In the Farthest Reaches of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

The only realistic way to access the remote northwest corner of Kahuku is by helicopter.

In July, a group of NPS staff flew to the remote northwest corner of Hawai’i Volcanoes NP – Kahuku (6,900 ft) via helicopter. During this trip, an endangered parsley (Spermolepis hawaiiensis), rare endemic fern (Polystichum haleakalense), rare seasonal endemic stinging nettle (Hesperocnide sandwicensis), and seven non-native species new to Kahuku were documented. Like most of Kahuku, this area continues to be significantly impacted by grazing, ground disturbance, and soil compaction from ungulates such as cattle, mouflon, sheep, and pigs. The extent of this impact is evident by the remnant vegetation composition. Before these mammals were present, this area was a native woodland dominated by naio (Myoporum sandwicense) and māmane (Sophora chrysophylla) trees with diverse native shrubs and grasses in the understory. Although some of the older trees are still present, there are few young trees to take their place. Furthermore, a groundcover of mostly non-native herbs now blankets large sections of the landscape.

Monitoring data from rarely visited areas of the park such as the northwest corner of Kahuku provide park managers with an important glimpse at the condition of these remote vegetation communities. These data provide a basic understanding of the amount and types of plant species in each part of the forest as well as identify new and rare species.     -A. Ainsworth & C. Yanger, NPS Biologists 

A large patch of pōpolo kū mai (Phytolacca sandwicensis) was found just outside of a monitoring plot within the former pasture section of Kahuku. Pōpolo kū mai is rare to the park and this patch is particularly important because it will serve as a critical seed source for resource management’s ongoing wet forest reforestation efforts.

A lone mamane tree symbolizes the havoc that grazing animals have on native ecosystems. Saplings have been quickly eaten for generations, leaving only the older, gnarled trees. Once these trees die, will there be any more mamane?