Notes from the Field - June 2025 From: Richard (Dick) Wass, Former Refuge Manager, Hakalau Forest NWR During the 200 years leading up to the creation of Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge in 1985, the native forest habitat and populations of native plants and animals declined significantly, especially within the upper elevations. Grazing by wild and domestic cattle, browsing by wild pigs, the spread of invasive plants, the harvesting of valuable koa trees, the breeding of disease-carrying mosquitoes, threats from introduced predators, and many other human-related factors all contributed to the destruction. Management to reverse the native habitat and species decline was initiated in 1986. Forty years later, with innovative land management efforts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, advice and help from several public and private partners, and manual work from thousands of hard-working volunteers, the native rain forest habitat is recovering! Population surveys show that management endeavors (construction and maintenance of almost 50 miles of pig/cattle fencing, removal of hundreds of cattle and thousands of pigs through hunting, snaring and trapping, the use of herbicides, bulldozers, prescribed burns and manual labor to remove invasive weeds like gorse, banana poka, and blackberry, and propagation and out-planting of close to 600,000 koa, ohia and dozens of other species of native and endangered plants) are working! The rainforest at Hakalau Forest NWR is recovering along with its unique community of birds and plants. (fb)

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