Comments for Pacific Island National Parks http://pacificislandparks.com Welcome to America's National Parks in the Pacific Islands. Join us as we EXPLORE our Natural Wonders, CELEBRATE our Unique Cultures & HONOR our Heroes. Aloha, Talofa, & Hafa Adai! Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:02:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ Comment on Samoan Legend of the 1st Coconut! by helen lauti http://pacificislandparks.com/2010/04/26/samoan-legend-of-the-1st-coconut/#comment-3569 Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:02:29 +0000 http://pacificislandparks.com/?p=1992#comment-3569 this gud legend keeps cuming on my mind!!! i luv my culture—>
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]]> Comment on Lava, Fire, and the Forest by islanderparkscience http://pacificislandparks.com/2011/08/01/lava-fire-and-the-forest/#comment-3563 Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:28:52 +0000 http://pacificislandparks.com/?p=8130#comment-3563 Fortunately, no one died in this fire.

]]> Comment on Lava, Fire, and the Forest by gh http://pacificislandparks.com/2011/08/01/lava-fire-and-the-forest/#comment-3562 Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:09:29 +0000 http://pacificislandparks.com/?p=8130#comment-3562 did anyone die in the fires?

]]> Comment on Sheep vs. Birds (Competition for Mamane) by islanderparkscience http://pacificislandparks.com/2012/02/03/sheep-vs-birds-competition-for-mamane/#comment-3549 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:54:22 +0000 http://pacificislandparks.com/?p=9821#comment-3549 Eddie, within Hawaii Volcanoes NP, control efforts for feral animals do occur. They fence certain areas to keep some animals out. They also do periodic controlled hunts. If you are interested in that program, contact the main park phone number at 808-985-6000.

]]> Comment on Sheep vs. Birds (Competition for Mamane) by Eddie http://pacificislandparks.com/2012/02/03/sheep-vs-birds-competition-for-mamane/#comment-3547 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:43:08 +0000 http://pacificislandparks.com/?p=9821#comment-3547 Is there no support for control projects to keep these feral animals in check? Perhaps the locals would like to augment their diet, a hunting season maybe?

]]> Comment on Nēnē “Living in the Moment” by HAVO PIO http://pacificislandparks.com/2012/01/27/nene-living-in-the-moment/#comment-3546 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:30:35 +0000 http://pacificislandparks.com/?p=9752#comment-3546 Tor, you are absolutely right! That is a mamaki (Pipturus albidus). The mamaki plant also bears small fruit clusters that are used medicinally , and mamaki “tea” is still enjoyed by many people in Hawaii. Mamaki is a member of the nettle family — but it lacks the stinging hairs found on nettle plants on the mainland. Mamaki: “the nettleless nettle.” The endemic Kamehameha butterfly depend on mamaki.

]]> Comment on Nēnē “Living in the Moment” by Tor Johnson http://pacificislandparks.com/2012/01/27/nene-living-in-the-moment/#comment-3545 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:42:39 +0000 http://pacificislandparks.com/?p=9752#comment-3545 George is absolutely right, it was great to see those Nene enjoying a snack on that bush, which I believe was a “mamaki” plant, also used as a curative tea by native Hawaiians. I also learned on the web that “Hawaiian Mamaki has evolved on the islands before the Hawaiians arrived on the beaches of Hawaii. Mamaki is native to no other place in the world.” I had a great time shooting telephoto images of the birds in their element!

-Tor Johnson, stills photographer for the HVCB production

]]> Comment on Nēnē “Living in the Moment” by George Russell http://pacificislandparks.com/2012/01/27/nene-living-in-the-moment/#comment-3543 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:33:58 +0000 http://pacificislandparks.com/?p=9752#comment-3543 Aloha, I was on that film crew that witnessed these graceful birds sauntering on the trail ahead of us. We first spotted them near our parking lot where one of our staff asked Ranger Bobby if they, the two birds, were “a couple”.
After a pregnant pause, he dryly retorted back “well if you are going to anthropomorphize the two, yes, they would be a mated pair”.
The wind knocked out of her sails a bit, our crew member asked, “so they’re together all the time then?”
With a beat, he responded, “Well, yeah, they will mate for life”.
She then replied, with a surging grin, “So they ARE a couple!”. We all laughed.

Just about reaching our shoot location, we were all taken aback when the same “couple” flew by and gracefully landed just ahead of us as if they wanted to guide us to our spot. They then started to “call out to us” in their own subdued tones and then began to snack on that bush. Truly a satisfying and sweet display of nature indeed; something that took us out of our hurried shoot day and helped to remind us of the awesome yet fragile ecosystem that this park and its rangers are protecting day by day.

]]> Comment on How will we choose as the sea rises? by tommoriarty http://pacificislandparks.com/2012/02/01/how-will-we-choose-as-the-sea-rises/#comment-3541 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:50:20 +0000 http://pacificislandparks.com/?p=9804#comment-3541 The most commonly quoted sea level rise projection for the 21st century is from Vermeer and Rahmstorf (PNAS, 2009). They relied on 20th century sea level data from Church and White (Geophysical Research Letters, 2006). Church and White built their sea level data from the tide gauge data at the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL).

You can see the entire set of PSMSL tide gauge data, set to music no less, here…

http://climatesanity.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/sea-level-data-set-to-music-yeah-thats-right/

It is a fun way to look for sea level rise acceleration.

]]> Comment on No it’s not a Nene Goose! by Jessica Ferracane http://pacificislandparks.com/2012/01/29/no-its-not-a-nene-goose/#comment-3533 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:53:25 +0000 http://pacificislandparks.com/?p=9765#comment-3533 That’s really neat KAHO! Did you see the story in The Oregonian that mentioned the Brant Goose?

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