MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES For educational pilot project use only. Organizations and government agencies across Hawai‘i work hard to protect our natural places. Here we will learn about some of their strategies for every day land management to protect our Watersheds. For educational pilot project use only.

For educational pilot project use only. WHAT IS A WATERSHED? A watershed is an area of land, such as a mountain or a valley, that catches and collects rain water. In Hawai‘i, our forested mountains are our primary watersheds. These areas, which contain both native and non-native forests, recharge our underground aquifers and provide a dependable source of clean water for our streams. A watershed is the area between two ridges, where water flows downward and out towards the ocean. Photo Credit: Hawai‘i Association of Watershed Partnerships For educational pilot project use only.

For educational pilot project use only. WATERSHED SERVICES Things we want to protect: SERVICES AND RESOURCES OF THE FORESTED WATERSHED Rainfall, Streamflow, and Groundwater Recharge 2. Native Species and Ecosystems - Biological Value 3. Cultural Significance 4. Erosion Prevention 5. Aesthetic and Economic Value 6. Hunting Opportunities 7. Hiking, Outdoor Recreation, and Education For educational pilot project use only.

For educational pilot project use only. WATERSHED THREATS Threats preventing watersheds from providing those services include: Fire Invasive Species Humans Climate change For educational pilot project use only.

For educational pilot project use only. WATERSHED THREATS - FIRE Wildfires were once limited in Hawai‘i to active volcanic eruptions and infrequent dry lightning strikes. However humans have caused a significant increase in the number of wildfires. Each year over 1,000 fires burn more than 17,000 acres in Hawai‘i1. Once burned, non-native and invasive grasses fill in, now covering nearly one quarter of Hawaii's total land area1 which together with a warming, drying climate greatly increases the chance of larger fires. Flames move uphill in a fire on Oahu. Photo Credit: UH Manoa Firefighters watch a brushfire in Kona. Photo Credit: West Hawaii Today For educational pilot project use only.

For educational pilot project use only. WATERSHED THREATS - FIRE Video is also downloaded in the Management Strategies Day folder. Click here to watch a video about Wildfire in Hawai‘i: (5 min) https://vimeo.com/117643951 For educational pilot project use only.

For educational pilot project use only. WATERSHED THREATS - FIRE Fires have many impacts to our native ecosystems: Damage to soil and vegetation – which can lead to erosion that washes soil into our nearshore ocean, killing and smothering fish and coral Loss/Degradation of wildlife habitat Impacts to ranching rangeland or agriculture lands Impacts to cultural resources Fire burned forested areas on Maui. Photo Credits: West Maui Mountains Watershed Partnership For educational pilot project use only.

For educational pilot project use only. WATERSHED THREATS - FIRE Management strategies for fire include: Prevention – Education on how to prevent wildfires Pre-fire management such as reducing fuels and constructing fuel breaks Post-fire response such as erosion control and replanting in burned areas helps to reduce the establishment of nonnative grasses Fire or fuel breaks and community workshops can help to prevent wildfires and their spread across the landscape. Photo Credits: Hawaiiwildfire.org For educational pilot project use only.

For educational pilot project use only. THREATS – INVASIVE SPECIES Non-native invasive species prevent watersheds from working effectively to collect and store rainwater. The invasive of non-native pests already cause millions of dollars in crop losses, the extinction of native species, the destruction of native forests, and the spread of disease. Many new species try to get to Hawai‘i every day! Even one new pest - like the brown tree snake - could forever change the character of our islands. A Brown tree snake discovered by a Department of Agriculture inspector. Also Little Fire Ants are so tiny they fit on the end of a chopstick! Photo Credits: The Nature Conservancy and DLNR Hawai‘i For educational pilot project use only.

For educational pilot project use only. INVASIVE SPECIES - FERAL ANIMALS Hooved animals dig, root and graze in forests, destroying native plants and helping to spread invasive weed seeds on their fur and hooves. We can keep them out of the native forests by trapping, hunting and building fences to prevent their movements across the mountain. Photo Credit: CTAHR, University of Hawaii Species that need to be kept out of native forested areas include: Pigs, Goats, Cows and Deer Notice the stark contrast in this photo between protected area behind fences on the right and areas where ungulates are allowed to roam free on the left. For educational pilot project use only. Photo Credit: Oahu Invasive Species Committee

For educational pilot project use only. INVASIVE SPECIES - WEED CONTROL Invasive weeds can change the structure of the native forest from a multi-layered, healthy ecosystem to a single species deadzone. Management teams remove invasive species and prevent their spread by cutting, digging, and hauling out weedy plants. A Strawberry Guava Thicket – a native species deadzone. Photo Credit: Jack Jeffrey, US Fish and Wildlife Service Certain species of weeds can have huge impacts. For example, recent research (Giambelluca et. al 2007) demonstrated that during dry periods, invasive strawberry guava removes 53% more water from the soil than the native ‘ohi‘a trees, thereby reducing stream and aquifer recharge2. Another example is that the Maui Invasive Species Committee has a dedicated crew simply for controlling invasive Miconia because of its potential to disrupt watershed function5. Clearing Miconia on O‘ahu. Photo Credit: Josh Atwood For educational pilot project use only.

