Waikane valley, in the koolau range is home to some of the last remaining lowland wet forests on the windward side of the island of oahu OHU OHU koolau INC applicant will work directly with…

Waikane valley, in the koolau range is home to some of the last remaining lowland wet forests on the windward side of the island of oahu OHU OHU koolau INC applicant will work directly with ohulehule forest conservancy landowner and staff from the koolau mountains watershed partnership to identify and protect relict stands of native lowland wet forest and coordinate the construction of an ungulate proof exclosure to protect habitat for the reintroduction of cyrtandra kaulantha endangered plant species with less than 22 individuals left in the wild , and other imperiled native species which are in serious decline, but are not yet listed, such as cyanea angustafolia the project area contains critical habitat for the oahu elepaio, and native fly catcher bird specific efforts to be conducted include targeted removal of albizia falcataria moluccana trees across approximately 77 acres and opportunistic removal of other priority weed species will stabilize existing native stands of ohia metrosideros polymorpha , KOA acacia KOA , hala pandanus tectorius , lama diospyros sandwicensis , etc and stop the transition from a native dominated system to an invasive one in addition to remnant forest protection, active restoration efforts will be conducted these efforts include outplanting of native species, weed removal, volunteer involvement, and the construction of a small 1 2ACRE ungulate proof exclosure to protect an area for reintroduction of tand e species historically observed within the waikane valley the area designated for the exclosure consists of a shallow north facing gully with existing native canopy elements site improvements, including removal of invasive species and outplanting of common natives, within the exclosure will restore habitat and serve as a refugia for future plantings of endangered and near extinct species including but not limited to cyrtandra kaulantha the landowner has a proven track record of propagating and growing c kaulantha to maturity on the property additional restoration efforts with volunteer involvement will expand the landowners current 9 acre native forest restoration zone, further improving adjacent habitat quality