Foundation grants money for weed control
The Nature Conservancy has received a $1.1 million grant to protect Hawaii forests from invasive weeds.
The three-year grant from the Joseph & Vera Long Foundation will support work mapping invasive weeds, controlling the weeds and sharing data and techniques.
The Nature Conservancy said last week it plans to double the resolution of its aerial mapping technologies, which should help it identify even those weeds that have small leaves. It plans to map 20,000 acres of forest land across Hawaii, allowing it to detect large-scale changes in forests over long periods.
The organization also expects to use new methods to kill individual weeds from the air. One idea is to use a compressed-air gun loaded with herbicide-filled paintballs to target specific plants from helicopters.
Plant experts cluster at convention center
More than 1,800 scientists from around the world are in Honolulu to discuss plant research.
The meeting started Saturday at the Hawai‘i Convention Center and ends on Wednesday.
The meeting covers research on the spread of insects, weeds and pathogens through global commercial trade. Attendees are also discussing tropical forest pathology and maintaining biosecurity for crop production.
The convention center says the event is expected to bring $8.5 million in state revenue.
UH students permitted to rent textbooks
The University of Hawaii plans to begin renting textbooks to students.
The school says more than 300 titles and 14,000 textbooks will be available for rent. The cost of renting a book for the semester is about 40 percent to 50 percent of what it costs to buy a textbook at full price.
Available books are listed on the bookstore website, and will be at the school’s eight bookstore locations starting today. Rentals are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
UH Bookstore Branch Stores Manager Tricia Ejima says students may write or highlight in their rentals just as they would with a book they’ve bought.
Men rescued after 2 nights on lookout trail
Kokee, Kauai » Four young men are OK after they had to be airlifted out of the Poomau Canyon Lookout Trail after two nights in the wilds.
The men, two 18 years old and two 20 years old, left for Kokee on Friday afternoon for what was supposed to be a day hike. A parent of one of the men reported them missing around 2:45 p.m. Saturday.
An air crew found the four Saturday night but could not airlift them out because of darkness. The crew was able to drop blankets, food and water to the men before returning around 6 a.m. Sunday.
Police say all four were in good spirits and did not require medical treatment.
Public meetings will cover safety of 2 Kauai levees
The safety of the Hanapepe and Waimea levees on Kauai will be the subject of community meetings Aug. 15 involving the Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency, county Department of Public Works and civil defense.
In 2009 the corps was hired by the county to perform hydrology, hydraulic and risk and uncertainty studies on the two levees in order to determine whether they could hold up against a "100-year flood." The levees were found not to meet FEMA height requirements and could not be certified.
"We remain committed to continuing an open dialogue with the community about these issues," said county Engineer Larry Dill.
The meetings will be from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Waimea Neighborhood Center and 6 to 8 p.m. at the Hanapepe Neighborhood Center.
