HONOLULU 鈥� The Department of the Interior today announced a multiagency strategy that seeks to prevent imminent extinction of Hawaiian forest birds imperiled by mosquito-borne avian malaria. The strategy includes more than $14 million in funding from President Biden鈥檚 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) is a once-in-a-generation investment in the nation鈥檚 infrastructure and economic competitiveness. We were directly appropriated $455 million over five years in BIL funds for programs related to the President鈥檚 America the Beautiful initiative.
Learn more about Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other appropriations to address avian malaria, which causes widespread mortality of endemic honeycreepers and other forest birds.
Hawaiian forest birds are an integral ecological and cultural component to the Hawaiian Islands. They are representative of the health of the forest and remain a cultural connection between the Native Hawaiian Community and the Hawaiian Islands. Many native and endemic species evolved for centuries in isolation, free from threats such as avian malaria spread by invasive mosquitoes.
鈥淗awai驶i鈥檚 forest birds are facing an extinction crisis, in part because rising temperatures caused by climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.
Learn more about climate change have enabled mosquitoes to reach high-elevation areas that were once sanctuaries for these birds,鈥� said Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz. 鈥淭hrough the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other investments, we can help protect and conserve these species through a coordinated strategy that considers Hawai鈥榠鈥檚 unique ecosystems and the islands鈥� natural and cultural heritage.鈥濃€�
The Interior Department鈥檚 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), , , , and are coordinating on the development and implementation of the strategy.
鈥淭he forest birds of Hawai驶i are unique, not only because of their evolutionary history but their cultural significance to the Native Hawaiian people,鈥� said Earl Campbell, field supervisor, USFWS鈥� Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office. 鈥淲e must continue working with our conservation partners as we strive to preserve our forest birds for future generations.鈥�
鈥淭he best available science demonstrates that several species of Hawaiian forest birds are suffering precipitous population declines. If resource managers don鈥檛 receive effective tools for mosquito control and bird conservation, it is likely that multiple species will be lost in the near future,鈥� said Bob Reed, deputy director, USGS鈥檚 Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center.
鈥淣ow more than ever, it is important to work with the Native Hawaiian Community and our partners to prevent more of Hawai鈥榠鈥檚 forest birds from disappearing,鈥漵aid Stanton Enomoto, senior program director, Office of Native Hawaiian Relations. 鈥淭he sacred nature of our forest birds as expressions of island evolution and embodiments of the gods of the wao akua depend on this timely initiative.鈥�
鈥淭he National Park Service, along with our partners, is stepping up to address this urgent issue with a creative, landscape-scale solution to save Hawaiian forest birds. The time for action, and controlling non-native mosquitoes, is now. Partner and community support will be key to saving these birds,鈥� said Natalie Gates, superintendent, Haleakal膩 National Park, which is positioned to be the first site where novel mosquito control technologies will be implemented. Hawai驶i Volcanoes National Park will follow in subsequent years.
Avian malaria causes widespread mortality of endemic honeycreepers and other forest birds, and a single bite by an infected mosquito is fatal for some species. Four Hawaiian honeycreepers 鈥� 鈥榓kikiki (Kaua驶i honeycreeper), 鈥榓keke鈥榚 (Hawaiian honeycreeper), 鈥樐乲ohekohe (crested honeycreeper) and kiwikiu (Maui parrotbill) 鈥� may go extinct within the next 10 years due to these combined impacts. Nine additional bird species are at risk of extinction in the foreseeable future if landscape-level management solutions cannot be implemented.
Agencies from the Department and the state of Hawai鈥榠 have worked together for many years with partners in the working group on a comprehensive initiative to prevent the extinction of Hawaiian forest birds. This strategy puts forward a unified vision and approach by the Interior Department鈥檚 bureaus and offices to strengthen internal coordination and effectiveness in collaborating with the state, the Native Hawaiian Community, and other partners.
Investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law support the ability of federal partners to make strategic and significant ecosystem restoration investments in Hawai鈥檌 forest bird conservation, including:
- Conducting an environmental assessment led by the NPS and in cooperation with the鈥疕awai驶i Department of Land and Natural Resources to evaluate the impacts of deploying a new technique to manage mosquitoes, using a naturally occurring bacteria known as Wobachia, to reduce the mosquito vector of avian malaria.鈥疶he proposed project area includes lands on Maui within Haleakal膩 National Park, adjacent state lands, and private conservation lands that are managed independently by The Nature Conservancy.
- Hiring and deployment of field staff to expand the Insect Incompatibility Technique (IIT) effort to high elevation areas on Kaua驶i.
- Increasing the Department鈥檚 and the state of Hawai驶i鈥檚 efforts in IIT product development, packaging, registration, testing and deployment.
- Contracting and planning for construction of additional captive care facilities in Hawai驶i for forest bird conservation.
- Planning for translocation of some forest birds to higher mosquito-free habitats on Hawai驶i Island.
- Funding USGS research to confirm efficacy of deploying IIT and identification and development of next-generation tools that could include biotechnology for targeting mosquitoes or increasing malaria resistance in birds.
- Incorporating Native Hawaiian biocultural knowledge into all planned conservation actions, including use of appropriate traditional cultural protocols and practices.
Successful implementation of this plan can serve as a model approach with transferrable science applications of how to mitigate and reverse the combined impacts of invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.
Learn more about invasive species and climate change at landscape scales to preserve both biodiversity and biocultural connections.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $1.4 billion overall for ecosystem restoration efforts over the next five years, building on proven projects, programs and partnerships that conserve our cherished wildlife and natural resources critical to supporting local economies, creating jobs, and strengthening communities. These investments build on the Department鈥檚 work in the recovery and conservation of our nation's imperiled plant and animal species, working with experts in the scientific community to identify species on the verge of extinction and to build the road to recovery to bring them back.
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more information, visit www.fws.gov/pacificislands, or connect with us through any of these social media channels at , , or .
