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December 29, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

The Big Fence on the Big Island

“Captain George Vancouver brought the first cattle to Hawaii from California in 1793-1794. They were landed and liberated at Kealakekua, South Kona on the Big Island. As with other introduced animals of the same period, a rigid “kapu” was placed on them in order to permit them to multiply.”

“This they did with a vengeance and within a comparatively short span of years they became quite common on all the islands, particularly on Hawaii where they found many hundreds of acres of good pasture lands.”

“Over a period of many years they were slaughtered by men employed for this purpose by the King, principally for their hides, which at one time formed one of the principal articles of export from Hawaii.”

“Experts were employed by the King to go into the mountains to shoot and rope these animals. Only a small amount of the meat was used, some of it being salted and sold to the whaling ships wintered in these water at that time.”

“Many of them were trapped in “pitfalls” similar to the one which David Douglass lost his life on the slopes of Mauna Kea in 1834.” (Bryan, “Wild Cattle in Hawaii” Paradise of the Pacific (1937))

“For the past twenty years the attention of our Government and of this Forestry Bureau has been called to the destruction of our Native forests on Government lands in particular. … It is become a serious problem with us.”

“Large areas of Public Forests are annually destroyed by fire, orginating [sic] in many instances by cattlemen setting fire to the ferns and underbrush to improve their pasture. …  If the cattle are not taken away soon it will be but a short time when this Native forest will be destroyed, and the water supply on the low land diminished.”

“‘[C]attle seem to be the principal enemy of the forests.’  [Sheep also damage the forest habitat]  .By way of countering this threat, [it was] recommended that large parts of the government forest lands …”

“… ‘should be fenced off at once, for the purpose of preserving the living and growing timber and promoting the younger growth of fern and underbrush.’” (Report of the Minister of Interior to the President of the Republic of Hawaii for the Biennium, Ending December 31, 1899; LRB, 1965)

Then came “The Big Fence on the Big Island” … The Territorial Division of Forestry intensified efforts to eradicate feral sheep from the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve in the 1930s after noticing a lack of natural regeneration and damage to māmane trees caused by sheep.

With the help of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), territorial foresters built a 55-mile fence around Mauna Kea in 20 months. It was 4.5-foot tall galvanized stock wire stretched between large māmane posts. (DLNR)

“On the 29th of January, 1937, the longest fence in the Territory of Hawaii was completed by CCC boys. It is around the entire boundary of the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve – the second largest reserve in the Hawaiian Islands.”

“This project, which is part of the Territorial Division of Forestry’s conservation program, was done under the direction of Project Superintendent W.A. Hartman. …  Much credit is due … to the enrollees who worked under them, for the fine accomplishment.”

“Actual construction work was started in June of 1935. A total of twenty months was required to complete the work on the fence which has a total length, including necessary corrals, of fifty-five and one-half miles. Eighteen thousand five hundred and thirty-six man-days were expended on all work connection with this project.”

“A great deal of preliminary work was required before the actual construction of the fence began. First, it was necessary to build many miles of horse and truck trails and tractor roads.”

“In connection with the fence line alone nearly sixty miles of horse-trails were constructed. This trail was used to pack in the fence wire and other supplies. It was made permanent for future use in fence patrol and wild animal eradication work.”

“Most of the fence work was above the eight thousand foot contour. Camp locations had to be selected, shelters constructed, and water tanks installed. These camps were located as close to the fence lines as possible and placed at intervals around the mountain approximately four miles apart.”

“This made the maximum distance from camp to work about two miles each way. At each camp site it was necessary to construct a corral for the work animals. Practically all feed, and part of the water, for these animals, had to be transported to the camp site.”

“Nine line camps were used. Seven of them had to be constructed in advance. These camps were made on the same plan; one small building with watertanks alongside in which could be stored between six and eight thousand gallons of water. The building was used as a cook-house and store-room. The boys lived in tents.”

“During the winter months it becomes quite cold on Mauna Kea and it was found that seven blankets per boy was not too much cover.”

“Frequently the thermometer registered below freezing and at the Puu Loa Camp last February it was necessary to stop work for three days due to an exceptionally heavy fall of snow which covered the ground in that section and prevented work on the fence line.”

“The completion of this fence concludes one of the most important conservation projects attempted by the CCC in the Territory of Hawaii. It completely encloses and protects a reserve area containing approximately one hundred thousand acres. “

“The important Wailuku River – which furnishes the water-supply for the City of Hilo – as well as several other large streams that supply water to Hilo and Hamakua Districts, have their source within this area.”

“This reserve has, for many years, been overrun with wild sheep, there being an estimated population of about forty thousand. These animals do much damage and of recent years have effectively prevented any natural reproduction of the predominating tree growth – Mamani.”