For educational pilot project use only. WATERSHED THREATS – HUMANS Despite good intentions, humans can be one of the biggest threats to native watersheds. Sadly many areas have seen an increase in: Uncontrolled recreational motorbike riding Unauthorized creation or extension of hiking trails deep into the watershed.  Unknowingly stepping on rare species or bringing in invasive weed seeds hiding in your boots, packs or stuck to your clothing.   Watershed crews go through great lengths to decontaminate gear before entering the watershed. The best solution is to admire the Watershed from legal trails.  Doing so will help stop the degradation of our native flora and fauna and in turn, preserve the watershed. Illegal dirt bike trails can accelerate erosion and bring weeds into pristine areas of the forest. Photo Credit: West Maui Mountains Watershed Partnership For educational pilot project use only.

For educational pilot project use only. WATERSHED THREATS – HUMANS Educating the public on Low Impact fun can be one of the best tools for a watershed team. The more you know, the more you can help to protect our forests! Respect kapu or "no trespassing" signs marking watershed management areas.  These areas are sensitive to human activity and take a long time to recover, if at all.  Avoid riding ATVs, mountain bikes or motorcycles in non-designated areas.  These activities can increase erosion and decrease water quality.  You may be killing native plants and disturbing the nest sites of endangered birds. Brush boots, socks, backpacks and tents before you head out to minimize spreading seeds and eggs that may be invasive.   Stay on designated trails.  New trails = dead plants and insects, more erosion, newly opened habitat for invasive seeds (that fell off your unbrushed boots), and makes a nice invitation to feral pigs and other humans to use it too, thus creating even more damage.  Leave no trace.  Respect the 'aina and hike out what you hiked in.  Food crumbs, wrappers, and other trash provide fodder for rats and feral cats that thrive in the forest and threaten Nene and other native bird populations.  For educational pilot project use only.

For educational pilot project use only. THREATS – CLIMATE CHANGE Climate change is proving to be a difficult threat to manage. There are a variety of ways that Climate Change is already threatening our native watershed ecosystems: Warmer temperatures expand the range of mosquitoes which breed avian diseases. For native honeycreeper birds which live in higher, cooler mountain refuges, this will introduce new stresses and disease vectors into their environment3. “Recent studies suggest that there will be less frequent but higher intensity rainfall patterns across the Pacific Islands due to climate change”4. Climate zones are shifting upslope, decreasing the habitat for native species and forcing them to compete with invasive species for food and shelter4. The endemic Kiwikiu honeycreeper currently only lives in wet forests in East Maui. As habitats change, that could make this rare bird go extinct! Photo Credit: Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project For educational pilot project use only.

For educational pilot project use only. THREATS – CLIMATE CHANGE Watershed crews are working to protect native forested watersheds to help ease the transitions of climate change. To this effect, management strategies include: Monitoring watershed changes in habitat and water collection to find stressed areas that need more protection Preventing the further spread of invasive species that could out-compete native species that are slower to adapt Coordinating protection efforts across ownership boundaries Restoring native species to help increase the bank of ecosystem biodiversity which has been shown to help during times of ecosystem change. Planting native plants can help to maintain the biodiversity of the islands, even in the face of climate change. Photo Credit: Art Medeiros and Auwahi Forest Restoration Project For educational pilot project use only.

For educational pilot project use only. REFERENCES 1. Hawai‘i Wildfire Management Organization, 2016. Wildfire in Hawai‘i Factsheet. Accessed from: http://www.pacificfireexchange.org/research-publications/wildfire-in-hawaii-fact-sheet . Last Accessed 09/13/2016. 2. Giambelluca, T. W., et al. "Impacts of Alien Tree Invasion on Evapotranspiration in Tropical Montane Cloud Forest in Hawai'i." AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts. Vol. 1. 2007. 3. Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project, 2016. “Avian Disease.” Accessed from http://www.mauiforestbirds.org/articles/17. Last accessed on 12/01/2016 4. Gray, Steven, 2013. Forecasting climate change impacts on watershed-based ecosystem services in Hawaii: A participatory modeling approach. Accessed from: http://www.wrrc.hawaii.edu/research/project_gray/ecosystem.pdf . Last accessed on 09/13/2016. 5. Maui Invasive Species Committee, 2016. “Where we work.” Accessed from http://mauiinvasive.org/where-we-work/. Last accessed on 12/01/2016. For educational pilot project use only.