May Photo Contest
The Friends of Kaua?i Wildlife Refuges always post wonderful videos of their beautiful Refuges and the amazing wildlife found there. So, we are spotlighting their Refuges this month.
Friends of Kaua?i Wildlife Refuges supports the environmental and wildlife conservation, historic preservation and community education programs of the Kaua?i National Wildlife Refuge Complex and includes K?lauea Point NWR, Hanalei NWR and Hul??ia NWR.
The Friends help to fill in the gaps in the programs administered by the Refuge team by providing funding and Friends group staffing to support a variety of refuge priorities. Friends of Kaua?i Wildlife Refuges also manages the Friends Nature Store and Visitor Center at K?lauea Point NWR, supports environmental education programs, administers an annual scholarship, conducts community outreach and much more!
Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge is the oldest and largest of the three Refuges located on Kaua?i. It was established in 1972 to recover threatened and endangered species, including the koloa (Hawaiian duck), ?alae ke?oke?o (Hawaiian coot), ?alae ?ula (Hawaiian Gallinule), ae?o (Hawaiian Stilt) and n?n? (Hawaiian Goose). The Refuge is comprises 917 acres and is located near the town of Hanalei.
The Refuge consists of managed wetlands that mimic the unique natural Hawaiian wetland systems, which provide all the necessary life history requirements for native Hawaiian and migratory waterbird species. In addition to the five threatened and endangered waterbirds for which the refuge is primarily managed to protect, 49 other species of birds also use the Refuge.
Hul?‘ia National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1973 to recover threatened and endangered species, including the koloa (Hawaiian duck), ?alae ke?oke?o (Hawaiian coot), ?alae ?ula (Hawaiian Gallinule), ae?o (Hawaiian Stilt) and n?n? (Hawaiian Goose). The Refuge is comprises 241 acres and is located near the city of L?hu‘e.
K?lauea Point National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1985 to protect and enhance migratory seabirds and threatened and endangered species including the n?n? (Hawaiian Goose) and ?a?o (Newell’s Shearwater) populations and their habitats.
The Refuge is located on the northernmost point of Kaua‘i and the Main Hawaiian Islands and includes a spectacular 568-foot ocean bluff. K?lauea Point NWR is home to thousands of migratory and resident seabirds including ?? (Red-footed Booby), m?l? (Laysan Albatross), ?iwa (Great Frigatebird), koa?e kea (White-tailed Tropicbird), koa?e ?ula (Red-tailed Tropicbird), ?ua?u kani (Wedge-tailed Shearwater), and ?a?o (Newell’s Shearwater). The Refuge is comprised 199 acres and is located near the town of K?lauea.
The Refuge team is also charged with the preservation and maintenance of the Daniel K. Inouye K?lauea Point Lighthouse and lighthouse keepers’ homes, which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Out of public view is a comprehensive multi-partner wildlife conservation project entitled the Nihok? Ecosystem Restoration Project. The project was developed in 2012 to provide a predator-free nesting area for ?a?o (Newell’s Shearwaters) and ?ua?u (Hawaiian Petrels), Hawai?i’s only two endemic seabirds, and enhance existing breeding colonies of m?l? (Laysan Albatross) and n?n? (Hawaiian Goose
We thank USFWS for the photos.