guess who? Man has moved into dangerous areas concerning living things. Do you know they have patented ownership of human tissue that may have been taken out of you. Think about it, somebody actually owns a piece of your liver! Nothing is sacred anymore, with the mega corporations playing God. The price for GMO is the generations of children yet to come. Stop this madness, before we become human slaves to these corporations.