Art inspired by Lehua island preserve featured at Kauai gallery

If you have a chance to get to Kauai soon, you can get an interesting view of Lehua island and the endangered species that live there.

Lehua, a 284-acre crescent-­shaped island located near the northern shore of Niihau, will be the subject of “An Island Reborn, an Artist’s Perspective,” an exhibition showing at the Kaua‘i Society of Artists’ gallery at Kukui Grove Center in Lihue from Aug. 12 to 19. The show was organized by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

The island was once riddled with nonnative predators threatening the native flora and fauna. Rabbits were cleared from the island in the mid-2000s, and last year rats were eradicated, about 90 years after they were first observed there. DLNR hopes that seabirds, whose nests and eggs were under constant threat from rats, will now be able to flourish.

DLNR says red-footed boobies and Laysan albatross are among the 17 Hawaiian seabirds that now have a safe habitat on the island, and that they in turn support a diverse marine ecosystem that includes manta rays, humpback whales, monk seals and sea turtles. The department hopes to draw more seabird species to the island and plans to restore the island’s vegetation. It is also working with Hawaiian cultural groups to protect the island’s culture and history.

For more information, see ­kauaisocietyofartists.org.