Nearly $16M pledged to protect Hawaiian forest birds
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Jun. 27—U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland today announced that nearly $16 million in federal funding has been committed to the prevention of the imminent extinction of Hawaiian forest birds.
Haaland made the announcement this morning as the opening keynote speaker of the Hawaii Conservation Conference in Waikiki.
The funding, part of President Biden's Investing in America agenda, will support a new Hawaiian Forest Bird Conservation Keystone Initiative, which was unveiled as part of the department's Restoration and Resilience Framework.
This framework is guiding $2 billion in investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to restore lands and waters and advance climate resilience.
"Hawaiian Forest Birds are a national treasure and represent an irreplaceable component of our natural heritage," said Haaland in a news release. "Birds like the 'I'iwi, Kiwikiu and 'Akikiki are found nowhere else in the world and have evolved over millennia to adapt to the distinct ecosystems and habitats of the Hawaiian Islands. Thanks to President Biden's Investing in America agenda, we are working collaboratively with the Native Hawaiian Community and our partners to protect Hawaiian Forest Birds now and for future generations."
Historically, there were once over 50 different species of honeycreepers in Hawaii — but the number has dwindled down to 17.
Hawaiian forest birds face a number of threats — ranging from habitat loss to invasive species, and diseases such as avian malaria spread by mosquitoes — compounded by climate change. Experts say without this funding, two species could go extinct within the next year.
The keystone initiative will expand captive care programs for bird species most at risk of imminent extinction, work to control and eradicate invasive mosquitoes that spread avian malaria, and translocate bird populations to higher elevations for survival, among other strategies.
It will also engage Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners and experts at every major stage of a conservation action, a news release said.
Haaland will also be speaking in Heeia this afternoon, and at the U.S. Geological Survey's ceremony for a new research facility at the University of Hawaii at Hilo on Wednesday.
