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Hawaiian Islands Wilderness Study Area HAWAIIAN ISLANDS WILDERNESS STUDY AREA HAWAIIAN ISLANDS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU, HAWAII WILDERNESS STUDY REPORT Preliminary - Subject to change U. S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE BUREAU OF SPORT FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE PREFACE This report summarizes a study of the Hawaiian Islands National Wild- life Refuge made pursuant to the Wilderness Act of September 3, 1964 (Public Law 88-577). The Hawaiian Islands Reservation was established in 1909 by Executive Order of the President as a "preserve and breeding grounds for native bii'ds" as a weans of preventing further slaughtering of birds for millinery purposes. The Reservation was renamed the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge in 1940. The Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge consists of a series of eight or ninei/ islands, reefs and atolls of the Leeward Islands extending more than 1,000 miles northwesterly from the principal Hawaiian Islands. The area is understood to be within the City and County of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii. The refuge is administered by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife of the United States Department of the Interior as a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System. French Frigate Shoal and Pearl and Hermes Reef are atolls with sub- stantially continuous outer reefs enclosing quiet water lagoons. The Refuge has been administered as including the reef and lagoon areas. The other units of the Refuge are either rock extrusions above the ocean surface, such as Nihoa, Necker and Gardner Islands, or sand 'LJ Kure or Ocean Island was a part of the original designation for the Hawaiian Islands Reservation that has not been terminated except by implication from a subsequent Navy reservation for use and termination of that use. This subject is further discussed in the land status section of the report. Kure Island is not discussed extensively in the report but is quite similar to Pearl and Hermes Reef geologically and ecologically. islands surrounded by broken coral platforms such as Laysan and Lisianski Islands. The island masses themselves are a small, but vital part of the eco- system of the Leewards—an ecosystem whose scientific importance transcends national boundaries. The shallow water reefs and lagoons are an inseparable link in this chain of life.' The reefs sustain the aquatic resources that are the basic sustenance of much of the islands' wildlife. The continued survival of the bird, mammal and reptile life of the area is chiefly dependent on future management of both the land and waters of the refuge. The mammals, reptiles and fishery "resources have been and will continue to be managed primarily by the State of Hawaii. It is essential that management of these resources continue to be consistent with the primary mission of the refuge. It must also be recognized, however, that refuge management should not preclude the State's reasonable utilization of resources it regulates. Since the lands and waters of the refuge are inseparable parts of the whole ecosystem, the wilderness study included the refuge in its entirety. The study indicated that designation of the land masses above mean high tide, as wilderness, would in no way compromise the primary objectives of the Refuge. Indeed, it would probably aid in achieving these objec- tives by assuring the islands' future preservation in a natural state. Unfortunately, inclusion of the land masses as wilderness would only Jr^ • . ,f extend protection to a portion of this ecosystem. Broader protection c \ * a jI - -1"^ through Congressional actions supplemented by a cooperative agreement )6 i with such legislation by the State of Hawaii as may be agreeable to the State, is desirable. Because of development and disturbances, Tern Island and the surrounding area within 500 yards plus the adjacent ship channel at French Frigate Shoals are not suitable as wilderness. All other land masses of the refuge above mean high tide are considered suitable for further con- sideration as wilderness. CONTENTS PREFACE ... .............. ............. INTRODUCTION ............ ............... / OBJECTIVES . ....... ..".'.„ LOCATION ... HISTORY .................. „ 7 LAND STATUS ............................ // PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS RESOURCES A. Wildlife 1. Mammals a. Hawaiian Monk Seal b. Other Mammals 2. Birds a. Marine Birds V 7 b. Shorebirds •£"£) c. Waterfowl rv> d. Small Land Birds z~ J ^J / 3. Fish A. Reptiles a. Green Sea Turtle B. Water C. Vegetation ...................... -5~ D. Recreation E. Minerals F. Other Resources MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS . , A. Summary B. Recommendations 5 / - , f fi PHOTOGRAPHS A, of l^cU-^J APPENDIX A. Legal documents - Refuge Status 1. Executive Order 1019 - Refuge establishment 2. Public Law 86-3 - Hawaii statehood 3. Public. Law 83-3 - Submerged Lands Act 4. Memorandum of Understanding - University of Hawaii A . and BSF&W ~ 5. Cooperative Agreement - U.S. Coast Guard and BSF&W .... V 6. Memorandum of Understanding - AEC and BSF&W B. Legal documents - Wilderness • / 1. Wilderness Act (P.L. 88-577) * 2. Secretarial Order 2920 - Roadless Area Review ..... 