Agreement will protect
Kanaele Bog on Kauai
A Kauai wetland that is home to endangered plants will get protection for the next decade under an agreement announced yesterday by the Nature Conservancy and landowner Alexander & Baldwin Inc.
The 80-acre Kanaele Bog, in the mountains above Kalaheo on Kauai's south side, is home to tiny endangered bog violets and carnivorous sundews (mikinalo) that trap insects on their sticky leaves, as well as dwarf varieties of native trees that have adapted to the wet, acidic conditions.
"Kanaele is an ecologist's gem, as the state's only lowland bog community," said Sam Gon, the Nature Conservancy's science director.
A&B agreed to let the Nature Conservancy build a fence around the bog to keep out wild pigs and allow natural regeneration of native plants and insects. Initial expenses, expected to total between $80,000 and $120,000, will be shared by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Nature Conservancy and other partners.
Trae Menard, the Nature Conservancy's first natural resources manager for Kauai, will oversee management of the bog, which will include monitoring, data-collection, fence maintenance and controlling alien species.
A bog is a special class of wetland maintained by high groundwater or rainfall levels. The challenging conditions give rise to plants that can exist in no other habitats. There are relatively few intact Hawaiian bogs and all are at elevations of 3,000 to 6,000 feet, except Kanaele Bog, at 2,100 feet.
Kanaele Bog is within the Wahiawa Drainage Basin, which is the source of the Wahiawa Stream and the Alexander Reservoir, owned by the McBryde Sugar Co., a subsidiary of A&B.
"Through the years, we have also learned how distinctive and valuable Kanaele is from a biological standpoint," said Meredith Ching, A&B vice president. "We are pleased to partner with the Nature Conservancy and others to pursue our common goal of ensuring that this resource is protected for generations to come."
