Hawaiian monk seal mom and pup by NOAA

The letter, signed by 26 local and national organizations representing more than four million members from Hawai‘i and across the United States, encouraged the Hawai‘i congressional delegation to support federal funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to recover the seal.

Our Greatest Hope

Though its numbers total fewer than 1,100 individuals—and the species is in decline overall—the Hawaiian monk seal is the greatest hope for preserving the genus Monachus. That’s because the Caribbean monk seal is now extinct, and the Mediterranean monk seal population hangs by a thread, with less than 500 individuals remaining. Recent counts indicate that a subpopulation of Hawaiian monk seals is increasing in the main Hawaiian Islands, which is great news for the future of the species. However, this increase will likely result in the rise of human-seal interactions, such as unintentional hookings and entanglement in fishing gear and seal disturbances from residents and visitors. Therefore, additional education and outreach efforts are needed.

Plan for Recovery

NOAA’s Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Plan identifies funding needs totaling $36 million over five years, or approximately $7 million per year, for efforts ranging from reducing shark predation and providing emergency care for injured or malnourished seals, to removing hazardous debris and regulating human interactions with seals. But funding for the species has been severely reduced in recent years (a level as low at $2.7 million in 2011), disproportionately when compared to other marine mammals under NOAA’s jurisdiction. The letter urges the Hawai‘i delegation to provide unified support for the appropriation of $5.7 million for the Hawaiian Monk Seal Line—a step toward the $7 million recommended—and $3.3 million for NOAA’s Species Recovery Grants to States Program in 2014. These federal government grants help states to implement priority recovery actions for marine species listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Strengthening the National Voice

NWF affiliates in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, along with the National Aquarium (NWF’s Maryland affiliate), were among the groups that signed onto the letter. The National Aquarium is a strong advocate for ocean health, marine mammals and other sea life. And the Virgin Islands Conservation Society and Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña Inc. know all too well what’s at stake, having lost their own Caribbean monk seal when it was officially declared extinct in 2008.

To my way of thinking, it is, as our Native Hawaiian colleagues would say, the kuleana, or responsibility, of all Americans to make sure this rare tropical seal, the most endangered marine mammal found exclusively in U.S. waters, is protected and recovered for future generations and for the health of the marine ecosystem surrounding the greater Hawaiian Islands.

Donate today and help NWF continue to fight for wildlife — like the Hawaiian monk seal — across the country>>

Courtesy of Conservation Council for Hawai’i

Advocating for Native Species

Guided by a dedicated board and led by a dynamic and deeply committed executive director, CCH has launched numerous campaigns over the years seeking to protect imperiled native species, including coral reef fishes, marine mammals such as the ilioholoikauaua (Hawaiian monk seal) and kohola (humpback whale), seabirds such as the ‘a‘o (Newell’s shearwater) and ‘ua‘u (Hawaiian petrel), and forest birds such as the palila.

CCH served as the lead plaintiff in three successful lawsuits under the federal Endangered Species Act that not only led to the listing of more than 250 Hawaiian plants and animals as threatened or endangered but secured designation of critical habitat for dozens of these species. CCH was also one of the lead organizations on the E Ho‘omau! Campaign to preserve cultural and natural heritage by securing permanent adequate funding for the state’s Natural Area Reserves System. The system’s 20 reserves protect wildlife, cultural sites and geologic features. CCH is currently engaged in ongoing legal action to compel the State of Hawai‘i to prepare an environmental assessment or impact statement for issuing permits to collect fish and invertebrates for the aquarium trade.

Giving a Voice to the Hawaiian Monk Seal

Hawaiian monk seal in its native habitat by Vanderlip

Connecting Kids and Nature

Each year since the 1970s, CCH has produced a wildlife poster that is distributed free to all public, private, charter and language immersion schools in the Aloha State. Recent versions have combined beautiful artwork by Hawai‘i-based artists with in-depth educational information for teachers and students. The poster effort began as part of NWF’s annual National Wildlife Week celebration.

