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HWF HELPING & PROTECTING TURTLE HATCHLINGS ON MAUI

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HWF HAS REMOVED OVER 300 TONS OF DEBRIS FROM HAWAIIAN BEACHES

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HAWAIʻI WILDLIFE FUND COORDINATES VOLUNTEER BEACH CLEANUPS

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REEF IN MAUI POLLUTED BY LAHAINA INJECTION WELLS

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HWF SUES & WINS CLEAN WATER ACT CASE

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Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund

HWF has actively protected native wildlife in Hawaiʻi since 1996.
We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of Hawaiʻi’s marine wildlife.

Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund’s mission is to protect native wildlife, focusing on coastal and marine wildlife species in the Hawaiian Islands, including the hawksbill sea turtle (honuʻea) and the Hawaiian green sea turtle (honu).

We engage our communities and volunteers in education, outreach, marine debris removal, conservation,
research, and advocacy campaigns and lawsuits to keep Hawaiʻi alive and wild.

Mahalo for visiting this website and your desire to learn more about HWF and what we do.
From volunteering, internships, donating or adopting, we offer a variety of ways you can help this organization thrive!

Me ke aloha pumehana,

Hannah Bernard – HWF Executive Director

more videos from Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund

HWF CURRENT NEWS

Excavation & Rescue of
Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle Hatchlings on Maui!

How An EPA Decision On Trash Could Lead To
Cleaner Beaches Across Hawaiʻi

What We Do

Sea Turtle Recovery Projects

Youth Outreach & Education

Marine Debris Removal

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Click Here For Our Calendar Of Upcoming Events!

From The Blog

Marine Debris Removal Projects

By Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund|Sep 20, 2020|Marine Debris|

Plastic pollution is a global problem with local solutions. Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund (HWF) addresses this critical issue working with local communities.

Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund Intern Stories – Molly

By Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund|Sep 20, 2020|HWF Intern Stories|

“Are those turtles or rocks?” I laughed and walked over. This was my favorite part of my job as a Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund intern.

HWF New Website!

By Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund|Sep 19, 2020|General|

We are very excited to announce the launch of our NEW website and regular blog postings!

HWF Sponsors & Partners
Be a sponsor or partner with HWF

Follow HWF on instagram @wildhawaii

Sneak peek of our close-up mermaid 🧜🏼‍♀️ sighting at today’s ICC (int’l coastal cleanup) event day two at Lae o Kamilo. More info coming soon about our total 2020 cleanup stats, and ways we can each reduce #plasticpollution from our daily lives and our world oceans 🌊💜💦 #teamupcleanup #mermaidmission #keephawaiiwild #himarinedebris #cleanyobeach #808cleanups #marinedebris #debrisdiva

HWFʻs @ma_gdalena973 and @mandy_on_maui helped excavate the first hawksbill nest of the season yesterday with our partners at DLNR. Five live hatchlings were recovered from this nest that would not have been able to emerge on their own. With an endangered species like this, every little hatchling matters! *All monitoring and excavation activities are carried out by trained Hawai’i Wildlife Fund biologists and volunteers operating under endangered species permits with state and federal agency partners (USFWS TE829250-9 and DLNR SAP 2020-63) and following CDC, Maui County and state guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Never touch, approach, or harass sea turtle hatchlings or adults in the wild. Mahalo:) To volunteer or make a donation please visit wildhawaii.org.
#loveseaturtles #wildhawaii #hawaiiwildife #hawksbills #honuʻea #endangered #nestingseason

This past weekend we participated in the Ocean Conservancy’s annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) event on two islands. We have been hosting cleanups and collecting data for this "Get the Drift & Bag It!" (locally called) cleanup for over 12 years now at Lae O Kamilo (Kamilo Point). On Hawai‘i Island, our original plan was to have a small cleanup crew for both Saturday and Sunday (so we could maintain physical distance and cover more ground. But a large fire broke out on Saturday afternoon and ravaged over 3,000 acres of land of Kamā‘oa forcing us to postpone our second event. On Maui, our Executive Director (Hannah) and Marine Debris Cleanup Coordinator (Magda) conducted a dive cleanup focusing on monofilament fishing line that is so very dangerous for our resident sea turtles.

Before the fire started further south along the coastline, our small but mighty crew was able to count, categorize and haul out just under 500 pounds of marine debris from the north end of Kamilo, including 35 buoys! Many of these were saved for reuse by one of the cleanup participants. Mahalo nui to our high-powered volunteers and crew for braving the elements and working hard to restore sensitive coastal habitat.

