Pacific Rim Conservation

Today, we’re celebrating the people who have helped make our conservation projects possible.

Mahalo to our past and present staff, partners, collaborators, volunteers, donors, and community members. Our work has always been a team effort, and we’re so grateful for everyone’s dedication and support along the way.

Taking an uncharacteristic break from bird photos, we hope you enjoy this collection of group photos from various projects and places over the years! 🫶

Do you have a favorite PRC memory? We’d love to hear it! Share your stories or photos in the comments to help us celebrate the people and communities that have shaped our work.

Back in 2005, Eric conducted the first survey of Manu-o-Kū on Oʻahu while working for USFWS. Then in 2007, Eric and Keith Swindle, currently the Executive Director of the Hawai’i Audubon Society, worked to have the Manu o Kū designated as the official bird of the City and County of Honolulu.

PRC’s work with the Manu-o-Kū began in 2016, when PRC surveyed Oʻahu’s white tern population along with Rich Downs, and helped launch a citizen science program that became the Hui Manu-o-Kū. Since then, Rich has organized and led citizen scientists who have played a vital role in helping us understand the population size, growth, and distribution, identify threats, and find ways to help Manu-o-Kū thrive in an urban landscape.

Today, PRC staff, primarily Rich Downs and Kelly Furuya, work closely with the Hui Manu-o-Kū on a range of conservation efforts:

•Manning the Manu-o-Kū Hotline, which provides guidance when fallen or injured birds need assistance
•Training & supporting citizen scientists
•Conducting community outreach and education
•Monitoring nesting activity & documenting breeding trees
•Protecting nesting trees & working collaboratively with arborists
•Returning fallen chicks to their tree to reunite them with their parents

Tree care is important for Manu-o-Kū conservation. White Terns lay their eggs directly on branches and careless trimming can destroy nests or injure birds, while careful pruning can create branch “cups” that provide secure places for eggs and chicks. In 2019, the Aloha Arborist Association, Hawaiʻi DLNR, USFWS, Hui Manu-o-Kū , and PRC developed science-based Best Management Practices for caring for trees with nesting Manu-o-Kū .

In 2026, we celebrated the 11th annual Manu-o-Kū Festival at ʻIolani Palace, a celebration of these remarkable birds and the community efforts to protect them.

Ten years of citizen science, conservation, education, and community action have helped make Manu-o-Kū a familiar and beloved part of Oʻahu’s urban landscape.

Mahalo to everyone who has contributed to Manu-o-Kū conservation along the way! 🤍

When PRC started working at James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge (JCNWR) on Oʻahu in 2015, there were no seabirds present.

Today, JCNWR is home to 5 nesting seabird species: Black-footed albatross, Laysan albatross, Bonin petrel, Tristram’s storm-petrel, and Wedge-tailed shearwaters.

How did we do it?

In partnership with USFWS, we built a 16-acre mammalian exclusion fence at JCNWR in 2016. Shortly thereafter, we removed all invasive predators, installed artificial nest boxes, & began extensive habitat restoration work inside the fence.

Then, we used a combination of translocation and social attraction to bring birds to JCNWR.

From 2015-2017, we moved 51 Laysan Albatross eggs from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauaʻi, where nesting birds posed aircraft collision risks.

From 2017-2022, we translocated 247 Bonin Petrel chicks, 158 Tristram’s Storm-Petrel chicks, and 102 Black-footed Albatross chicks from Midway Atoll and Tern Island within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument to JCNWR.

Excitingly, all four translocated species are now breeding at JCNWR!

Social attraction for Laysan Albatross has been effective at JCNWR: we’ve re-sighted 244+ Laysan albatross that were banded elsewhere, and the majority of our nesting Laysan albatross are socially attracted birds.

Our fifth breeding species, the Wedge-tailed Shearwater, established a colony inside the JCNWR fence on their own, likely attracted by the sound systems and growing seabird activity.