Highlighting Threats to Flora and Fauna

As the most isolated archipelago on the planet, the Hawaiian Islands are home to hundreds of rare species and fragile ecosystems found nowhere else in the world. These Hawaiian flora and fauna face unprecedented threats from invasive non-native species, human development, climate change, and inadequate funding and political support to fully protect species and their habitats. CCH draws attention to the serious consequences of climate change on the island’s habitats and to the dangers non-native ungulates (hoofed mammals), rodents, insects and other invasive species pose to native plants and wildlife.

CCH sets the bar for scientifically grounded positions on critical wildlife issues and is widely recognized for its diligent work to make sure all voices are brought to the table in the efforts to protect Hawai‘i’s endangered native wildlife. Congratulations to the board, staff and volunteers of CCH for the Affiliate of the Year recognition!

Hawaiian monk seal in its native habitat. Photo: NOAA

Pup Births Fall to Record Lows

The monk seal successfully survived in the Hawaiian Islands for millions of years until it was hunted to near extinction in the 1800s. Today, monk seals are at risk from entanglement in fishing gear and other marine debris, overfishing, invasive species, sea level rise and ocean acidification. But recovery efforts face strong opposition from fishermen who fear the seals’ competition for fish, and others who see any federal protections as intrusion. Adding to these threats, vocal resistance to critical habitat and recovery actions for the seal has taken an increasingly ominous turn. In late 2011 and earlier this year, four monk seals died of suspicious head injuries and a fifth is being investigated. More are suspected of having been killed offshore. New reports from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provide further concern. According to Charles Littnan, lead scientist for the Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program at NOAA, monk seal births in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) are at an all-time low. Just 105 pups were born in the NWHI this year; the lowest number since records began to be kept 30 years ago.

Recovery Funding Key to Preventing Extinction

The Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Plan, released in 2007, identified funding needs totaling $36 million over 5 years, or approximately $7 million per year in order to successfully recover and protect the seal. Though essential to the survival of the seal, these figures have never been fully realized. The Recovery Program has lost 36% of its funding from 2010 ($5.5 million to $3.5 million) and proposed cuts for 2013 threaten to further eliminate key parts of research and recovery efforts that could literally mean life or death to the endangered monk seal.

Data from NOAA show that less than 200 seals live near the main Hawaiian Islands of O‘ahu, Maui Hawai‘i, Kaua‘i, Moloka‘i, Lana‘i, Kaho‘olawe, and Ni‘ihau. Here, the majority of pups born annually survive just fine.  But out in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands where the vast majority of monk seals reside, fewer than one in five pups ever reach adulthood. Starvation and Galapagos sharks, which come into the shallow waters to prey on seal pups, take a huge annual toll.

Raising the survival rates of female pups to breeding age is key to the species’ survival. But doing so depends entirely on securing critical funding. Part of the recovery plan calls for temporarily moving small numbers of female pups from the NWHI to the main islands for up to three years to support greater survivability. Funding cuts threaten these translocation efforts as well as other important components of the recovery plan. According to the NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, the survival of the Hawaiian monk seal will depend largely on the stability of this recovery funding over the next several years, making the next 5 to 10 years crucial to the survival of the seal.

Donate now to help prevent monk seal killings and preserve vital seal habitat.

Make your voice heard: Speak Up for the Hawaiian Monk Seal

Right now, Congress is hearing mainly from those who oppose the actions that are needed to save our Hawaiian monk seals. Please take a moment to add your voice to those of us across the nation calling for protection of the Hawaiian monk seal by contacting your members of congress. Take action here to urge your members of Congress to support and fully fund recovery actions that will prevent Hawaiian monks seal from going extinct.

National Wildlife Federation’s Oregon affiliate, the Association of Northwest Steelheaders (ANWS), is preparing to launch an exciting and innovative program that aims to help returning war veterans develop new skills and ways of responding to stress while learning to preserve wildlife and the natural habitats that support them.