#MarineDebrisMonday #ICC2020 #keephawaiiwild #plasticpollution #bethesolution #marinedebris #himarinedebris #loveyourplanet #takethreeforthesea #upcycle #oceanplastic #takethreeforthesea #cleanyobeach #808cleanups

HWF Maui - Preparing to clean fishing gear out of the water at HO'OKIPA yesterday during #Internationalcoastalcleanup

A reminder for us all from the middle of the Pacific ocean: Happy.

Be Happy.
Stay Happy.
Live Happy.
Cultivate Happiness!

We collected this cup last week while doing our routine marine debris survey at Kamilo Point. Our small team counted and categorized just 961 pieces* of marine debris along a set 100m stretch of beach. This is WAY less than average (~ 2,500 items) since we started these surveys in September 2016. So, the beach is cleaner than usual. And that makes us very HAPPY!

Please share in the comment section what makes you happy?

*These MD-MAP surveys only capture debris that is 2.5 cm (1 inch) or larger and do NOT include any microplastics.

#MarineDebrisMonday #cleanyobeach #plasticpollution #bethesolution #keephawaiiwild #marinedebris #himarinedebris #happy #808cleanups #antisocialcleanup

Our Honu Watch Kia'i hard at work helping to educate about Honu and how to respect. So appreciate all the volunteers who have helped and especially our @ma_gdalena973 - queen of the beach -
#seaturtleweek #loveseaturtles #wildhawaii #thankfulthursday

HWF Turtle Team collaborates with @mocmarineinstitute to respond to stranded sea turtles - training day.

Aloha Saturday from Kohala! Today we joined Clean the Pacific to remove several hundred pounds of derelict fishing net / line bundles and other miscellaneous plastic pollution from this special cove! 🤙🏽#teamupcleanup #loveyourbeach #keephawaiiwild #cleanthepacific #himarinedebris

Today’s #MarineDebrisMonday photo: Two of our net (recovery) crew scoping out the next derelict fishing net bundle to pull from the rocky Kaʻū coastline! YTD despite Coronavirus restrictions, our small but mighty team has removed over 14,000 pounds of debris during 25 cleanup events. And every piece removed and entangling nets / line matters to the wildlife it can now no longer harm. Mahalo to our dedicated volunteers who keep us successful and smiling in our efforts to restore coastal habitat 🤙🏽#keephawaiiwild #himarinedebris #antisocialcleanup

Repost from our partners @surfriderkauai: "Operation Airlift" was a huge sucess! We teamed up with @jackharterhelicopters to remove marine debris from a remote stretch of coast south of Moloaa Bay. Surfrider volunteers worked this summer to cleanup the rocky coastine littered with nets and plastics. 78 super sacks full of debris were hauled away ...about 22,000 lbs! Mahalo Scott McCubbins for leading this impressive and much needed cleanup! 🚁🏝💪🌊💙

Repost from our friend Kat with @nurdleintherough: Plastic pollution is so overwhelming but it’s much easier to tackle as a group. Yesterday @wildhawaii organized a hiking cleanup along the Ka‘ū coastline 💙 Together we removed ~800lbs of marine debris! It was really nice to hike several miles along such a beautiful stretch of coastline, stopping at a few different accumulation areas to clean. I loved that we could make a difference together while also maintaining social distance 😷 This was the second socially distant cleanup event that @wildhawaii hosted this month! On August 1st we removed ~788lbs of plastic including ~150lbs of nets 💙 Thanks Hawaii Wildlife Fund for protecting our wildlife AND our community 😊

#TurtleTuesday is a great day for sharing an update from our Sea Turtle Recovery Project - nesting season 2020. This little green turtle hatchling was photographed by one of our awesome volunteers @bencaswellphotography as it was crawling to the ocean. HWF relocated 3 green turtle nests to save them from beach erosion, and now this is the second nest that has hatched this summer. *All monitoring and excavation activities are carried out by trained Hawai’i Wildlife Fund biologists and volunteers operating under endangered species permits with state and federal agency partners. These efforts are for the research and conservation of the green sea turtle and to help educate the public. Never touch, approach, or harass sea turtle hatchlings or adults in the wild. Mahalo:) To volunteer or make a donation please visit wildhawaii.org.

Sneak peak into our successful Sunday funday hiking cleanup event yesterday in Ka’ū 🥾 together, along with eight volunteers we removed ~ 800 pounds and covered over a mile of coastline. Mahalo to our crew who maintained physical distance and wore protective masks all day to ensure that we were protecting the health of both our native wildlife and our team. #keephawaiiwild #protectwildlife #himarinedebris

Excited to start the @hawaiimtnrunning “Time for Wine” race at @volcanowineryhi today! Wishing everyone safety and smiles as they navigate the 5K, 3 hr, and 6 hr options!! Proceeds to benefit HWF 💜🏃🏼‍♀️🍷 #runforacause #raceforwildlife #keephawaiiwild

Here's a #MarineDebrisMonday fun fact: Did you know that half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the last 15 years? We learned this outrageous truth from an article by Earth Justice (it is on our fb). Check it out to learn more about the lifecycle of petrochemicals: how they are exacerbating the climate crisis, how they are a danger to our health, and what our partners are doing to combat the oil giants. HWF works alongside Earth Justice to protect our wildlife and habitats, and we are so grateful for their expertise.

