Princeville Moʻolelo Free Lecture: “What’s the Fuss About Fallout?”

The Princeville Moʻolelo free lecture series will continue on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, as Jacqueline Nelson, Program Manager with Save Our Shearwaters, returns with important information about how we can help protect seabirds.

Have you heard of fallout season? Why does everyone keep referring to it as a big deal? Well, from September to December each year, thousands of fledgling shearwaters and petrels make their first journey out to sea from the safety of their burrows. However, their first flight isn’t always so simple. They are instinctually guided by the light of the moon out to the ocean, but lights from urbanization can cause them to become disoriented and land in inappropriate locations. Once grounded they are usually unable to take flight again and become vulnerable to a wide variety of threats. This is referred to as “fallout”, impacting hundreds of light-attracted shearwaters on Kaua‘i each year.

With fallout season around the corner, Jacqueline will explain this phenomenon, how the public can help, volunteer opportunities and key factors affecting fallout numbers for 2025. Additionally, she will cover wildlife rehabilitation regulations and basic wildlife laws that govern this type of conservation work.

BIO: Jacqueline Nelson graduated from Virginia Tech in 2017 with a BA in Public Relations and BS in Natural Resource Conservation and Recreation Management. She has been working for SOS since 2018 when she started as a Wildlife Rehabilitation Technician but now holds the title of Senior Program Manager. Over the years, she has aided in the rescue and rehabilitation of over 3,500 patients that have come through SOS’s doors. As Program Manager, you can find her doing one of a hundred different jobs at any time including developing rehabilitation protocols, managing social media accounts, attending outreach events, consulting on patient cases, answering the hotline, grant writing, and more.

Free Lecture Series: Tuesday, August 19, 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.