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

Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge
Comprehensive Conservation Plan
2.3.1.2 Goal 2: Protect and maintain lava tube and lava tube skylight habitat throughout the
Kona Forest Unit, with special emphasis on their unique and endemic flora and fauna.
Objective 2.1: Protect and maintain lava tube and skylight communities.
Protect and maintain lava tube and skylight communities for all life-history needs of cavedependent
species with the following attributes:
• Undisturbed, moist, humid environment;
• Relatively constant moderate temperature;
• Lack of light;
• ‘Ōhi‘a and other native plant roots to provide food source and nutrients;
• Limited human disturbance;
• No ungulates;
• No new invertebrate and plant pest species; and
• Free of abandoned fence and ranch debris.
Strategies to achieve objective:
Establish protocols to protect lava tube and skylight communities.
Remove existing abandoned fence and other former ranch debris.
Build and maintain ungulate-proof fence as referenced in Obj. 1.1.
Remove all ungulates as well as dogs and cats using IPM techniques such as trapping, snares,
ground shooting, and aerial shooting.
Use IPM techniques including physical/mechanical, biological, and chemical to eradicate or control
invasive plants (see Appendix G).
Conduct surveys for pest animals such as ungulates, invertebrates, cats, and dogs.
Control rats, ungulates, and pest invertebrates using appropriate IPM techniques including, but not
limited to, trapping, snare, shooting (ground and aerial), and rodenticides (aerial applications and
bait stations).
Inventory and map lava tube and skylight communities.
Develop restrictive site-specific access protocols for SUPs to limit human disturbance.
Support additional investigations and research.
Rationale:
Lava tubes and skylights are rare, unique habitats that contain an endemic subterranean, invertebrate
faunal community. Moisture, moist air, relatively constant moderate temperature, and lack of light
are required attributes of these cave systems. Subfossil bird remains found in the detrital soils inside
the cave systems are a valuable resource that can be used to document premodern Hawaiian
avifauna. Lava tube caves found throughout the Island of Hawai‘i supported use by Native
Hawaiians. Insufficient study has occurred on the Refuge to document archaeological resources.
However, there is the potential that cultural resources do exist in Refuge caves.
Chapter 2. Refuge Management Direction 2-19