"Our planet is drowning in plastics that pollute our air and water. The only way to stop the plastic pollution crisis is to make and use less plastics" -excerpt from article

#EarthJustice #protectwhatyoulove #stopbuyingplastics #stopmakingplastics #petrochemicals #keephawaiiwild #himarinedebris

Each year, humpback whales return from their northern feeding grounds to Hawaiʻi with crab trap gear entangling their flukes, flippers and mouths. Because the lines on these traps extend from the sea floor toward the surface, whales inadvertently swim into it and drag it with them. Unless rescued by our HIHWNMS Whale entanglement team, this type of fishing gear leads to their deaths. HWF signed onto a letter of concern to the California Dept of Fish and Wildlife about proposed rules to address use of this deadly gear in the Dungeness Crab Fishery. HWF joined 31 groups to support alternative fishing gear to help reduce whale (and sea turtle) entanglements.
PC: Scott Crawford

#wildlifewednesday #humpbackwhale #protectwhatyoulove #hawaii #wildlifephotography #conservation #wildlifeconservation #marinedebris

We need your help to #savetheturtles check out the link in our bio to take action now.

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#savetheturtles #keephawaiiwild #donate #seekchange #saveourocean #saveourreef #stoppolluting #reduce #reuse #recycle #repurpose #wildhawaii #sustainable #turtle #honu #bigisland #maui #hawaii #savethefishies #protecttheearth #savetheplanet #keephawaiiwild #saynotoplastic #cleanyourbeach #plasticpollution #bethechange #marinedebris #loveyourplanet #upcycle #oceanplastic #takethreeforthesea

HWF's Maui team spent last week preparing for the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Discovery Center remodel. The educational center co-sponsored by Whalers Village and the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary will open later this year (or early 2021) - global pandemic conditions allowing! Stay tuned for more info and to join now as a founding member please email us at wild@aloha.net.

Photos of our turtle team crew, Magda Carey and Mandy Lloyd, during a workday (they were busy camping and awaiting hatchlings by night). PC: HB and Ian Ensign.

#partners #NationalMarineSanctuary #NOAA #whalersvillage #maui #hawaii #sandcloud #savethefishes

HWF depends on the solid support of our community who join us in protecting sea turtles on Maui. We had to relocate 3 green turtle nests to save them from beach erosion and then watch over for them for several weeks. The reward? 65 live hatchlings out of 98! Mahalo 'ohana !
#wildhawaii #hawaiiwildlife #loveseaturtles

Our friends at @Inflatablefilms helped watch over two green turtle nests AND captured stunning video and photos for a film they're working on to tell the story. Can't wait to see it! #wildhawaii #loveseaturtles #keephawaiiwild

We are passionate about protecting our beloved honu and honu‘ea (sea turtles). Every summer, we spend countless nights camping at night and sitting in the sun all day, waiting for the first hatchlings to arrive. Exquisite patience is required, plus the hundreds of volunteers who make this project successful. Going strong for 24 years, protecting more than 10,300 hatchlings, the reward never gets old. And this time @inflatablefilm came along to help protect the nests, and to capture the journey. Stay tuned for their film creation.

Big mahalo to all of our fabulous volunteers who selflessly work round the clock to kōkua (help). HWF’s Sea Turtle Recovery Project is performed under Federal Fish and Wildlife Permit TE829250-9 and Hawai‘i Department of Land & Natural Resources Permit SAP 2018(56)/2019(68) by qualified biologists, and volunteers are following CDC, Maui County and state guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. First two photos by @inflatablefilm and third photo by Michael Baskin
#TurtleTuesday #keephawaiiwild #honu #honu‘ea #inflatablefilm #wildhawaii #mocmarineinstitute #maui #protectwhatyoulove #seaturtles #hatchlings #passion #conservation

What a great way to end a week of nest watching -
Camping in the rain and baking in the sun, our team held strong watching over the green turtle we saved from erosion. #wildhawaii #loveseaturtles #hawaiiwildlife #hawaiiwildlifefund #inflatablefilms

