From Hawaiian monk seals, to inexperienced sea turtles, to shearwaters, Pacific Missile Range Facility has a wide range of applications to assist defend wildlife and the pure atmosphere. Many of these applications lengthen past PMRF, with members all throughout the island of Kauai.
One of these applications, designed to guard albatross, earned the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services-Hawai‘i, 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 chook conservation. The winners had been introduced in 2021, nonetheless, 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 O‘ahu 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,” stated 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 via translocation from PMRF to determine nesting colonies in additional appropriate habitats on Kauai and Oahu since 2009, and extra just lately for skilled wildlife hazing dogs to be utilized in proximity to airports on Kauai to securely deter breeding Hawaiian goose (nene) populations from establishing nests inside airfield working areas.
Other challenge 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; Hawai‘i Department of Transportation; Līhu‘e Airport; Hawai‘i 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 corporations.
Albatross will return to the place they had been born so as 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 threat 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 variety of albatross which might 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 finest for relocation, offering for larger success in transferring the birds to a safer everlasting residence. That monitoring program has concluded, nonetheless, albatross captured at PMRF or elsewhere on Kauai are marked with bands that enable 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,” stated 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.”
