Wildland fire management plan and critical habitat risk analysis for the Hawaiian Volcano, Mauna Kea

Author:

Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML),

Title:

Wildland fire management plan and critical habitat risk analysis for the Hawaiian Volcano, Mauna Kea

Year:

2011

Subject:

Birds habitat Fire management Mauna Kea Palila Wildfires

Summary:

The palila (Loxioides bailleaui), a finch-billed species of Hawaiian honeycreeper, is protected by federal law under the Endangered Species Act. On Mauna Kea, a large volcano with an elevation of greater than 13,000 feet on the Island of Hawaii, critical habitat for this species has been designated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help stabilize the palila population. The palila has a close ecological relationship with mamane (Sophora crysophylla), a small stature tree, which it requires for habitat, including food. Fire is a primary threat to the mamane ecosystem due in part to invasive grasses that have produced a continuous fuelbed in the understory that did not exist historically. The Mauna Kea Fire Management Plan represents an interagency effort to develop a comprehensive approach to protect palila critical habitat from wildfires and address general wildfire issues on Mauna Kea. The plan was written by the Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML) at Colorado State University. As part of this plan, the CEMML Fire Ecology and Management Specialist used LANDFIRE National data to help map fuels on the landscape and as inputs for a risk analysis.

URL:

https://landfire.gov/sites/default/files/documents/LF_HI_Mauna_Kea_FMP_Habitat_Analysis.pdf

Date:

2011

Collection:

Monographs