Volunteers to help
protect lands

A new program aims to deter
abuse of natural resources

Think of it as a Neighborhood Watch for Hawaii's unique environment and the creatures that live there.

A coalition of conservation groups and the state announced Thursday that they are partnering to create a conservation program called Mauka-Makai Watch.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Nature Conservancy, the Community Conservation Network and the Hawaii Wildlife Fund think community volunteers will be able to help them better protect Hawaii's natural and cultural resources.

By keeping an eye out for violations of forestry, fishing or other natural-resource laws, volunteers can help deter, identify and report crimes, the partners said.

The program will eventually operate statewide, but the partners plan to start with some "high-priority coastal areas," said Suzanne Case, executive director of the Nature Conservancy in Hawaii.

Exactly where those areas are will be decided in part by public input, Case said. They will be areas with a high-quality coral reef ecosystem and an abundance of marine organisms, she said.

Mauka-Makai Watch has three components:

» Teaching and learning about natural resources unique to a particular area. In this phase, longtime local residents and kupuna will have as much to offer as the experts.

» Training by DLNR conservation officers on natural-resource laws, how to approach people who might be doing something wrong and when to call in the law.

» Learning to track changes in the environment and alert natural-resource managers.

Volunteers could learn, for example, if an area was a no-fishing zone and "approach somebody they saw fishing in a nonconfrontational way, letting them know," Case said. Volunteers will not be "deputized" to issue citations, but will be trained on how to call in a conservation officer if needed, she said.

"We want and need citizens to take more personal responsibility for protecting the resources," DLNR Director Peter Young said.

There has been "tremendous interest at the community level to help protect our coastal resources and upland forests," Case said. "We believe local communities in Hawaii can really help to increase the amount of protection our natural resources receive."

Anyone interested in participating in such a program can contact the groups at maukamakaiwatch@yahoo.com. More details on when and where training sessions will be held will be announced later, Case said.