The Hawaii Traveler

Since its founding in 1951 The Nature Conservancy has become, “the leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.” It’s an international organization with more than 117 million acres worldwide and 11 private preserves in Hawaii totaling 32,000 acres.Active for 20 years in the state of Hawaii, it’s a membership coalition that works in cooperation with more than 100 businesses. In Maui, the Conservancy manages preserves at Kapunakea and Waikamoi, the sites of a feral animal hunting initiative. On Lanai, it manages Kanepuu, the site of a see-it-before-you-die ecosystem. And …read more

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The carcass of a rare beaked whale that died in July after stranding itself in shallow waters on Moloka’i was flown to Honolulu for further investigation.   For some of the biologists involved in the failed rescue and transport, it was the first sighting of any variety of beaked whale.
Beaked whales are among the least understood whale species, as they are believed to spend most of their time feeding on or near the ocean floor.  For the full story on the discovery and transport of this unusual event, see the story at the Honolulu Advertiser.

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Here’s a question for you: What’s one of Waikiki Beach’s biggest problems? It’s not topless sunbathing. It’s not sharks. It’s not even the void left behind with the passing of Don Ho.Erosion of Waikiki Beach is one of the biggest problems facing the No. 1 tourist destination in the islands, such a problem that there’s no beach at the Sheraton except during times of extremely low tide. But the Sheraton Waikiki has a plan.
The Sheraton Waikiki will proceed with plans to restore a stretch of beach fronting its property and install groins in the water …read more

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Off the west side of Maui are three visible islands (and the crater). One is Moloka’i, one of Hawaii’s lesser-visited, more sparsely-populated islands–also called the Friendly Isle. Another is Lana’i, the most private of the main islands. The third is totally uninhabited, unlike the other forbidden island in the chain, Ni’ihau. It’s Kaho’olawe, an island that will likely be long vacant due to its interesting, and later very unfortunate history.
During the 1800s, during the rule of King Kamehameha I, Kaho’olawe was the site of the Hawaiian kingdom’s penal colony. Men were banished there, for such crimes as stealing, breaking …read more

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If you know the social networking site Twitter, you know how easy it is to make new friends. (Come on over and make friends with me at Twitter or FriendFeed to join in the fun.) One of those new friends, who goes by the moniker LaMama Naturale over at her blog Recycle Your Day, is going to Kaua’i soon; it’ll be her first time to the islands, and her little one’s first-ever plane ride.As you can tell by the title, Recycle Your Day is a site that’s dedicated to green living, and in the post Save Kauai, LaMama addresses an …read more

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From the environmental files: did you know that Hawai’i is the Endangered Species Capital of the World?According to the Hawaii Biological Survey, there are more endangered species per square mile on these islands than any other place on the planet. On the list of endangered living things are:

Nearly 300 taxa of plants
The O’ahu tree snail
The Monk Seal
The Green Sea Turtle (honu)
30 species of bird including the Hawaiian ‘Akepa, the Hawaiian Duck, and Hawaiin Goose (nene)
And many more.

There are heavy, heavy fines for tangling with endangered species of any kind, which begs the question, “What can I tangle with?” …read more

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