Programming supports a comprehensive network of cooperative study units to facilitate cooperative research technical assistance education and training to inform sciencebased management of the national…

Programming supports a comprehensive network of cooperative study units to facilitate cooperative research technical assistance education and training to inform sciencebased management of the national park system. The study units facilitate multidisciplinary science and integrated information products across multiple geographic regions of the national park system. One species known to benefit from predator control is the endangered UA u pterodroma sandwichensis hawaiian petrel a ground nesting seabird that is susceptible to nonnative mammalian predators. The national park services pacific island network has identified seabirds as an important vital sign and has developed a hawaiian petrel monitoring protocol to determine longterm trends in colony distribution and density and if these trends are affected by predator control. The hawaiian petrel monitoring protocol requires the implementation of field defined plots in areas where UA u are currently known to nest and are monitored legacy plots and in remote locations where UA u burrows may be present but have not yet been surveyed. UA u in both haleakal crater and upper NU u will benefit from predator control as outlined by plans being developed under cooperative agreement P20AC00980. Implementing the hawaiian petrel monitoring protocol prior to these predator control plans will provide a tool can be used to directly track the efficacy of predator control efforts on UA u. In addition predator surveys will provide baseline predator activity before implementing predator control. This award facilitates field implementation of the hawaiian petrel monitoring protocol baseline predator surveys implementation of predator control in haleakal crater and upper NU u and field testing of new traps for efficacy and nontarget effects. Phase i covers implementation of the hawaiian petrel monitoring protocol and predator monitoring using camera traps and tracking tunnels in areas where UA u may be present. As more funding becomes available predator control will be implemented in upper NU u and haleakal crater phase II additional field testing of new traps will occur and a report produced on the implementation of the hawaiian petrel monitoring protocol phase III. Beneficiaries include state and local governments federally recognized indian tribal governments public private nonprofit organizations nonprofit institutions of higher education and the general public.