A group of Hawaii legislators has written a letter to the director of the National Park Service (NPS), imploring the agency to make protecting critically endangered Native Hawaiian forest birds a priority.
U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Rep. Ed Case (D-HI) and Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-HI) sent the letter to NPS Director Charles “Chuck” Sams, asking him to utilize funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to protect native forest birds at Haleakala National Park on Maui.
“As the National Park Service determines how to implement the Inflation Reduction Act, we urge you to continue prioritizing this urgent work as these culturally and ecologically significant birds face extinction,” the lawmakers wrote, according to Hirono’s website.
Native Hawaiian forest birds are being devastated by the spread of avian malaria, carried by invasive mosquitoes. Avian malaria caused waves of extinction when it was introduced in the early 1900s.
“Four Hawaiian honeycreepers are at risk of extinction within the next ten years,” the lawmakers wrote. “If we lose these special birds, we also lose the essential roles they perform within the native ecosystem and a piece of Hawaiian culture. Unless we take significant action now, they will be gone forever.”
The letter concluded by saying, “Thank you for NPS’s support for Hawaii’s critically endangered native forest birds. We hope NPS will continue that support. Haleakala National Park’s efforts so far have played a key role in making progress to give these irreplaceable birds a fighting chance, and we must not lose momentum.”
Last year, the Department of the Interior released its “Strategy for Preventing the Extinction of Hawaiian Forest Birds,” and the top objective was listed as “develop and deploy Insect Incompatibility Technique to reduce the mosquito vector of avian malaria by 2026.” The plan also calls for greater investment in that area after NPS previously invested $6 million of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding.