You are here

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Officials Searching For Solution to Non-Native Animals

Share

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park officials are updating their management plan for dealing with non-native animals, such as these mouflon sheep, which are a threat to native flora and landscapes. NPS photo.

For more than 1,000 years non-native animals have called the forests of Hawaii home. But those animals -- pigs, deer, goats, and sheep -- are exacting a toll on the native flora and fauna, as well as the landscape, of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, where officials are working to hone their strategies for removing the intruders.

Many of the non-native species represent chapters of Hawaii islands history: Polynesians introduced domestic pigs to the Island of Hawai‘i more than 1,000 years ago, and Captain James Cook brought goats to the islands in 1778, according to National Park Service records. "Axis deer were brought to the Hawaiian Islands from India in late 1867 as a gift to Kamehameha V," park records add.

Others arrived more recently -- mouflon sheep were introduced to the islands in 1957 -- while others were simply opportunistic; domestic cattle that wandered free and became feral from time to time find their way into the park.

Unfortunately, these and other species threaten to damage archaeological sites, trample sensitive soils, and impact or wipe out species that are listed either by the state or federal governments as threatened or endangered. For instance, wallows created by feral pigs turn into breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which have transmitted avian diseases (avian malaria and avian pox) responsible for the lost of native birds. Pigs also have eaten both eggs and goslings of the endangered nēnē, or Hawaiian goose

Native plants are uprooted and destroyed, too; in the mid-1990s several mouflon sheep browsed on Mauna Loa silversword, a federally listed endangered species.

While the park has relied for the past three decades on a management plan for combating these non-native species, the animals still are widespread. In the park's Kahuku unit, for instance, there are an estimated 1,000 mouflon sheep today, said Rhonda Loh, the park's chief of natural resources.

With hopes of developing a more successful strategy, the park now is updating its plan for managing non-native pigs, sheep, feral cattle, and goats. Through January 20 the park is taking public comments on four options for addressing the non-native species.

The preferred option at this point is to use a variety of methods, including shooting from teams on the ground and in helicopters and relocation, to greatly reduce, if not eliminate, the non-native species.
However, reducing the numbers could go more quickly if officials relied on a plan that used "lethal techniques and ... the use of fencing," the draft environmental impact statement for the plan states.

Ms. Loh said earlier this week that the park wants to hear which alternative the public would prefer be implemented.

"We put it as a preferred alternative, it would give us the most flexibility, but we’re really open to what the public's thoughts are on this," she said during a phone call. "It’s not set in stone.”

In the past the park has relied on park staff and volunteers shooting the non-native animals, as well as 4- to 6-foot-high fencing to keep the animals out of various areas of the park. In some areas park staff have run fencing from sea level to 9,000 feet in elevation.

Comments

The public should be given the chance to adopt the unwanted animals. Those left should be hunted as this is probably the most effective method, and most economical means of getting rid of the invasive species. It should be combined with fencing, to keep out more of the animals. The meat from the hunted animals should be given to the local food pantries, soup kitchens, churches, etc., for the poor. The hides should be tanned and then can be sold, with the money going to the park system. It can help defray the cost of eradicating the invasive species.


Can anyone tell me which strategy was adopted? I work in a Wilderness in CA that has cattle allotments on it, and I would be very interested in volunteering to remove cattle from Volcanoes NP and in observing the strategy once implemented to see if it could work where I am.


Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.