Public comment sought on proposal to add 49 species to endangered list

U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials are reopening a public comment period and holding a public hearing and informational meeting about whether to add 49 plants and animals in Hawaii to the federal list of endangered species.

Among the plants are nine found only on Kauai, including a native mint, Phyllostegia helleri, thought to be extinct but rediscovered in the 1990s by the National Tropical Botanical Garden.

“It grows in drier habitat, and on Kauai, drier areas have been more seriously impacted by animals and other plants,” said Kenneth R. Wood, a research botanist with the National Tropical Botanical Garden on Kauai.

With a rich biodiversity threatened by urbanization and other factors, Hawaii leads the nation in endangered species.

Of the 1,225 endangered species on the nationwide list, the main Hawaiian islands have 481 — including 373 endangered plant species, federal officials said.

Among the islands, Wood said, Kauai has the most abundant biodiversity, with some endangered species nearly unreachable and rarely noticed, such as a small fern, Asplenium diellaciniatum, that grows at the headwaters of streams.

The proposed 49 species of plants and animals are at risk of extinction due to intrusion of invasive, non-native species; disruptive recreational activities; and factors such as expanding urban development, erosion, landslides and fire, according to federal officials.

Also among the proposed candidates for the endangered list are seven species of yellow-faced bees; the orangeblack Hawaiian damselfly; the achialine pool shrimp; and a bird, the band-rumped storm petrel.

The number of native flowering plants is diminishing because they rely on native birds for pollination, Wood said.

“We’re losing pollinators,” he said. “Those plants are quickly dying out because the birds are dying out” due to shrinking habitat areas.

Officials say maintaining species diversity is important. Scientists point out that the Hawaiian cotton ma‘o helped to save the modern cotton industry.

When cross-bred with other cotton strains, the hybrids with the ma‘o strain attracted fewer insects and reduced damage to cotton crops, according to the state education website Native Plants Hawai‘i.

An informational meeting will be held from 5 to 6 p.m. Feb. 9 at Aunty Sally Kaleohano’s Luau Hale, 799 Piilani St., in Hilo, followed by a public hearing at the same location from 6 to 8 p.m.

The federal agency reopened the comment period from Monday to Feb. 24 and added the public hearing and informational meeting in response to a request from the Hawaii County Game Management Advisory Commission, which felt it wanted more information about a proposal that could affect game hunting areas.

Wood said the federal government is responsible for protecting species listed as endangered or threatened and is required to develop recovery plans for the various species.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed 48 Kauai species for the protection list in 2012, 23 species on Oahu in 2013, 38 species within Maui County in 2013 and 15 on Hawaii island, also in 2013.

The recent proposal to add 49 species to the protected list was introduced Sept. 30 in the Federal Register: 808ne.ws/20rHYF2.