Hawaii forest stewardship program

Wildfires in Hawaii place communities at risk, destroy irreplaceable cultural resources, cost taxpayers money, negatively impact drinking water supplies and human health, increase soil erosion, impact near shore and marine resources, and destroy native species and native ecosystems.

Water is our most precious resource, and healthy forests are essential for maintaining water quality and quantity. Our upland forests, urban areas, coastline and near shore environment are all closely linked both spatially and culturally. Hawaiian watersheds are unique; they are small in area, prone to flash flooding from tropical storms, and discharge directly into the ocean.

We developed our Action Plan to compliment and reinforce the missions of our many partners working on various aspects of water resources management. We were assisted in great measure by the agencies and individuals of the Ocean Resources Management Plan Working Group.

Our Action Plan clearly articulates our role in managing the forests wherever they occur in the watershed, whether up in the mountains, embedded in our urban areas, or along the coastal zone. Click here to view the most recent BMPs recommendations on the state forestry agency website. Having trouble opening PDFs? In fact, Hawaii is considered the species extinction capital of the United States.

This especially true for endemic birds; 98 of known endemic bird species having gone extinct since human arrival to Hawaii. Currently, 33 of Hawaii's remaining 44 endemic birds are listed under the Endangered Species Act. Eleven of those have not been seen for decades and are likely extinct. While the bird has been extinct in the wild since , a captive rearing program has been successful in growing the global population from 10 to more than individuals.

All Programs. Staff Representatives. Current information is available on significant climate-related events such as high rainfall, drought, and sea levels; an updated regional climate overview and outlook for the next quarter; and a dashboard for regional information on temperature and precipitation, drought and stream flow, tropical cyclones and storms, sea levels, and ENSO and other climate indices.

The MesoWest rainfall network provides access to current and archived weather observations across the United States, including Hawaii. MesoWest relies upon weather observing networks that are managed by government agencies, private firms, and educational institutions.

Observations of temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, precipitation, and other weather parameters are provided and available through the MesoWest interface. The CTAHR forestry extension site has an extensive chart of government incentive programs for tree-planting or forest management on private lands. The Hawaii state Division of Forestry and Wildlife administers several programs to assist landowners in Hawaii who are restoring native forests or establishing tree farms, including the state Forest Stewardship Program , and the Watershed Partnership Program.

The Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Program assists community groups and non-profit organizations in urban forestry projects. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Hawaii runs several cost-share programs for private landowners in Hawaii for specific purposes, including enhancing environmental quality, improving wildlife habitat, and producing timber. The US Fish and Wildlife Service in Hawaii administers the Conservation Partnership Program for landowners who wish to restore and improve habitat for threatened, endangered, and rare native Hawaiian species, both plant and animal.

We are particularly interested in partnering with private and public sector organizations and agencies to plant trees and improve the environment in projects that would otherwise not be feasible. We support projects that plant the right trees in the right places for the right reasons.

Financial Analysis for Tree Farming in Hawaii , is a guide for tree farmers in calculating economic costs and benefits of timber plantations. The pamphlet explains how to compare current costs of establishing plantations with anticipated future timber harvests. The spreadsheet may be used as a template for growers to enter their own data to perform financial analysis for their own tree farms.

Characteristics of Hawaii's Retail Forest Industry in , A report on Hawaii's retail forest industry based on information from the forest industry survey. The manual introduces strategies for determining the financial returns of small-scale forestry and farm forestry projects and includes a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of investing in farm forestry and the steps in determining the costs involved, estimating returns, and comparing farm forestry with other land uses.

FORVAL for Windows is a user-friendly program developed by Mississippi State to help landowners evaluate timberland investments from a financial standpoint.

Users must supply their own costs and estimates of timber yields and stumpage values. Information on property taxes for forestry and native forest dedications may be found on the CTAHR forestry web page on government incentive programs for tree-planting or forest management on private lands.

The USDA Forest Service publishes a guide to the most frequently asked questions about federal income taxes on timber. The guide covers how you handle income from cost-share programs, timber sales, losses, and more. Time is the bane of forestry investments, when even insignificant costs at the beginning of a rotation grow by Herculean proportions at harvest.

The Hawaii Environmental Education Alliance offers information and networking opportunities to promote environmental education in our state. Their website includes news items, e-news, resources, a database of organizations and schools, contests and grants, and a calendar of events.

The Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife has a website for educators featuring coloring books about Hawaii's forest birds and endangered animals. The Kokee Natural History Museum "provides interpretive programs and exhibitions about Kaua'i' s ecology, geology and climatology.

The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii preserves plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. Staff and volunteers offer monthly hikes and work trips to Conservancy preserves on Molokai, Maui, and Oahu. Project Learning Tree "is PLT helps students gain awareness and knowledge of the natural and built environment, their place within it, as well as their responsibility for it.

The Iliahi Foundation "restores and preserves groves of rare and endangered species of iliahi sandalwood and other native trees and plants in Hawaii.

