Well, this has been quite a busy month. So much so that I have not been diligent in reporting on what has been going on behind the scenes.
So, here is a quick run down on what we have been doing lately.
Kelly Hartman, our GIS intern has been hard at work developing a GIS layer for Hawaii’s Non-Industrial Private Forest (NIPF). That new data layer is being reviewed by our staff and cooperators and should be available by April 30, 2009.
We are in the final stages of completing several grants to support this project. The check isn’t in the mail yet, but it will be soon. This is very encouraging.
The Urban and Community Forestry working group met on March 18, 2009 at the Waikiki Aquarium and they are up and running.
We have engaged three student interns from the University of Hawaii English Department and they are writing an updated “History of Forest Management in Hawaii” that will serve as the first chapter in our State Assessment.
I attended and provided technical support for a meeting of Malama Moanalua, an organization set up to coordinate activities for the Moanalua Local Area Strategy (LAS), under the Coral Reef Initiative. All of the Powerpoint presentations for the meeting were recorded and will be available on their website very soon.
The LANDFIRE team was back in town working on their models. They are on track for delivering all of their products by July 15, 2009, just in time for the Hawaii Conservation Conference.
Been doing a lot of work on the website, getting the mailing and calendar functions working correctly. Almost there.
The next few months will be devoted to creating working documents detailing the methodology, and on procurement of goods and services.