Office of Maunakea Management's Steadfast Commitment to Stewardship: Maunakea Invasive Species Management Plan Approved
The Office of Mauna Kea Management announces the completion of its Maunakea Invasive Species Management Plan. Approved by the Maunakea Management Board, this plan is a major milestone in OMKM's stewardship efforts to mālama Maunakea. Invasive species are a major threat to the native flora and fauna populations and ecosystems that make Maunakea what it is, a place that is culturally significant and environmentally unique.
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Protecting Native Species
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The plan's objectives are to prevent the introduction of new invasive species within the UH management areas and the establishment of invasive species populations. The plan has measures for prevention, early detection, rapid response, and control to curtail the establishment of invasive species throughout the University of Hawaii's managed lands on Maunakea. The plan also addresses monitoring of established invasive species population.
The OMKM team, headed by Natural Resources Program Manager, Fritz Klasner and Resource Management Assistant, Jessica Kirkpatrick, worked closely with the Hawaii Ant Lab and Big Island Invasive Species Committee on the development of this plan. It is a comprehensive plan including a policy guide and a series of standard operating procedures containing detailed processes applicable to various activities.
"This plan is critical to help control the spread of invasive species. Our task at the Office of Maunakea Management is to preserve and protect the native flora and fauna found on Maunakea which are integrally connected to Native Hawaiian culture. It's an invaluable management tool for our office whose stewardship responsibility is to mālama Maunakea," said Office of Mauna Kea Management Director Stephanie Nagata.
The development of the Maunakea Invasive Species Management Plan is timely and coincides with the 3rd Annual Hawaii Invasive Species Awareness Week which is coordinated with the U.S. National Invasive Species Week. Hawaii's key message is "Invasive Species are Everyone's Kuleana."
The Maunakea Invasive Species Management Plan was produced as a Technical Report by The Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit of the University of Hawai`i at Manoa. It was drafted by Dr. Casper Vanderwoude (Hawaii Ant Lab), Fritz Klasner & Jessica Kirkpatrick (OMKM), and Springer Kaye (Big Island Invasive Species Committee).
OMKM will be addressing specific action plans in the invasive species management plan in future e-newsletters. The Maunakea Invasive Species Management Plan and associated Standard Operating Procedures are available for review and download at: http://www.malamamaunakea.org/environment/invasive-species
For more information contact the Office of Mauna Kea's Natural Resources Program Manager Fritz Klasner at 808-933-0734.
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