State of the Society For 2009

By John Harrison, President

continued, page 4

Awards:At the 52nd Hawai`i State Science and Engineering Fair, HAS awarded two prizes for outstanding student research relating to Hawai`i's natural history. Andrew Webster, who is a freshman at Mililani High School, received the HAS Senior Division Research award for his project entitled "Pluvialis fulva Population Monitoring on O`ahu". The HAS award for outstanding Junior Division Research relating to Hawai`i's natural history went to a project submitted by Robert Tanner Heckman, a eighth sixth at S. John Vianney School in Kailua, O`ahu. Both projects are more fully described in the May issue of `Elepaio (69:4).

Greg Y. Shimokawa received the George C. Munro Environmental Law Award, which is given to the top environmental law student at the W. H. Richardson School of Law for the preceding school year.

In October, the Society held its sixteenth Annual Awards Dinner at Treetops Restaurant at Paradise Park in Manoa. Five awards were presented to distinguished members of the conservation community. Dave Smith, District Manager of the O`ahu Branch of the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife received the President's Award for his many years of successful fundraising and program creation in support of habitat restoration and wildlife protection. The Charles Dunn Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Betsy Gagné, wildlife biologist with the Hawai`i State Department of Land and Natural Resources, in recognition of her extensive accomplishments, both as a field biologist and in official positions as a National Parks Resource Manager and as Interim Commissioner and Executive Secretary for the Natural Areas Reserve Commission. Dr. H. Douglas Pratt received the Program Award for his extensive, hands-on work leading to the successful compilation and production of bird songs and calls in the CD, "Voices of Hawaiian Birds", now available through the HAS Product line. The Volunteer Service Award went to Mr. D.B. Dunlap for his tireless efforts as a Hawaiian Monk Seal monitor and guardian. Finally, the HAS Environmental Journalism Award was presented to Eloise Aguiar, reporter for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, for many environmentally-related articles, particularly those on Kawainui Marsh and the Hamakua Wetlands.

Grants and Scholarships: In 2009, Hawai`i Audubon Society awarded four $500 research grants to student researchers in the University of Hawai`i system. The Summer/Fall grant went to Laura Reynolds of UH Manoa received our Summer/Fall research grant for her project "Reproductive Barriers between species of Scaevola (Goodeniaceae): Are they still intact", Richard Pender of the UH Manoa Botany Department received one of the winter/Spring grants for a project entitled: "Can morphology and distribution studies identify potential interactions between Clermontia species and their avian pollinators?" Another $500 grant went to UH Manoa PH.D. candidate Kira Krend for her doctoral research on "Genetic Diversity and Gene Flow in the O`ahu Amakihi". The final grant was awarded to Hannah Mounce of the Maui forest and Bird recovery project and grad student at UH for her work on "Recovery of the Endangered Maui Parrotbill: Population Dynamics, Genetics, and Strategies for Reintroduction."

Billy Troy Wooton was awarded the Rose Schuster Taylor full tuition scholarship to the University of Hawai`i Manoa for the 2009-2010 school year. Review of scholarship and grant applications for some years has been the purview of Dr. Phil Bruner, Chair of the Scholarships and Grants Committee, and I gratefully acknowledge his hard work in administering this valuable program.

Other HAS Activities:Hundreds of HAS members and other interested individuals have signed up for the HAS "Events Email List" through which recipients are sent HAS announcements via email. In addition to receiving timely information on field trips, program meetings, volunteer opportunities, and other announcements, participants can become a part of HAS's "Birder's Network" which connects local and visiting birders, giving them the opportunity to arrange excursions outside of the Society's scheduled field activities.

HAS also has continued promotion of weekly Thursday night programming on `Olelo Community TV offering various educational and conservation-related presentations for the benefit of Hawai`i's natural environment.

Products : The long-awaited release of the 2 disc CD set of Voices of Hawai`i's Birds occurred in July of 2009, culminating many years of hard work by HAS, Dr. Doug Pratt, and the Cornell University Ornithology Laboratory. This audio companion to the Society's book, Hawai`i's Birds, includes unique recordings of species which, sadly, no longer are found, such as the Kama`o, `O`u, the Kauai `O`o, and probably the Po`o-uli. Hawai`i's Birds remains the definitive, full color, soft cover field guide published by HAS. Now in its sixth edition, this field guide serves as an important educational tool for thousands of residents, visitors, educators, and decision makers. Other educational products produced by HAS include the Hidden Treasures of O`ahu map featuring locations and detailed information on sites for exploring nature and ancient Hawaiian culture, Hawai`i's rare and endangered birds greeting cards with artwork by Patrick Ching, current checklists of the Birds of Hawai`i, Micronesia, and the Mariana Islands, a field check card of Hawai`i's birds, and The Edge of Forever poster, an art-quality, limited edition print featuring two endangered nene. HAS also offers several T-shirt designs, an embroidered patch featuring the `elepaio, and polo shirts embroidered with the HAS logo. Sales proceeds go to support HAS efforts to protect and conserve native species and habitats in Hawai`i and the Pacific.