Free Lecture: “Saving the Songs of the Forest: Using BTI and IIT to Protect Kaua‘i’s Last Remaining Native Forest Birds”

The Princeville Moʻolelo free lecture series will continue on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, with a talk by Lucho Gomez, Mosquito Field Crew Lead with Kauaʻi Forest Bird Recovery Project. This presentation will explore the urgent conservation work underway to save Kaua‘i’s native forest birds from extinction, with a particular focus on mosquito suppression efforts using Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (BTI) and Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT). It will begin with a brief overview of Hawai‘i’s human history—from the arrival of Polynesian voyagers to modern times—and how these changes impacted native ecosystems. This context will help frame the dramatic decline of native bird species, many of which are found nowhere else on Earth and are now threatened by avian malaria transmitted by invasive mosquitoes.

The core of the presentation will highlight two primary mosquito control strategies: the aerial application of BTI to target larvae in remote, wet habitats like the Alaka‘i Plateau, and the IIT method, which involves releasing sterile male mosquitoes to reduce reproduction. These efforts, led by dedicated field teams and scientists, represent innovative and collaborative approaches to ecosystem restoration. The presentation will conclude with actionable ways the public can support this critical work—spreading awareness, engaging in community outreach, and advocating for native species protection on Kaua‘i and throughout Hawai‘i.

Free Lecture Series: Tuesday, June 10, 2025 5:00 to 6:30pm in the Princeville Community Center. The presentation will also be available via Zoom. For more information, visit www.kauairefuges.org/princeville-moolelo.

About the Series:  Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges is pleased to partner with the Princeville at Hanalei Community Association Events Committee to present this engaging series. Together, they are presenting free informative “talk story” events monthly in the Princeville Community Center to share the work and stories of conservation partners, Hawaiian cultural practitioners and more.

About Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges: Kīlauea Point Natural History Association, now doing business as “Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges,” serves as a 501(c)(3) non-profit Friends Group that supports the wildlife conservation, education, and historic preservation work of the Kauaʻi National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes Kīlauea Point, Hanalei and Hulēʻia NWRs.  With donations, plus proceeds from Nature Store operations, the organization supports visitor education, provides rehabilitative care for sick or injured native Hawaiian birds, volunteer training, special events, equipment for wildlife habitat maintenance and restoration, free bussing for school field trips to a refuge, awards annual scholarships for college students pursuing environmental studies and more. For additional information, visit www.kauairefuges.org and follow on social media at @fkwrkauai.