Kīlauea Point NWR Seabird Monitoring and Invasive Predator Eradication Project Updates

The Princeville Moʻolelo free lecture series will continue on Tuesday, September 16, 2025 as we welcome Dylan Blanchard of Pacific Rim Conservation, who will share information about the mission of the Nihokū Ecosystem Restoration Project and ongoing work by PRC to support wildlife monitoring, invasive species management and more within the protected lands of Kīlauea Point NWR.

For more than ten years, Pacific Rim Conservation has been involved in seabird conservation at Kīlauea Point NWR. Between 2015 and 2020, nearly 200 endemic seabirds were translocated to artificial burrows within the Nihokū enclosure and, after assisting with hand-rearing the chicks and watching them fledge, Pacific Rim is monitoring the return of birds as the seabird colony grows by generations.

In 2023, a much larger predator-exclusion fence was completed, enclosing nearly the entirety of the refuge, as well as Nihokū, ensuring the security of the refuge in perpetuity. Pacific Rim has led efforts to remove invasive mammalian predators from within the fence, as well as assess how the fence and predator removal efforts affect the reproductive rates of the native seabirds nesting across the refuge.

Free Lecture Series: Tuesday, September 16, 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.