3. Code of Federal Regulations - Title 50 - Wilderness Preservation and Management 4. Code of Federal Regulations - Title 43 - Wilderness ^ A Preservation c- C. Other information 1. Bibliography of Mineral Resources . 2. Comments of Bureau of Outdoor Recreation FIGURES 1. Location of Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge C? 2. Tern Island Transportation Corridor 3. The Hawaii Chain - subdivisions A. Profile of Hawaiian Archipelago 5. Stages in geologic history of volcanic islands 6. The Refuge Units a. Nihoa Island b. Meeker Island c. Gardner Pinnacles d. French Frigate Shoal e. Pearl and Hermes R.eef f . Laysan Island ..... g. Lisianski Island Tables 1. Lands within the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge . 2. Refuge lands considered suitable and nonsuitable as wilderness INTRODUCTION The Hawaiian Islands Reservation was established in 1909 by President Theodore Roosevelt through Executive Order 1019. The. name was changed to the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge in 1940. In the many years between their discovery and their inclusion in the Reservation, the islands had br>en subjected to exploitation by commercial interests and careless human activities. This thoughtless destruction resulted in extensive changes in many of the island communities and the ultimate loss forever of threa endemic birds. Two others were brought to the verge of extinction. Today, the islands are famous as a nesting area for vast numbers of sea birds that annually assemble there from the far reaches of the North and Central Pacific. Most of the world's populations of the Laysan and black-footed albatross nest on the Refuge. It is the last major nesting area for the green sea turtle in the Nation, and is home to about 95% of the world's population of the rare Hawaiian monk seal. The entire world populations of Laysan teal as well as three other species of endemic land birds occur on its islands. The waters of the lagoons and of the ocean adjacent to the Leewards support a fascinating array of fish life which occur in relative abundance. However, the extent of these fishery resources, and the manner and degree to which they might be harvested without adverse effects on fish populations and other wildlife that are dependent upon them has not been ascertained. Refuge waters, as outlined in the Executive Order, comprise only a small part of the potential shallow-water fishery area in the Hawaiian Archipelago, and their value as natural areas for scientific studies of plant and animal communities in a comparatively undisturbed environment are to be considered in relation to any potential value for the production of fishery resource commodities. They could serve as control areas for monitoring changes in marine flora and fauna occurring elsewhere in the Archipelago. Protection and restoration of natural environmental qualities, as a basis for preserving wildlife abundance and diversity on the Refuge are desirable. Too much human activity would endanger the fragile ecosystem. Public use of the islands should continue to be limited to scientific research on a closely supervised basis. Scientific literature is replete with accounts of disasters to other island ecosystems, which are far more susceptible to change than those of continental land masses. Public informational and educational "programs are planned with interpretive facilities centered in a future administrative complex planned in the Honolulu area. The management objectivss for the Hawaiian Islands Refuge may be summarized in the following order of priority: 1. Assure the survival of native species that are threatened with extinction. 2. Maintain native fauna and flora in a natural state at or above minimum population recovery levels. 3. Maximize natural physical and biological qualities to the extent compatible with fish and wildlife population management require- ments. 4. Expand understanding and appreciation of wildlife, island ecology, and man's role in his environment, in a manner consistent with fish and wildlife management requirements. 5. Communicate information essential to an optimal level of public understanding of the benefits obtained from the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge. 6. Establish and preserve selected areas within the Refuge in a natural state for the purposes of environmental reference, observation and scientific study. 7. Seek
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