LIHUE » A new fence now in place on Kauai’s North Shore is expected to protect endangered birds and rare native plants from cats and other predators.

The fence protects an 8-mile section of the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, The Garden Island newspaper reported this week.

The half-mile, $500,000 fence is similar to one built at Kaena Point. It will keep out predators like cats, dogs, rats and mice so endangered nene and Laysan albatross can flourish.

Officials also plan to introduce a colony of Newell’s shearwater seabirds to the fenced-in area. The population of the species, which is classified as threatened, has declined rapidly in the last 15 years, said Andre Raine of the Kauai Endangered Seabird Recovery Project.

"The establishment of a new colony using predator-proof fences is an important management tool to help reverse this decline," Raine said.

The fence is about 6 1⁄2 feet tall and is built of stainless steel. The main panels are made with fine mesh so even mammals as tiny as a 2-day-old mouse can’t enter. The top of the fence has a hood that extends outward to prevent animals from climbing over.

A record number of seabird chicks fledged at Kaena Point in the year after a predator exclusion fence was installed there.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service worked with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the American Bird Conservancy, the Kauai Endangered Seabird Recovery Project and Pacific Rim Conservation to build the fence.