River Ambassadors

The River Ambassador Program is designed with two goals in mind: to teach the value of preserving wildlife and natural habitats and to assist veterans in developing new skill sets that allow them to better respond to the stress and challenges that inevitably accompanies the return to civilian life.

The program’s initial three-day course, scheduled for September 13-16 near Madras, Oregon, is the brainchild of ANWS’s Executive Director Russell Bassett. A recent Iraq veteran himself, Bassett can speak personally to the great therapeutic healing properties found in the sport of angling and in experiencing the great outdoors. “Angling helps develop coping skills that help alleviate stress and helps find inner peace and a sense of serenity,” said Bassett. “Although the course speaks of life found in rivers and streams through the eyes of the angler, the connection is intentionally to get the participants to integrate successfully back into civilian life and to be life-long stewards of the environment. Respect for nature and its inhabitants are our core focus. The program will foster respect for our differences yet simultaneously celebrate what we have in common as war veterans, a high regard for natural habitats, the sport of fishing and our human bond.”

Participants in the program will have the opportunity to learn the skills of river and nautical reading, and will learn about salmonid life history and conservation, entomology, and different fishing techniques, including fly fishing for trout and steelhead and gear fishing for salmon and steelhead. A guided drift-fishing trip completes the program on the last day. Each participant will receive a full set of fishing gear (rod, reel, lines, flies, lures) for their use during the program and to keep and continue their process on the river wherever life takes them.

Free to Qualified Members of the Military

ANWS’s River Ambassador Program is offered free of charge to qualified members of the military who have recently returned from deployment. With the success of September’s pilot program, plans call for expanding to at least two programs a year in coming years. But that depends on securing adequate program funding and support. Donations of funds or of guiding, rods or equipment to support this terrific program can be made by contacting ANWS via www.nwsteelheaders.org, office@anws.org, or 503-653-4176.

Learn more about the River Ambassador Program here: www.nwsteelheaders.org/conservation/river-ambassador-program

Hawaiian monk seal in its native habitat. Vanderlip.

“Dog Running in the Rough Sea”

Known for generations as ‘ilioholoikauaua, or “dog running in the rough sea,” the Hawaiian monk seal is one of only three monk seals species found in the world. The Caribbean monk seal was last seen in 1952 and declared extinct in 2008, and the Mediterranean monk seal hangs by a thread with a wild population of just 600. The Hawaiian monk seal, with a population of less than 1,100 and dropping precipitously at 4% a year, is already struggling to survive and needs our help now to avoid a similar fate.

Hawaiian monk seals are at risk from entanglement in fishing gear and other marine debris, declining prey stocks, invasive species, coral bleaching, sea level rise, shark predation and ocean acidification. Adding to these threats, vocal resistance to critical habitat and recovery actions for the seal has taken an increasingly ominous turn as more seals turn up dead.  

A Critical Year

Hawaiian Monk Seal. Photo by NOAA.

NOAA has proposed expanding critical habitat designation to the main Hawaiian Islands, where an increasing number of seals are residing and where there is a higher survival rate despite increased interactions with humans. Aggressive recovery actions, including translocating up to 20 young female pups a year from the NWHI to the main islands for three years to give them a head start in survival before being returned to the NWHI, are also proposed. But recovery efforts face stiff opposition from fishing interests and others who fear the seals’ competition for fish and those who see any federal protections as intrusion.

Myths and Vocal Opposition

As efforts to protect and recover the seal move forward, simmering resentment among some fishers who believe critical habitat designation will curtail their right to fish has been inflamed by myths about the seal. Large commercial fishing interests and others, looking to prevent expansion of critical habitat, appear to be making the seal a scapegoat for declining fish stocks, while the real reasons for that decline are ignored. Run-off from large-scale agriculture and development, invasive algae and other non-native marine species, overfishing, stream diversions, aquarium collecting and increased ocean acidification all negatively impact local fisheries. As for the monk seals, they are opportunistic feeders and regularly consume a wide variety of marine organisms.

