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Addendum: II PROJECT DESCRIPTION PART C. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The Cave Conservancy of Hawaii(CCH)proposes two interrelated stewardship projects for the Kahuku Coastal Public Access Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission(POMC)county land in the Ka'u District.These projects can be considered together or separately: A)Invasive plant removal and control; B)Biological investigation of lava-tube-adapted fauna. The CCH is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization comprised of volunteers who are dedicated to the protection of underground resources of significant lava tubes in the State of Hawai'i.Most of the CCH past efforts have focused on the southwest part of Hawai'i Island,where the CCH owns and protects 81 acres of the Kipuka Kanohina lava tube system.The CCH also works with private landowners to manage their properties that overly significant lava tubes. Stewardship of the PONC land and proper management and protection of its lava tube resources is important to the CCH. Project description Part 1: Invasive Plant Control The Kahuku Coastal property is a large area that contains many resources of interest to the public and researchers. The land surface is very rugged,and access is only by four-wheel drive road access along three margins. Travel within the area is by foot,and very slow due to the rough character of the land. The area is very dry,and constitutes a dry land forest environment. Very little of this ecologic zone remain in Hawaii,and none of it is undisturbed by invasive plants. The CCH proposes this project to control certain invasive plants,particularly fountain grass,Christmasberry trees,silver oak, haole koa,pluchea and lantana. Rationale: The spread of these plants poses a fire risk,crowds out and kills native plants,and reduces the recreational value of the open space land for the public because it becomes very difficult to access due to the high density of the plants that typically form thickets. The mitigation of fire risk is a great benefit for neighboring subdivisions. In addition,the decline of the native plant community impacts the native wildlife. One heavily impacted wildlife community for this land is the rare fauna that has become adapted to life in lava tubes. The roots of native plants,particularly'Ohi'a trees,are a critical and essential part of the food chain for these lava tube adapted creatures,about which very little is known. The CCH proposes to have a research team conduct a biological survey of the area to expand knowledge of Hawaii's natural history and create a knowledge base that will be useful in developing a management plan for Kahuka Coastal area. For future work,the CCH will also seek advice on which native plants may be planted to help restore some of the original but uncommon vegetation. Plants targeted for removal 1) Fountain grass: This plant grows into dense,tall fields that are very fire prone and crowd out native vegetation. Fire also helps spread the grass. Removal of fountain grass will help native plants thrive, and also benefit neighboring subdivisions for fire risk mitigation. Recreational users will benefit from fountain grass removal because it is difficult and unpleasant to walk through and can grow tall enough that hikers can't see over the top. Fountain grass will be removed primarily manually with and'o'o bar