JCNWR MEF milestones:

•2018: 1st socially attracted Laysan Albatross nest.
•2019: 1st Bonin petrels returned at

In 2012, the Nihoku Ecosystem Restoration Project established a partnership between PRC, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kauaʻi Endangered Seabird Recovery Project (KESRP), American Bird Conservancy, Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and National Tropical Botanical Garden with the goal of creating the first fully protected colony of ‘Aʻo (Newell’s shearwaters) and ‘Uaʻu (Hawaiian petrels).

To achieve this goal, we built the first mammalian exclusion fence on the island of Kaua‘i at Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge (KPNWR) in 2014.

Over the years we have cleared non-native vegetation from 75% of the 6-acre fenced area, and planted more than 16,000 native plants to begin restoring the habitat.

From 2015–2020, we translocated 110 Hawaiian Petrels and 86 Newell’s Shearwaters to Nihoku. These chicks were collected by KESRP from various montane colonies across the island. Once at Nihoku, we raised the chicks by hand, with an overall fledging success rate of 98%!

Since 2020, returning birds have been monitored throughout the breeding season through burrow checks, night-time visual & auditory surveys, and trail cameras. We also deploy a solar-powered sound system at Nihoku to socially attract birds to the site.

At least 9 translocated Hawaiian Petrels and 2 Newell’s Shearwaters have returned to Nihoku as adults. Since the first Hawaiian Petrel nesting activity in 2021, there have been a total 14 nesting attempts and 5 fledged chicks. The first Newell’s shearwater nesting attempt occurred in 2024 and the pair successfully fledged their chick.

We have also documented regular Bulwer’s Petrel and Kermadec Petrel activity at Nihoku.

In 2023 a second, larger mammalian-exclusion fence was built at KPNWR, encompassing 160 acres of habitat surrounding Nihoku. PRC collected baseline data on seabird nesting activity prior to fence construction, and continues to monitor seabirds across the refuge to measure the benefits of removing non-native predators. Eradication efforts are largely complete inside the new fence, and we are seeing encouraging seabird reproductive success trends.

Did you know Pacific Rim Conservation helped build the first mammalian exclusion fence in the United States?

When Kaʻena Point was designated a Natural Area Reserve in 1983, there were no seabirds nesting at the site.

Following protection of the area by the State of Hawaii, Laysan albatross and Wedge-tailed shearwaters began nesting at Ka’ena in 1993 after the area was closed to off-roading.

Our former Executive Director, Dr. Lindsay Young, began studying Laysan albatross at Ka‘ena Point in 2003 for her doctoral dissertation research at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Fast forward to 2011, and history was made at Ka’ena Point with the construction of the first mammalian exclusion fence in the United States. Built in collaboration with the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Xcluder Pest-proof Fencing, and the Wildlife Society Hawaiʻi Chapter, PRC coordinated the construction of the 59-acre fence and subsequent predator eradication.

Fast forward again to today, and Kaʻena Point is a thriving seabird colony, home to growing populations of Laysan albatross and Wedge-tailed shearwaters. There have even been a few Ka’upu (Black-footed albatross) sightings (and 1 nest attempt!) here too.

For 20+ years, PRC has monitored and researched seabirds at Kaʻena Point, banding several thousand birds and studying their behavior, demography, genetics, disease, foraging ecology, and conservation.

Today, we are thrilled to continue supporting seabird work at Ka’ena by coordinating the annual Wedge-tailed shearwater survey. As of late 2025, there were an estimated 16,394 Wedge-tailed shearwater nests at Kaʻena Point!

From no seabirds in 1983 to a thriving multi-species colony today, Kaʻena Point is another great example of what decades of research, management, & collaboration can accomplish.

The Oʻahu ʻElepaio is an endangered forest bird endemic to Oʻahu, and its conservation story has been closely connected to our Executive Director, Dr. Eric VanderWerf, for more than 30 years.

Eric began surveying Oʻahu ʻElepaio in the 1990s while pursuing his PhD at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. For his graduate research, Eric focused on plumage variation and the effects of habitat disturbance and disease on the population biology of Hawaiʻi ʻElepaio. And in his free time, Eric studied the Oʻahu ʻElepaio and volunteered his time to set rodent traps to protect them from predation.