To make matters worse, some of those opposed to protecting the seal have spread misinformation, leading people to believe that monk seals are not native to Hawai‘i and instead are themselves an invasive species. Archeological evidence and cultural references, including the Kumulipo, the Hawaiian Creation Chant – which specifically mentions the monk seal, all indicate its existence in the islands for thousands of years.

You Can Help

National Wildlife Federation is working with the Conservation Council for Hawai‘i and other community and conservation partners throughout the islands to speak up for the seal and build a constituency for its protection and survival. We are working to ensure federal funding for seal recovery efforts and we helped launch a public media campaign to dispel myths and underscore that the Hawaiian monk seal is a native species deserving of Hawaiian and national pride and the full protection of critical habitat and recovery.

Help stop the attacks on endangered Hawaiian monk seals! Please donate today to help National Wildlife Federation save seals and other wildlife from extinction >>

A male Rufous hummingbird pauses between sips. Photo: Les Welsh

For twenty-two years I have lived on a small island in the middle of Puget Sound and every year have put out at least one hummingbird feeder. As my fascination and interest grew about these tiny powerhouses, that number grew to nine. Yes, nine hummingbird feeders in one yard. Every year.

Now, I know that sounds a bit over the top but here’s the thing: Rufous hummingbirds are very, VERY territorial about their feeders and flower patches! Any time the males aren’t feeding or pursuing trysts with the females that arrive slightly after they do, they’re fighting to defend “their” flowers and feeders. So it became important to spread several feeders out around the yard and on opposite sides of the house. This allowed the battles to cease long enough for anyone to eat and to allow the females a chance at a feeder without getting chased off by the same guy who, just minutes ago, was courting and dancing for her like she was the most important thing in the universe.

Weighing in at barely 4 grams, adult Ruhu’s spread their winters in Mexico and migrate north with the advance of spring very often returning to the place of their birth, which can be anywhere from northern coastal California to Southestern Alaska. On my island, that timing falls remarkably in line with the Spring Equinox and, not coincidentally, right as the first salmonberry flowers open. By summer solstice, the males have left the island for flowers in higher elevations and points east and south. The females and young linger another few weeks before packing up and following dad out of town.

Catch, weigh, measure and release

A male rufous gets wieghed and measured and is not the least bit happy about it! Photo: Les Welsh

It seems the Ruhu’s, along with other hummingbirds, had seen their populations plummet as suitable breeding and feeding habitat has been displaced by clearcutting, urban sprawl and other development. Pesticides and other yard chemicals are suspect causes as well.

Turns out that Ruhu’s have incredible memory; they will often return to the same flower patch or feeder they were raised on, year after year. I had suspected this a year or two earlier when, on an early spring day a male showed up while I was gardening and began buzzing around one particular spot by my living room window. It took me a few moments to realize that he was looking for (more like demanding) the feeder that hangs there every year in the same place; the feeder I had not put out yet. I dropped everything and ran inside to clean, fill and place that and the other feeders as quickly as I could!

Attracting Ruhu’s to your backyard

Want to attract Ruhu’s to your own backyard? You have to make a small commitment to it, as feeders need to be kept clean and free of mold or bugs. As the weather warms, the feed can go bad quickly so you have to be prepared to change it as soon as it gets cloudy. And please, avoid the prepared “nectar” that you can buy in most home and garden stores; the intense red dye is really hard on the little guys’ livers! Just mix up some sugar water in a 4 to 1 ratio. Dissolve it well, fill your feeders and keep the extra in your refrigerator. Don’t worry; once the Ruhu’s find your feeders you’re sure to use it up quickly.

With the Ruhu’s arrival this year I realized it’s high time I looked up those ornithologists to see what data they may have collected about the little tribe that returns to my yard every year. I’ll let you know what I learn.

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