“With this new fence completed it is now possible to conduct drives and reduce the number of these animals to a minimum. In a recent drive, held since the fence was completed, over three thousand wild sheep were captured and killed in a single day.”

“After these animals are exterminated we can expect considerable assistance from nature in our reforestation work. On a small scale this fact has already been demonstrated so we fell assured of ultimate success.”

“In some sections, where seed trees are lacking, it will be necessary to assist nature with reforestation; but where seed trees have been left we can expect to see a new generation of plants occur naturally.” (Bryan, “The Big Fence on the Big Island” Paradise of the Pacific  (1937)

The completed fence enabled territorial foresters on horseback to drive sheep and herd them into pens. In one drive near Kemole, they captured and killed over 3,000 sheep in a day.

Territorial foresters removed nearly 47,000 sheep and 2,200 other non-native browsing animals from Mauna Kea during the 1930s and 1940s. It is likely that the Palila would not be here today if not for these efforts due to the highly degraded condition of the forest at the time. (DLNR)

© 2024 Ho‘okuleana LLC

Filed Under: Economy, General, Place Names Tagged With: CCC, Palila, Fence, Mamane, Hawaii, Cattle, Mauna Kea, Humuula Sheep Station, Civilian Conservation Corps, Keanakolu

July 19, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Endangered Birds and Their Recovery

Hawai‘i has been labeled the endangered species capital of the world. We have more endangered species per square mile than any other place on earth.

Of the extinctions that have been documented, 28 species of bird, 72 land snails, 74 insects and 97 plants have disappeared. (Hawaii Biodiversity)

The State, in partnership with a bunch of federal, university and private interests, conducts dozens of projects across the state to monitor, protect and enhance native and endangered species populations.

Statewide surveys to monitor population status and trend for water birds, sea birds and forest birds are conducted on all the main islands.

The surveys contribute to long term data to understand population changes and to provide early detections of any potential threats to population stability.

A project on Kauai has been developed to use modified marine radar to survey threatened and endangered seabirds that fly inland to nest at night.

The surveys are critical to a determination of the population status of these species that appear to have experienced a severe population decline.

Also notable was the discovery of what is perhaps the largest known breeding colony of the endangered Hawaiian Petrel on Lanai. This species was feared to have declined or been lost from Lanai until crews conducted extensive night surveys using radar.

Full-time field teams are now deployed to coordinate and conduct special projects for select species and habitats. These include the Kauai Endangered Seabird Project, the Kauai Forest Bird Recovery Team and the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project.

These teams carry out management needs for native birds that include predator control, population monitoring, assessment of threats, and reintroduction into new habitats to reestablish populations.

Keauhou Bird Conservation Center Discovery Forest in Volcano, Hawai‘i Island has been saving critically endangered Hawaiian birds from extinction and restoring these species in the wild. Birds being cared for include the ‘Alalā, Palila, ‘Akeke‘e, and ‘Akikiki.

Likewise, there are other groups and agencies that support and participate in recovery activities, including DLNR, USGS, US Fish and Wildlife Service and others.

A field unit for the recovery of the ‘Alala, Hawaii’s most critically endangered species has been established. The ‘Alala Recovery Team is involved in an extensive community and landowner involvement program to lead the recovery of this species.

For many of Hawaii’s most critically endangered species, captive propagation and reintroduction is the only viable recovery strategy. Captive propagation programs are continuing for these species, which include five forest bird species and hundreds of plant species.

Notable long-term program successes include:
• Nēnē – (the State Bird) recovered from a population on the brink of extinction with fewer than 50 birds to an estimated 3,862 (2022 annual survey)
• ‘Alala – saved from extinction with a captive flock that has grown to over 115
• Puaiohi – recovering from a population numbering only a few dozen to approximately 494 (found only on Kauai)
• Palila – a new population has been established on the north slope of Mauna Kea (I recall the excitement and flurry of e-mails going around announcing a new nest with eggs on the north slope when I was at DLNR)

To date, hundreds of birds have been reintroduced into native habitats statewide. In addition, an extensive cooperative partnership continues a program for propagation and outplanting of native plants, maintaining hundreds of species, and outplanting thousands of plants into the wild.

There are a lot of people across the state (as well as support from the mainland) that are doing waaay cool stuff to help with the recovery of Hawai‘i’s native bird populations. We owe each our gratitude for their commitment and hard work. Thank you to all.

The images illustrate the Nēnē and ‘Alala on the top (L-R) and the Puaiohi and Palila on the bottom (L-R.)

© 2023 Ho‘okuleana LLC

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Endangered Species, Palila, Nene, Hawaii, Alala, DLNR, Forest Birds, Puaiohi

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People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past come alive through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.” These posts are informal historic summaries presented for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

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