Recovery Plan for Hawaiian Birds

Twenty-one Hawaiian Bird Species Will Receive Special Attention in an Effort to Save Them From Extinction

Oct 9, 2006

A new recovery plan released by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (Sept 2006) details plans to save Hawaiian bird species over the next thirty years.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has just released a document, signed Sept 22, 2006, detailing a recovery plan for 21 Hawaiian birds. Most of the birds are listed as endangered, while one is a candidate for that listing and one is a bird species of special concern. Regardless of the official listings, there have not been confirmed sightings of ten of the endangered birds in more than ten years, while the species of concern, the Bishop’s `o`o, hasn’t been seen with certainty since 1904. It looks as if, for some of these birds, the recovery plan is too little, too late.

Habitat destruction, diseases and predators, and other threats specific to species such as loss of native plants are the things that are considered to be particularly significant threats to Hawaiian birds. The introduction of invasive plants and animals, and the diseases they have brought with them, have had a highly destructive effect on some bird species.

A species will be considered to have recovered when its numbers are large enough to maintain a viable population that has remained stable or increased for fifteen consecutive years. In addition, a suitable area of habitat will have been restored and all identified threats removed. Though some species may recover relatively quickly, if you want to know the outcome of the recovery plan, check back in about 30 years.

The 21 species covered by the plan are