Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 34, Number 9, 1 September 2017 — Help the Army help the ʻelepaio [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Help the Army help the ʻelepaio

The U.S. Army is seeking ways to protect the endangered O'ahu 'elepaio, whieh nest in the mountains above Schofield training range.

Biologists estimate that only 1,200 'elepaio exist on O'ahu and are found nowhere else in the world. The Army suspects rats contribute to the dwindling 'elepaio population and has been monitoring bird pairs and supporting them with rodent control. Predator rats are about twice the size of the 'elepaio, whieh are just over five inches. "We've been working with the 'elepaio since the '90s. Over the years, we've used bait stations, snap traps and more recently, gaspowered, self-resetting traps," said Kapua Kawelo, natural resources program manager with U.S. Army Garrison-Hawai'i. "Unfortunately, these strategies haven't been as effective as we XI NEWS BRIEFS "II PAGE 21

Elepaio. - Photo: Courtesy U.S. Army O'ahu Hatural Resources Program

NEWS BRIEFS

Continued from page 20 want. We aren't able to cover a large enough area due to severe terrain and limited access. As a result, the rat populahon is still rising," she added. The Army is proposing eonducting a broad-scale application of rodenticide in its area with the largest 'elepaio populahon, whieh

is fenced in to keep pigs and goats out and isn't open to the public or service members. The public ean review and comment on the supplemental environmental assessment at https:// go.usa.gov/xREAc through Sept. 7. Comments ean be emailed to usaghi.pao.comrel@us.army.mil or mailed to USAG-HI DPW Environmental Division, 947 Wright Ave., Wheeler Army Airfield, Schofield Barracks, HI 96857. ■