The Hawaii Statewide Assessment of Forest Conditions and Resource Strategy 2010 (SWARS) consists of two main documents, the Assessment & Strategy, and the Appendices. You may download the two documents, or individual sections. The Strategy matrices for each of Hawaii’s 9 Issues are at the end of each Issue Section. If you are unfamiliar with SWARS, we recommend that you look at the Executive Summary, Background and Historical Context sections. These documents are in Adobe PDF format. The largest document is the Entire Document (86 MB), so we recommend that you “right-click” on the link below and “save as” to your local computer.We are pleased to announce that Hawaii’s Statewide Assessment of Forest Conditions (2010) and Resource Strategy is available.
Please visit http://www.hawaiistateassessment.info/SWARS/ to download the entire document or individual chapters.
The new LANDFIRE dataset is now available for download. Please “right-click” and “save-as” http://www.hawaiistateassessment.info/gisdata/LANDFIRE_Hawaii.gdb
The file is an ESRI file geodatabase which includes all landfire rasters for Hawaii, reprojected to NAD83, UTM Zone 4, and resampled to snap to Hawaii GAP. The LANDFIRE Hawaii data were derived from the same Landsat scenes that were used for Hawaii GAP.
For more information on LANDFIRE, please visit their website at http://www.landfire.gov
by Ron on January 27, 2010
in Agendas/Minutes, Ahupua'a, Climate Change, Coastal Waters, Coastal Waters, Economics, Education, Endangered Species, Forest Products, Invasive Species, Invasive Species, Native Ecosystems, Native Ecosystems, Native Hawaiian Culture, Restoration, The Issues, Urban and Community Forestry, Urban and Community Forestry, Water, Wildfire, Wildlife
It’s been a while since I last posted. Been devoting pretty much all of my time to this project, but now that we are entering the review phase of producing our SWARS, looks like I’ll be posting more often.
Today we have a Technical Advisory Committee (a committee of the Natural Resources Conservation Service) via PeaceSat so that all of the Pacific Islands can participate.
Here is the Outline and Issues for Hawaii’s Assessment of Forest Conditions and Trends. The Strategy document will mirror this structure, and will address the items in the Issues section.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Message From the Chair 9
Hawaii State Motto 10
Introduction and Objectives for this Assessment 11
Methodology 17
Scope 17
Data 17
Process 17
Stakeholder Groups Consulted 17
Priority Landscape Areas (where and why) 18
Hawaii’s Themes 18
Hawaii’s Forests: Historical Context 20
The Aina (working title) 33
The Ahupuaa Paradigm and Ecosystem-Based Management 33
Land Use and Zoning in Hawaii 35
Conservation zone 37
Agriculture zone 40
Urban Zone 41
Coastal Zone 46
Near Shore Zone 48
Issue-Based Themes 49
Watershed Management 49
- Benefits 53
- Threats 54
- Trends 54
- Present Condition 54
- Priority Landscapes 54
- Data Gaps 54
Conservation of Biodiversity 55
- Benefits 55
- Threats 55
- Trends 55
- Present Condition 55
- Priority Landscapes 55
- Data Gaps 55
Forest Products 55
- Benefits 59
- Threats 59
- Trends 60
- Present Condition 60
- Priority Landscapes 60
- Data Gaps 60
Forest Health: Invasive Plants, Insects, and Diseases 60
- Benefits 62
- Threats 62
- Trends 62
- Present Condition 65
- Priority Landscapes 65
- Data Gaps 65
Wildfire 66
- DOFAW’s Fire Management Program 66
- Fire History 67
- Collaboration 67
- Planning 67
- Harmful Effects of Wildfires in Hawaii 67
- Threats and Trends 68
- Impacts on Watersheds and Groundwater 68
- Soil erosion and coral reef impacts 68
- Threats to Native Biodiversity 68
- Threats in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) 72
- Wildfire and Fuel Loading Cycle 72
- Present Condition 72
- Fire Response Zones 72
- Funding 73
- Establishment of a Land Fire Protection Law 73
- Wildland Urban Interface 74
- Community Wildfire Protection Plana 74
- Priority Landscapes 74
- Firewise Hawaii Program 74
- Data Used 76
- Hawaii Fire Danger Rating System (HFDRS) 76
- Hawaii Fuel Models 76
Climate Change/Sea Level Rise 79
- Threats 79
- Trends 79
- Present Condition 79
- Priority Landscapes 79
- Data Gaps 79
Coastal Issues 79
- Benefits 79
- Threats 79
- Trends 79
- Present Condition 79
- Priority Landscapes 79
- Data Gaps 79
Recreation & Tourism 80
- Benefits 80
- Threats 80
- Trends 80
- Present Condition 80
- Priority Landscapes 80
- Data Gaps 80
Health of Our Urban Forests 80
- Benefits 80
- Threats 84
- Trends 84
- Present Condition 84
- Priority Landscapes 84
- Data Gaps 85
Multi-State and Regional Issues 86
- Benefits 87
- Threats 87
- Movement of Invasive Species
- Impacts of Climate Change/Sea Level Rise on the Pacific Islands Region
- Trends 87
- Access to Various on-line resources documenting trends of climate change/sea level rise
- Education and Capacity Building
- Present Condition 89
- Priority Landscapes 89
- Data Gaps 89
Graphics for Document (Temp) 90
Appendix A: Timeline of Forest Management in Hawaii 91
Appendix B: Plans Considered 105
Resource Land Acquisition Plans and Priorities in the State of Hawaii 106
County Plans & Priorities 106
County of Hawaii 106
County of Maui 106
County of Kauai 107
State Plans & Priorities (organized by agency) 108
Department of Land and Natural Resources 108
Department of Agriculture 110
Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism 110
The University of Hawaii 111
Other Plans & Priorities (within Hawaii, but not State or county) 112
Appendix C: Stakeholder Involvement 113
City & County of Honolulu Watershed Partners and Projects 113
Appendix D: Orthography and Language 117
Appendix E: Acronyms 119
Appendix F: Glossary and Place Names 121
Appendix G: 2008 Farm Bill Summary of Forestry Title VIII 125
Bibliography 141
Look Ma, No Hands!