Since 1995, Eric (and eventually PRC) has conducted surveys, research, and management for Oʻahu ʻElepaio in collaboration with the Hawaiʻi Division of Forestry and Wildlife, the U.S. Army, and (previously) The Nature Conservancy of Hawaiʻi.

Eric’s research demonstrated that introduced black rats are the most serious threat to the O’ahu ʻElepaio. When rats are controlled, twice as many ʻElepaio pairs successfully raise a chick and fewer nesting females are eaten. Decades of research have also revealed remarkable adaptations, including ʻElepaio evolving to nest higher off the ground in response to rat predation and shifts in the breeding season in response to changing rainfall patterns.

2025 marked 30 years of ʻElepaio monitoring and rat control in southeastern Oʻahu. Today, PRC protects and monitors 84 ʻElepaio territories across Wailupe, Pia, and Kuluʻi Valleys, visiting each territory weekly or biweekly from January through June. ‘Elepaio in other areas are managed by the U.S. Army and the Hawaiʻi Division of Forestry and Wildlife.

The Oʻahu ʻElepaio is one of the few Hawaiian forest birds increasing in number and improving in conservation status - a conservation success story built on decades of research, dedication, and collaboration.

For 20 years, PRC has used and developed several innovative tools and methods to restore native bird populations and habitats across the Pacific.

The mammalian exclusion fence (MEF) is one of our most important tools, allowing us to create “islands within islands” where native animals and plants are protected from non-native mammalian predators. MEFs have special design features that enable them to keep out invasive predators including cats, rats, mice, pigs, dogs, and mongooses.

In 2011, PRC built the first MEF in the U.S. at Kaʻena Point. In total, we’ve built 13 MEFs, with one currently under construction at James Campbell NWR on O‘ahu.

MEF essential design features:
• Tall enough (~2 m) to prevent predators from jumping over
• A curved metal hood to prevent predators from climbing over the top
• Fine mesh to keep even juvenile mice from passing through
• Underground skirt to prevent predators from digging underneath

Most of the MEFs we have built are intended to protect seabirds, but the fence at Honouliuli NWR in Pearl Harbor protects endangered wetland birds. Once an MEF is built and predator-free, we use social attraction and/or translocation to bring seabirds to the site.

Social Attraction: We use life-sized decoys and solar-powered sound systems that broadcast seabird calls to encourage birds to visit (and ideally nest!). PRC has built 33 solar-powered sound systems for partners and organizations working with a variety of seabird species.

Translocation: When social attraction alone isn’t enough, we translocate eggs or chicks from existing colonies to protected sites.

PRC has translocated 8 seabird species, using protocols carefully developed by our Director of Aviculture, Robby Kohley. These plans detail diet and feeding schedules, health assessments, strict sanitation protocols, and rigorous monitoring. We track each bird’s growth and health throughout development, using these data to identify potential issues, evaluate our methods, and inform future translocations.

Want to lean more? Check out these publications:https://pacificrimconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Young-and-VanderWerf-2024-HI-predator-fences-peerj-17694.pdf
https://pacificrimconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/VanderWerf-et-al.-2014-Kaena-Pt-shearwaters-soil-nutrients-Rest-Ecol-online.pdf
https://pacificrimconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Pub-891.pdf

Today marks 20 years of Pacific Rim Conservation.

Over the course of the next week, we will be highlighting the successes of several of our flagship projects. To start off this celebration, our founder and Executive Director, Dr. Eric VanderWerf, has written a letter reflecting on the past two decades of PRC.

Mahalo to our dedicated staff, past and present, and to our incredible partners, funders, donors, interns, and volunteers. We couldn’t do this without you.

Mahalo University of Hawai’i at Mānoa for considering native birds while planning lighting improvements on campus 💚

Click here for a quick read about how UH is trying to balance campus lighting, safety, and bird protection:
https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2026/09/21/campus-lighting-safety-bird-protection/

📸: University of Hawai’i News