Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan - U.S. Fish and Wildlife ...

Use: Wildlife Observation and Photography
Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge
Comprehensive Conservation Plan
Refuge Name: Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge (NWR)
City/County and State: Hawai‘i County, State of Hawai‘i
Establishing and Acquisition Authority:
Hakalau Forest NWR was established on October 29, 1985, under the authority of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, 16 U.S.C. 1534.
Refuge Purpose(s):
The Administration Act directs the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to manage each refuge to
fulfill the Refuge System mission, to maintain and, where appropriate, restore the refuge’s ecological
integrity, and achieve the specific purpose(s) for which the refuge was established.
Hakalau Forest Unit
The purpose of Hakalau Forest NWR is “... to conserve (A) fish or wildlife which are listed as
endangered species or threatened species ....or (B) plants ...” 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1534 (ESA).
Kona Forest Unit
The purpose of Kona Forest Unit is “... to conserve (A) fish or wildlife which are listed as
endangered species or threatened species ....or (B) plants ...” 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1534 (ESA). More
specifically, the unit was established to provide habitat for the ‘alalā and to assist the ‘Alalā
Recovery Program’s repatriation efforts.
National Wildlife Refuge System Mission:
To administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where
appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within the United
States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans (the Administration Act of
1966).
Description of Use(s):
The Improvement Act defined wildlife observation and photography as wildlife-dependent public
uses. In that Act, Congress directed that such uses shall be given special consideration in planning for
and management of the Refuge System when compatible. When determined compatible on a refugespecific
basis, these uses are priority general public uses of that national wildlife refuge.
Self-guided wildlife observation and photography activities by the general public take place only in
the Upper Maulua Unit of the Refuge. The forested habitat in this area consists of an open and closed
koa/‘ōhi‘a tree canopy with native subcanopy and a ground cover of scattered native shrubs, ferns,
Appendix B: Appropriate Uses and Compatibility Determinations B-27