Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project (MNSRP) began in March of 2006 when project staff documented the presence of a significant breeding colony of endangered ʻuaʻu (Hawaiian petrel) in the upper reaches of the Lāna‘i watershed. Project staff began work to protect the seabirds by removing predators and invasive plants from the breeding habitat. In 2014, MNSRP shifted their ʻuaʻu protective management focus to the leeward slopes of Haleakalā. Haleakalā is home to the largest remaining breeding aggregation of ʻuaʻu. MNSRP began monitoring nests, removing predators, and established long-term ecological surveys in upper Nakula Natural Area Reserve and Kahikinui Forest Reserve. Shortly after, MNSRP also took on management of the Makamakaʻole seabird protection site and predator exclosures for the recovery of Hawaiʻi’s three endangered seabird species.
Today, MNSRP continues to search for breeding seabirds across Maui Nui, and to provide protections where funding and staffing permit. Conservation impacts and knowledge gained through research are used to educate the community about the importance of seabirds in Hawaiʻi, and to inspire connection to the natural environment. The project collaborates with researchers, conservation partners and regulators to reach beneficial outcomes for all indigenous island species and habitats.
Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project is a part of The Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit of the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa in association with Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW), and the Living Pono Project (501C3). MNSRP works to help DLNR fulfill its constitutionally mandated responsibility for the protection and management of seabirds and their habitats in Maui Nui.
Click Here to Download our MNSRP General Brochure (pictured below).
