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OISC Report for May, June and July 2016
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Miconia (Miconia calvescens): The crew covered 1,683 acres by ground and 982 acres by air over 17 different watersheds. The crew found three mature trees (two in ʿĀhuimanu and one in Mānoa) and 58 immature trees. As you all know, miconia doesn’t respect property boundaries and Dr. Shady will happily grow on privately-owned land if there is enough rainfall. Much of the work done over the past three months has been on privately-owned land. Mahalo nui loa to all the landowners that granted the OISC crew permission to survey and treat on their land. We couldn’t be an island-wide invasive species management organization without your cooperation and because of you, our watersheds have one less invasive species to deal with. Many, many thanks.
Devil weed (Chromolaena odorata): The crew surveyed 821 acres this month by ground. In ʿAiea watershed 179 mature pants and 237 immature plants were removed. OISC has been able to treat most of the hotspots in this area and has not seen regrowth after treatment. The next step will be to survey out from these hotspots to determine if there are more plants and completely map the infestation in ʿAiea. As with miconia, much of the surveys will have to take place on privately-owned land so mahalo again to everyone in ʿAiea that has been cooperative and allowed us to survey your property. The crew also went to check a public report of devil weed in Waiawa, but thankfully it turned out to be a very similar-looking species that is common.
Himalayan blackberry (Rubus discolor): Only 21 immature plants seen in the known infestation area, all removed.
Cane ti: (Tibouchina herbacea): Due to helicopter flights being cancelled, the Tibouchina work at Poamoho has been neglected since February. However, the OISC field crew along with NARS camped out in the parking lot of the Poamoho trail and made the six-hour round trip hike to the summit twice in two days in order to get the work done. Helicopters might seem like a luxury, but because everything is faster with a helicopter, it is almost twice as expensive to have everyone hike up rather than fly them to the summit. 428 immature plants were removed from the core area. The crew also conducted an aerial survey to confirm that there are not additional large patches of Tibouchina along the summit. Ninety acres were flown and none was found.
Coqui frog (Eleutherodactylus coqui): Seventeen frogs removed from Waimānalo. OISC has also received confirmed reports of coqui frogs from the North Shore. The frogs are being removed. If you think you hear a coqui frog, please call us! You will likely hear them before you see them. A recording of the call is on our website: http://www.oahuisc.org/coqui-frog/.
Fountain grass (Cenchrus setaceus): OISC, the Waiʿanae Mountain Watershed Partnership and the Oʿahu Army Natural Resource Program got together to remove fountain grass from ʿŌhikilolo Ridge. 28 mature and 53 plants were removed. The purpose of the trip was to determine the feasibility of removing fountain grass from the ridge by hand and to ground truth the use of OANRP’s gigapan imagery method of surveying cliffs that are too dangerous to do in traditional “sweep” style surveys. Gigapan is a photography method takes high-definition, wide-angle imagery. What looked like fountain grass on the gigapan photos turned out to be actual fountain grass and the crew was able to reach the plants on foot. We plan to partner on using this method in the future.
Monitoring trips for Fireweed (Senecio madagascariensis) and Glory bush (Tibouchina urvilleana) found none. Regular early detection for the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle and Naio thrips also found none.
Rapid ʿŌhiʿa Death: OISC and DOFAW completed island-wide aerial surveys for Rapid ʿŌhiʿa Death. Nothing that looks like what is happening on the Big Island was seen, although there were isolated dead ʿōhiʿa trees out there. OISC is coordinating with partners to take samples and continues to participate in statewide coordination for this disease. A public hearing to create a permanent rule that will regulate transport of ʿōhiʿa and ʿōhiʿa parts from the Big Island in order to stop this disease from reaching other islands will be held on August 31 from 5:00-7:00 PM at the HDOA Plant Quarantine Building at 1851 Auiki St. The rule can be found here: http://hdoa.hawaii.gov/meetings-reports/proposedar/
Please come out to support if you can.
Outreach:
- OISC outreach and education staff set up the education booth at 8 events, including the Hawaiʿi Pet Expo, Ocean Fest, the Foster Botanical Garden Plant Sale and the Hawaiʿi State Farm Fair.
- Information was presented to 8 groups including the Kāneʿohe Rotary Club and the Hawaiʿi Association for Environmental Professionals.
- Little Fire Ant lessons were presented to 222 students at six schools and a YMCA summer camp.
- The OISC volunteer trip had 12 volunteers and removed 40 Ardisia virens and 92 Stromanthe tonckat.
- The OISC education specialist presented at the 2016 Hawaiʿi Environmental Education Alliance's 2016 Symposium.
- Outreach specialist facilitated a "Build an Invasive Species" activity for kindergarteners at the Peterson and Bowen Child Development Centers at Schofield Barracks.
- OISC field crew participated in the Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s production entitled “H2O: The Story of Water and Hawaiʿi”. Field crew went on stage, received a cape and answered questions from the actors about their work protecting the watershed.
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Above left: Steep terrain is tough, steep terrain with uluhe (the fern in the foregoround) is extra tough because it grows so thick the crew can't see where their feet are going and when its over their head, they can't see anything in front of them. Spores and debris go up their nose and the tendrils like to grab on to their clothing and not let go. Above Right: OISC field crew member Ryan Chang getting his cape and answering questions from the actors of Honolulu Theatre for Youth's "H20: The Story of Water and Hawaiʿi".
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Above left: Looking for Himalayan blackberry in uluhe. Above right: although the numbers are down and there are no longer large thickets of blackberry along the Mauʿumae trail as there were ten years ago, tiny blackberry plants still pop up.
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Above left: The distinctive leaves of miconia. Above right: the amount of mud collected on the hike to the Poamoho summit is impressive. It is easy to see how seeds can be spread if you don't wash your boots between hikes! (OISC not only washes boots after each field day, but has dedicated gear for Tibouchina, Chromolaena and Miconia species in order to ensure there is no "self-inflicted" dispersal).
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Above: OISC volunteers spelling out our acronym
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