The mission of dofaw is to protect, manage, and restore natural and cultural resources, support thriving nativeecosystems, and provide opportunities for the people of hawaii to engage with nature

The U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service has awarded a $1,456,000 Project Grant under the Endangered Species Recovery Implementation program (CFDA 15.657) to the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). The grant will fund the expansion of the Olinda Rare Plant Propagation Facility on Maui to enhance the recovery of rare, threatened, and endangered plant and invertebrate species across Maui Nui. The project will increase the facility's capacity for growing native plants and provide dedicated space for captive rearing of invertebrate species as part of DLNR's Plant Extinction Prevention Program and Hawaii Invertebrate Program. The expanded facility will bolster DLNR's efforts to stabilize and recover Hawaii's most at-risk species, protect threatened and endangered species from climate change impacts, and continue critical conservation operations during severe weather events. The grant award period is from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2029.

This mission becomes morechallenging each year as the effects of climate change continue to alter hawaii s environment and pose newthreats to native species already balancing on the brink of extinction. The ability to enhance or establishpopulations of rare plant and invertebrate species will benefit not only the survival of the individual speciesbut our native ecosystems as a whole. The department of land and natural resources, division of forestry andwildlife (dofaw) proposes to expand the olinda rare plant propagation facility in makawao, maui, to improve thelikelihood of recovering rare, threatened, and endangered plant and invertebrate species extant in maui NUI. Theproject will increase the capacity of the existing facility for plants and provide captive rearing space for thedofaw hawaii invertebrate program. The plant extinction prevention program and the hawaii invertebrate program are examples of how dofaw is leading the way in stabilizing and recovering some of the most at-risk species in the state. Funding the expansion of the olinda rare plant propagation facility for the benefit of these twoprograms will ensure that our passionate and knowledgeable staff have the necessary resources and infrastructureto pursue this critical work with the greatest likelihood of success. Expanding the facility will directlyincrease capacity for tree production and prevent plant extinctions throughout maui NUI. Hardening the facilityto endure increasingly intense and frequent storms will protect threatened and endangered species and allowoperations to continue during prolonged power loss.