Senegalese conservationist Baba Dioum states, "In the end we will conserve only what we love. We love only what we understand and we will understand only what we are taught. The Forest Stewardship Council FSC is an international organization developing guidelines and criteria for "environmentally appropriate and socially beneficial" forestry worldwide.

The American Tree Farm System is a national association of non-industrial, private tree growers throughout the United States.

Tree farmers subscribe to environmental principles and tree farms are regularly inspected by volunteer foresters. It is national in scope and the only program that is intended solely for use by private forest landowners.

PEFC is the world's largest forest certification system. Forest Certification Watch is an independant newsletter and website with information on forest certification, carbon sequestration, and sustainable forestry. A presentation by Dr. Travis Idol reviews our current knowledge of how vegetation affects watershed function in Hawaii originally presented at the Hawaii Association of Watershed Partnerships symposium. Another presentation by Dr.

Idol on Hydrologic Effects and of Changes in Forest Structure and Species Composition examines the science behind watershed management. Forests Protect our Watersheds, article by J. Friday , Hawaii Forestry News, Vol. Note: Many tree species imported into Hawaii have become pests invading native ecosystems. Before bringing any tree seed into the state, growers are urged to screen species for weediness potential. Growers may check the Hawaii Weed Risk Assessment database hpwra. Learn more about problems caused by alien invasive species at the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk web site.

Note that imports of some trees and some microorganisms are restricted by the State of Hawaii. Hawaii tree growers should check with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture Plant Quarantine branch regarding current regulations. Seed Technology for Forestry in Hawaii is a 15 page manual PDF format published by CTAHR which includes information on importing seed, collecting and handling seed, specific information on seed for common forestry trees in Hawaii, and tree improvement.

The Hawaiian Native Plant Propagation database currently contains descriptions and information on propagation for indigenous and endemic Hawaiian plants. They also have seeds for sale. The Hawaii Conservation Alliance publishes information on seed germination ecology and seed storage characteristics of native Hawaiian plants.

The manual has chapters on silvics and seed biology of kamani Calophyllum inophyllum , koa Acacia koa , kou Cordia subcordata , milo Thespesia populnea , and many non-native tropical trees commonly planted in Hawaii. The manual contains general articles on seed technology and information on storage treatment, and germination of many tropical tree species.

Chapters on genera such as Acacia may be downloaded individually. The National Tree Seed Laboratory , operated by the USDA Forest Service, assists public and private forestry nurseries produce high-quality seedings through its programs on seed testing and technical assistance, and through maintaining an international seed bank.

The Native Plant Network propagation protocol database reviews propagation techniques for dozens of both native and exotic tree species for Hawaii. The FloraBank project in Australia publishes fact sheets on collecting and storing seed for forestry projects, especially seed of native Australian species.

The Danida Forest Seed Centre DFSC publishes information on seed collecting, tree improvement, and forest genetics, both for tropical and temperate trees.

The Australian Tree Seed Centre publishes articles on forest tree seed online. The Forest Genetic Resources web site of the FAO publishes information on conservation of forest genetic resources and tree improvement, including the on-line journal Forest Genetic Resources. In Spanish. METLA, the Finnish Forest Research Institute, publishes a world-wide-web library of forestry information , including a comprehensive section on forest genetics and tree breeding.

Little Jr. Skolmen, Currently out of print [May ]. CTAHR publishes on-line leaflets on ornamental trees , including aalii Dodonaea viscosa , hala Pandanus tectorius , hapuu Cibotium spp.

The Campus Plants site features pictures of many more popular tropical ornamental and forest trees. The Plants of Hawaii Image Index is a new website including over 40, images high-resolution and copyright-free of over plant taxa of Hawaii. Included are both native and alien species. Also, there are detailed species reports and Maui-occurrence roadside maps for many of the species. The Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife publishes fact sheets on Hawaii's species of greatest conservation need , including native trees and plants.

The Traditional Tree Initiative website contains detailed profiles of agroforestry trees used in Hawaii and elsewhere in the Pacific. Trees include Acacia koa koa , Aleurites moluccana kukui, candlenut , Artocarpus altilis breadfruit , Broussonetia papyrifera paper mulberry , Bruguiera gymnorrhiza large-leaf mangrove , Calophyllum inophyllum kamani, beauty leaf , Casuarina equisetifolia ironwood, beach she-oak , Cocos nucifera coconut , Citrus , Cordia subcordata kou , Erythrina variegata coral tree , Intsia bijuga vesi , Mangifera indica mango , Metrosideros polymprpha ohia , Metroxylon sago palm , Morinda citrifolia noni, Indian mulberry , Pterocarpus indicus narra , Samanea saman rain tree , Santalum spp.

The site includes many photographs of native Hawaiian plants. Canoe Plants of Ancient Hawaii is "today's guide to yesterday's life-sustaining plants carried by early Polynesian voyagers in their canoes. The National Tropical Botanical Garden publishes an on-line gallery of trees and plants in their gardens with photographs and descriptions of the species and their use.

Guam Forestry publishes information on properties and use of native plants of Guam.