HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0432.001 2008-2010
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P/PWIRG
Yoshimoto, J
From: Cory (Martha) Harden [mh@interpac.net]
Sent: Sunday, August 02, 2009 10:01 AM ,S ( (T 11 Z.3
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Subject: support'io/ comm 432 reso 208-09 PWIRC Tue Aug 4 (
What if there were only 2500 people left in the world? That number is the latest low estimate for 'io.
Keeping the'io on the Engdangered Species list is notjust about saving a unique form of life. The 'io is an aumakua, or family
guardian spirit, for many native Hawaiians. This is also about saving native Hawaiian culture, a culture based on what we seem
to forget--that we draw our life from the natural world.
Who wants the ' io de-listed? There's the former Pohakuloa commander who told a Kona Rotary Club the ' io was a common
bird and they were getting it de-listed. And there's the National Wilderness Institute, bankrolled by Exxon Corporation and run
by large land developers and conservative former government officials, that called for de-listing.
Oceanic islands are a risky place for birds. Birds on these islands "disproportionately account for a great majority of avian
extinctions." [1]
In Hawai'i, nearly all native birds are in danger of extinction. More than one-third of all endangered U.S. birds are in Hawai'i.
Since humans first came in 300 AD, 71 birds have gone extinct, including the only other raptor besides the `io. 10 other birds
haven't been seen "in as long as 40 years" [2] and 10 "may no longer exist in the wild." [2]
One of the 'io's prey, the 'alala, is one of the world's most endangered species. But efforts to protect the 'alala may harm the `io.
Both need protection.
If the 'io is de-listed, surveys are only planned every five years. This may not be enough if West Nile virus reaches Hawai'l, as
other invaders did--fire ants, varrao mites, and coqui frogs.
Funding for monitoring after de-listing would present a "challenge" [3] says USFWS (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). For
USFWS nationally, "biologists could not account for all required monitoring reports in 40 of 64 consultation files ...[and] staff
said they face a demanding workload". [4]
Even a study cited to show that the 'io is no longer endangered says "with a population comprised of about 3,000 individuals
confined to a single island, the species is vulnerable to the effz.cts of human-caused change to its habitat base."
One source suggests that "The rapid occupation of abandonee breeding territories suggests that the species may now be at or
near the carrying capacity of remaining habitat..." [5] More titan half the 'io's breeding range is privately owned.
Documentation of Hawai'i's Island's weak grubbing and grading laws, and constant changes of zoning to allow more
bulldozing and building, has been sent to USFWS.
Please support keeping the'io on the Endangered Species List. `
[1] Technical Report HCSU-009, Abundance, Distribution and Population Trend of the Hawaiian Hawk: 1998-2007, Gorreson,
Camp, Klavitter, Pratt, April 2008
[2] The State of the Birds: United States ofAmerica 2009
[3] Draft Post-Delisting Monitoring Plan for the Hawaiian Hawk, or lo, USFWS, December 2008.
[4] Endangered Species Act: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Has Incomplete Information about Effects on Listed Species
from Section 7 Consultations, Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Requesters, May 2009
[5J BirdLife International web 4f
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8/3/2009