Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 3, 1 March 1994 — Mālama i ka nahele [ARTICLE]

Mālama i ka nahele

How ean we protect our tropical forests in Hawai'i and maintain their traditional uses by native Hawaiians? Hawaiians who want to have their say on these issues are invited to attend public meetings being held March 28-31 on Kaua'i, O'ahu, Moloka'i, Maui and Hawai'i. The meetings are sponsored by the Hawaiian Tropical Forest Recovery Task Force. Hawaiians are invited to share their mana'o on access to the forest for gathering, as well as how to: • restore the heahh of tropical forests in Hawai'i • identify compatible uses of tropical forests, such as agroforestry and the cultivation of scarce or valuable hardwoods or other forest products; • identify plant, animal and microbe species; • increase public awareness of threatened and endangered forest species; • protect native plants and animals from non-native species; • identify what existing state, federal and private forest programs ean do to rejuvenate tropical forests in Hawai'i. To find out when and where the public meetings and planned afternoon field trips will be held, eall the Hawai'i Tropical Forest Recovery Task Force, coordinator Jan Lerum, at 541-2628.