Well the balmy days of summer are over, and everyone is back to school. The Hawaii SWARS team will be working diligently to complete our project by June 2010 as required by the Farm Bill. We have some new data, some spatial such as LANDFIRE, and some historical such as the documents given to me by Bob Miriam when he retired. We have some new partners including Fish and Wildlife Service and The Nature Conservancy, and we have a new full-time staff person, so please welcome Colleen Carroll. And we have new technology too, including MacSpeech. For example this entire post has been spoken into a microphone and translated instantly into the written word. Without a spelling error.
So while we may have some catching up to do, we have the data, the plan, the people, and the enthusiasm to produce the country’s best Statewide Assessment of Forest Conditions and Resource Strategy.
All the best, Ron.
What an interesting month this has been. Only four weeks ago we were wrapping up the Hawaii Conservation Conference (86 presentations now available for free from the iTunes Store, or on line at http://hcc09.blip.tv). At that conference, retired forester Bob Merriam was presented with an award from the Society of American Foresters for being a member of our professional organization for 50 years. Bob, on the other hand, gave me a treasure trove of historic documents relating to forestry in Hawaii.
Right before I left for vacation (on August 20th) I scanned about 2000 pages of these documents and have spent the better portion of my time reading them, cross-checking dates, and teasing out the significant points.
I have been on vacation for the last week, but most of my time has been devoted to absorbing these incredible documents and learning the history of forestry in Hawaii. Here’s an interesting item;
August 26, 1889 (report by J. D. Schuyler and G. F. Allardt to Mr. B. F. Dillingham with respect to possible water supplies for the development of sugar plantations at Honouliuli and Kahuku, Page 18)
“THE ARTESIAN WELL SUPPLY: The discovery of the possibility of obtaining a supply of flowing water by deep artesian borings around the margin of this island (Oahu) has been of incalculable value to all property interests, and has compensated in a measure for the loss occasioned by the perpetual robbery of the waters, that fall so copiously upon the mountains by the porous and thirsty earth, and for the water lost during torrential storms by rapid drainage into the sea. On no other island of the group has Nature provided for such compensation, and even here the geological formation is so different from that of any other region the world over where artesian water is obtained by boring that no scientific man would have risked his reputation by predicting the possibility of securing flowing wells by boring in the volcanic and coral formations of this country before success had demonstrated the fact.”
The discovery of “artesian water” on Oahu changed the course of history for Hawaii. From that point on foresters, geologists and the sugar cane barons worked together to create Hawaii’s Forest Reserves with the goal of recharging the groundwater for all time. -Ron
Way to go, Northeastern Area Association State Foresters (NAASF)! (Oddly enough, the NAASF doesn’t really seem to have a home page, or I would have included the link here.)
But wow, what a team you have in your NAASF Forest Resource Planning Committee (FRPC). The mission statement of that committee is “to encourage and support forest resource planning and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies; to develop and maintain a working relationship with NAASF, the USDA Forest Service, and other appropriate organizations; and to advise and provide technical support to NAASF”.
If you visit the homepage of the FRPC, there is a treasure trove of information about SWARS planning and project guidelines for their region. Many great presentations, links to data sources, detailed information on exactly what is to be included in their SWARSs.
I just discovered this website because I have set up a “Google Alert” so that I get an email any time the words “forestry assessment” pop up on the internet. This morning’s email lead me to this presentation July 2009 Presentation on State Assess. & Strategies for NAASF.
That most informative presentation is in Powerpoint so you may need that Powerpoint or another program to view the presentation. But it includes a couple of slides that really cought my attention. I quote:
“USFS Funds to Support Assessments & Strategies
NAASF share = $481,525
$45,000 reserved to support travel
likely some will be left over
$143,000—habitat classification project
$293,525—split equally among requesting states
$15,449 available for each
16 states have submitted application
Status report due in Sept.”
What? Hawaii was told that there was no funding specifically earmarked for supporting SWARS. Our regional forestry liaison agency was supposed to hire a coordinator to assist the Western States (and Pacific Islands) but last thing I heard before I left for this vacation is that they were unable to hire anyone. “Sorry bout that”.
Today is August 21, 2009; our SWARS is due on June 18, 2010. We had a scant two years to do these plans. And now, we learn that there were indeed funds to support this planning effort, other regions have established regional committees to provide coordination and support to their member states, they are exchanging information, providing useful input.
But frankly, Hawaii has been left out there to pretty much go it alone. We have stepped up, and made significant progress. Our partnerships are strong and growing, we have great data, lots of institutional planning capacity, we have demonstrated and documented our our stakeholder involvement, and through our own research (reading the Farm Bill and Federal Register Notices) we have fortunately jumped through all of the hoops so far.
But to my colleagues in the Western and Pacific Islands region; take a look at what we should be getting. Take a look at where we should collectively be at this point.
Take a look at http://www.northeasternforests.org/FRPC/
OK Hawaii team. Read up. Pure gold.
Great work, FRPC!