Kauai hosts three listed native seabird species, the newells shearwater (puffinus newelli, nesh), the hawaiian petrel (pterodroma sandwichensis, hape) and the band-rumped stormpetrel(oceanodroma…

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service awarded a $499,922.50 Project Grant under the Competitive State Wildlife Grant (C-SWG) Program (CFDA 15.634) to the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). The grant aims to increase conservation efforts for three listed native seabird species on the island of Kauai - the Newell's Shearwater, Hawaiian Petrel, and Band-rumped Storm-petrel. Key objectives include initiating a new seabird population monitoring program, closing knowledge gaps on species distribution, and addressing threats such as invasive predators and light pollution around colonies. The 3-year project from October 2023 to September 2026 is expected to contribute to the long-term recovery of these endangered seabird populations through direct management actions and increased stakeholder awareness.

Kauai hosts three listed native seabird species, the newells shearwater (puffinus newelli, nesh), the hawaiian petrel (pterodroma sandwichensis, hape) and the band-rumped stormpetrel(oceanodroma castro, banp). Kauai hosts over 90 of the global nesh population andone of the largest hape populations. These populations have seen dramatic declines in therecent decades due to a combination of factors including exposure to light pollution leading tojuvenile fallout, mortality from powerline collisions, predation by non-native animals, and lossof habitat due to invasive non-native plants and animals. Conservation efforts to recover thesepopulations are currently limited to certain areas on the island. This project aims to increasethe conservation coverage for all three species by initiating a monitoring program in a newarea, closing knowledge gaps on their distribution on land and at sea and tackling two majorthreats, predation by invasive mammals and light pollution, operating around colonies. Theoutcomes of this project are expected to contribute to long-term recovery of the species byinitiating direct management of invasive species and by increasing the awareness among keystakeholders.