Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 2, 1 February 2011 — A partnership to protect Hawaiʻi's native species [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]
A partnership to protect Hawaiʻi's native species
College senior recalls summer internship
By Chelsey Jay During the summer of 2010, I had the extraordinary opportunity to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for an 11-week internship coordinated by PIPES, or Paeihe Internship Programs for Exploring Science. The PIPES intemship program allows emerging college students like me to connect with influential agencies involved in conservation efforts around Hawai'i. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a part of the Partnership to Protect Hawai'i's Native Species. This partnership is made up of both federal and state agencies and they work together to safely remove rats from the islands in order to restore Hawai'i's unique ecosystems, preserve the cultural significance of these species to Native Hawaiians, and protect the health and wellbeing of Hawai'i residents. Virtually all conservation efforts in Hawai'i include rodent control as a priority. Besides promoting rat-eradication and rat-control projects, the eommittee is also involved in community outreach and other educational programs that help inform and involve the puhlie about why we should remove rodents and the effects they have on our precious ecosystems. My role with the Fish and Wildlife Service included helping the Partnership to Protect Hawai'i's Native Species create outreaeh produets for the puhlie, web site development, as well as leaming about the past, present, future, poliey and regulations of rodentieides. During my intemship, I eompleted a
eompilahon of 20 news artieles for the [ partnership's web site. I also produeed a faet sheet about the partnership's rat removal efforts on the offshore island of Mōkapu near Moloka'i. The partnership will use the fact sheet for puhlie outreach purposes, especially for the Moloka'i community. Skills I've gained from this internship include learning methods for communicating to the media, identifying stakeholders, developing outreach products that made use of technical writing skills, utilizing computer graphics software to complete the fact sheet, and learning about the effects rodents have on Hawaiian cultural resources. I was also very fortunate to visit numerous protected sites in the state. Some of these places include Ka'ena Point ; Natural Area Reserve, Kahanahāiki, Mo'omomi Preserve on Moloka'i 1 and Moku'auia Island. Other site visits such as Black Point and Pahole : demonstrated the need for restoration efforts and how rodents play a major role in the destmction of many natural areas. Not all of my site visits
As a Hawaiian, I ean ... appreciate agencies that go one step further and try to create a working relationship with the community so that scienee ean connect to community and no longer be considered two separate things." — Chelsey Jay
PIPE8 SUMMER INTERNSHIPS Deadline is Feb. 25 to apply for 201 1 undergraduate intemships through PIPES, or Pacific Intemship programs for Exploring Science, whieh are held across the Hawaiian Islands and the Pacific. Eligibility requirements include having a minimum 2.0 GPA and an interest in pursuing a career related to tropical conservation biology. Native Hawaiians are encouraged to apply. Three programs are available: > Research Experience for Undergraduates, a research-focused internship based at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo, gives students with limited or no research background an opportunity to gain experienee in conservation biology. > University of Hawai'i Hawaiian Internship Program connects students to internship opportunities with agencies and organizations responsible for research, management and education relating to environmental issues in Hawai'i and the Pacific region. Students are eligible through the summer after college graduation. > Micronesia and American Samoa Student Internship Program is for undergraduates from U.S.-affiliated Pacific islands. This summer, potential opportunities exist in Kosrae, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Saipan and American Samoa; other
locations may also be available. To apply online or for information, visit www.uhh. hawaii.edu/uhintern/apply/index.php. Or, eall 808-933-0705 in Hilo, or email uhintern@hawaii.edu. VOLUNTEER ON TERN ISLAND The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking four volunteers to go to Tern Island for three- or six-month stints, from June to September, or June to December (preferred), to perform seabird monitoring and banding, invasive species control, marine trash collection, cargo preparation and other duties. Tern Island, within French Frigate Shoals Atoll in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, is home to albatross, terns, Hawaiian monk seals, Hawaiian green sea turtles and other species. It is extremely isolated and has limited contact with the outside world. Volunteers should be able to excel professionally and safely within a small team and work for long work hours six days a week in the sun. Open to students, retirees, researchers, those seeking wildlife or work experience on a remote island, and others. Applications will be reviewed beginning March 1 and continue until the slots are filled. To apply or for information, email both PMNM Logistics@fws.gov andpaula_hartzell@fws.gov. ■
LAND & WATER
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The author learns ahoul the native wiliwili and its eome back after release of a biocontrol agent. - Photo courtesy of Chelsey Jay
dealt with rodent control and eradication, but they all exposed me to the concepts of conservation as well as predator control and invasive species issues. Mueh of what I learned over my summer internship with the Fish and Wildlife Service eame from speaking with my mentors and the people that they've introduced me to on my site visits. I undoubtedly respect the process that the partnership took when conducting their puhlie outreach efforts and allowing the eommunity to be involved during their rat-eradication efforts over the past few years. They have been considerate of Hawaiian cultural protocol and integrated that mentality into their theme of protecting Hawai'i's native species that are important to many cultural practitioners. The one very important thing that I will take away from this intemship is that community eonneehon and allowing them to be heard is a vital aspect of a successful project in the field of conservation and resource management. As a Hawaiian, I ean understand and appreciate agencies that go one step further and try to create a working relationship with the community so that science ean connect to community and no longer be considered two separate things. ■ Chelsey Jay, a 2007 graduate of Kamehameha Schools, is a senior majoring in Environmental Scienee and Resource Management at the University ofWashington in Seattle.
Rat trapping at Kahanahāiki, O'ahu. - Photo courtesy of Candace Russo (0ANRP)