Name: Paul Higashino
Age: 42
Education: University of Hawaii
Occupation: Restoration ecologist
Hobbies: Working in his Waiehu, Maui, taro patch

And that's an important virtue for someone charged with planning the environmental restoration of Kahoolawe, a project that likely will take several lifetimes to complete.

"I had hoped to see some changes, but mostly create a vision, idea, that can be carried on," he said.

To that end, he'll be drafting a restoration plan that could determine the island's ecological fate for the next 50 to 100 years.

"This is very satisfying work for me," he said. "It's very, very rewarding emotionally to protect and enhance native Hawaiian ecosystems."

Higashino, who grew up on Oahu and now splits his time between his job in Honolulu and his home on Maui, said his mother raised him with a deep appreciation for the natural world.

He often accompanied her on hikes with the Sierra Club and Hawaii Trail and Mountain Club, where he was exposed to the beauty and uniqueness of the islands.

"My parents always said, 'find a job you love, because you'll be doing it for the rest of your life,'" he said.

So Higashino took their advice and pursued a career in conservation.

Through his tenure with The Nature Conservancy, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and the state forestry division, he's worked in some of Hawaii's most remote and spectacular areas.

"I've always thought it was pretty neat to find a way to get paid to work in these beautiful areas," he said.

Higashino has also often found himself "paving new ground" in conservation, a trend that is continuing in his work with Kahoolawe, where he is charged with restoring some of the most ravaged lands in the state.

"I feel great," he said. "It's very challenging. I do get depressed because we have setbacks every so often, but the opportunities are there to try and make a difference on the island."

Still, he does hope that one day he may have a chance to work again in the cool, misty rainforests of the Big Island or Maui's Waikamoi nature preserve.

"There's just something about the forest that I really love," he said. "I come alive there."