The hawaii department of land and natural resources (dlnr), division of forestry and wildlife (dofaw), native ecosystem protection and management, hawaii invertebrate program requests funds (tier 1:…

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) awarded $335,794 (Federal: $249,494; State: $86,300) to the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources through the State Wildlife Grants (SWG) Program (CFDA 15.634) for the period January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2028. This project grant supports conservation and recovery efforts for two endangered Hawaiian bee species—Hylaeus anthracinus and Hylaeus longiceps—on Oahu, which are restricted to remnant coastal populations and face extinction risk. The project delivers integrated conservation products including habitat restoration across 13 acres at two Oahu sites through native plant outplanting and protective fencing installation, interpretive signage at restoration areas, population monitoring and data collection across five survey sites to assess bee abundance and limiting factors, and systematic surveys to identify previously undocumented populations across Oahu's coastal areas.

The project is implemented in partnership with the University of Hawaii as a sub-awardee, the Hawaii Division of State Parks, and the USFWS Pacific Islands Refuges and Monuments Office. Key deliverables include survival assessments of restored plantings, documentation of invasive competitor and predator abundance, evaluation of population trends and status of both bee species, identification of new H. longiceps nesting locations, and discovery of additional bee populations to support downlisting efforts. These conservation actions directly address the primary purpose of the State Wildlife Grants Program by implementing strategic, proactive conservation designed to prevent further species decline through habitat enhancement and population assessment—aligning with the program's emphasis on protecting species of greatest conservation need identified in state Wildlife Action Plans.

The hawaii department of land and natural resources (dlnr), division of forestry and wildlife (dofaw), native ecosystem protection and management, hawaii invertebrate program requests funds (tier 1: $249,494 federal, $86,300 state) to work in partnership with the university of hawaii (UH), hawaii dlnr division of state parks, and USFWS pacific islands refuges and monuments office to implement conservation actions to assess and recover populations of the endangered yellow-face bees hylaeus anthracinus and hylaeus longiceps on oahu. Both to these BEE species are now restricted to one to several remnant populations in coastal habitats on the island, and are in urgent need of habitat protection and restoration. Previous studies indicate that BEE population sizes largely track floral resource abundances, and that hylaeus anthracinus and likely hylaeus longiceps gather pollen from a wide range of native coastal plants. If funded, this project will conduct restoration activities at two sites important to both species, including outplanting native plants to increase abundance and diversity of floral resources, and installation of fencing to protect these habitats from human disturbance. Population trends, status and limiting factors also need to be evaluated for important populations of both species. This is essential for understanding how to improve these habitats, recognizing new threats, and providing the necessary information for any eventual downlisting of these species. A final component of the project is to search for additional populations of both species, as many coastal areas of oahu remain poorly surveyed. The discovery and protection of new populations would help decrease the risk of extinction of these two species, and also contribute to their downlisting from the endangered species list.