DVIDS – News – PMRF Honored as Contributing Partner in 2021 Presidential Migratory Bird Federal Stewardship Award

KEKAHA, Hawaii – From Hawaiian monk seals, to inexperienced sea turtles, to shearwaters, Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) has a wide range of packages to assist shield wildlife and the pure atmosphere. Many of these packages lengthen past PMRF, with individuals all throughout the island of Kauai. One of these packages, designed to guard albatross, earned the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Wildlife Services-Hawaii, partnered with PMRF, the Presidential Migratory Bird Federal Stewardship Award.

This award is given by the Council for the Conservation of Migratory Birds in recognition of tasks or actions that concentrate on migratory chicken conservation. The winners had been introduced in 2021, nevertheless, receiving the bodily award needed to be postponed because of the covid pandemic.

Navy Capt. Brett Stevenson, Commanding Officer of PMRF, accepted the award on behalf of PMRF in a ceremony in Oahu in August, in partnership with the first recipient, USDA-APHIS.

“Being honored as a contributing partner is a great way to acknowledge all of the things that we do on this installation as part of our routine operations to protect the wildlife that share the Mana Plain with us,” mentioned Stevenson. “Particular thanks to our environmental team and our USDA partners here on Kauai whose effort led to this award.”

The award acknowledges the collaborative efforts to analysis and safely handle the breeding Laysan Albatross (Moli) inhabitants at PMRF by way of translocation from PMRF to ascertain nesting colonies in additional appropriate habitats on Kauai and Oahu since 2009, and extra not too long ago for educated wildlife hazing dogs to be utilized in proximity to airports on Kauai to soundly deter breeding Hawaiian goose (nene) populations from establishing nests inside airfield working areas.

Other undertaking companions and co-recipients embody: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. Geological Survey, Bird Banding Laboratory; U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Navy; Federal Aviation Administration; Hawaii Department of Transportation; Lihue Airport; Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife; and non-governmental organizations together with the Hokuala Resort, Kauai Albatross Network, Na Aina Kai Botanical Gardens, Pacific Rim Conservation, and personal consulting companies.

Albatross will return to the place they had been born in an effort to nest, so it is very important relocate eggs and deter adults from nesting on the set up, particularly across the airfield. Bird strikes are harmful for each air crew and the animals. This effort goals to mitigate potential danger not just for birds, however for personnel, plane and mission functionality. These birds can dwell to be over 70 years old, and there are a selection of albatross which can be persevering with to return to PMRF.

Biologists at PMRF positioned transmitters on the albatross, permitting PMRF to trace the birds and see what number of relocated albatross had been returning to base. The biologists had been additionally in a position to analyze which season is greatest for relocation, offering for larger success in shifting the birds to a safer everlasting residence. That monitoring program has concluded, nevertheless, albatross captured at PMRF or elsewhere on Kauai are marked with bands that permit them to be recognized.

“This award that our USDA partners received for their work on Kauai with nene hazing dogs and tracking Laysan Albatross adults translocated from PMRF is a well-deserved acknowledgment of the many years of collaboration that have gone into finding effective solutions to protect both aircraft and native species, and demonstrates that such solutions are possible across species and environments,” mentioned Brooke McFarland, Natural Resources Manager at PMRF. “We are grateful to USDA for conducting the research that will make our program here more effective, and are proud of PMRF’s part in making this study possible.”