We love the work @missemilypenn and the ladies at @exxpedition_ are doing for ocean conservation. We dedicate today's #MarineDebrisMonday to them. While they are currently stalled due to COVID, we look forward to cheering them on when their expedition resumes and learning more about their research with marine debris. Head to our fb to watch the video to be inspired.
"So much of our own impact ... really starts with our daily choices -- particularly our single-use plastic consumption," Emily Penn says. "If we can do without it, then let's not use it."
#keephawaiiwild #marinedebris #himarinedebris #Hawaii #maui #oceanconservation #consumeless #sayNOtosingleuseplastics Repost @exxpedition_ with @make_repost
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It’s been incredible to see our community come together for #plasticfreejuly! From webinars to instagram lives, sustainable swaps to how to reuse plastic, we’ve loved seeing our ambassadors, crewmembers and future crew come together to share solutions to the plastics issue!⁠
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Photo: Rachel Lucas

Our reward for watching over sea@turtle nests #mauinokaoi #wildhawaii

Thanks @emcrab for always capturing the magic and moments! Check out her feed for more awesome photos from todayʻs #teamupcleanup! “Stoked to be back on the beach cleaning with @wildhawaii and an awesome group. Grateful that this is one volunteer project that lends itself well to social distancing!

This is probably the cleanest I’ve ever seen Kamilo, but there’s always plenty plastic to haul out.”

HWF Turtle Team prepping site of green turtle nests -
Sporting our new @sandcloud t shirts! Proud to partner with #SandCloud

What a great #turtletuesday yesterday! Our awesome @sandcloudteam t shirts arrived and our Dawn Patrollers found a hawksbill turtle nest! 👏👏👏so good! So rare we typically only get one or two nesting females on Maui each summer. We mark the nests to protect them from trampling, even driving on the beach. #wildhawaii #hawaiiwildlife @wildhawaii

Preparing for Hurricane Douglas by protecting sea turtle nests from storm surge with Anthony Moreno and HWF Exec Dir Hannah Bernard #wildhawaii #hawaiiwildlife #hawaiiwildlifefund #hurricanedouglas2020

Today's #WildlifeWednesday spotlight goes to ʻohai (Sesbania tomentosa) our endemic pea. This rare and endangered plant species is nearly non-existent in the wild within the main Hawaiian Islands. While we are not comfortable sharing the location of this particular plant, we can share that it prefers sunny and dry environments. HWF works to protect and restore coastal dry forest ecosystems that include rare dry-forest species like this ʻohai. We hope you enjoy her beauty and have a fabulous Wednesday!

#ʻohai #native #endemic #endangered #mainhawaiianislands #hawaii #maui #protectwhatyoulove #keephawaiiwild #dryforestplants #hawaiinativeplants

Since it is turtle nesting season here in Hawai‘i we can't stop thinking about all the incubating turtle hatchlings that will emerge later this summer and early fall. When that time comes we will be calling on our core Maui volunteers to assist us. Want to get involved? Reach out to amanda.hwf@gmail.com to learn how.

PC to John Rodarte: Hawksbill hatchlings reach the ocean within minutes of leaving the nest.

#TurtleTuesday #endangeredspecies #honuʻea #honu

When you start to realize how infected our lives are with plastic, it is easy to get overwhelmed and not spring into action. It is easy to be paralyzed by the enormous issue of plastics in our lives and our environment. Hopefully, #PlasticFreeJuly will inspire practical ways you can start consuming less plastic. Like we say to the kids we teach in our environmental education programs, not all plastic is bad. It is how we are using the material that is “wasteful” or “useful”. We love this graphic shared by @nudi.goods because it outlines perfectly “good plastic vs bad plastic”. And it reinforces this point in our own curriculum. What do you think? Is all plastic “bad”? #repost @nudi.goods with @make_repost
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Another Plastic Free July challenge to get you thinking about plastic! This isn't just a "plastic is bad, get rid of it all" effort, because we'll go crazy trying achieve the (nearly) impossible. We can't get rid of all plastic in a month - that's just crazy. We CAN re-examine our relationship with plastics and take that knowledge into the remaining 11 months to slowly chip away at the problem all year.

HWF works closely with our partners at @mauioceancenter to help protect our honu. Together we moved two green turtles nests on Maui that were threatened by ocean inundation. When the nests were laid more than a month ago, a lot more beach was present! HWF operates under Federal Fish and Wildlife Permit TE829250-9 and
Hawai‘i Department of Land & Natural Resources Permit SAP 2018(56)/2019(68), and only qualified personnel are allowed to move turtle nests in consultation with these agencies. #AlohaFriday #wildhawaii #hawaiiwildlife #loveseaturtles #honu #turtle #wildlifeconservation #protectwhatyoulove #maui #hawaii

#ThankfulThursday shout out to our Maui turtle volunteers. Nesting season campouts can be long if there is not quite enough help to cover all the late-night shifts. We could not watch over mama turtles if it were not for our “dawn patrol” hikers and “nest watch” campers. Mahalo nui to you all. Your commitment to supporting sea turtles (and us) is inspiring to say the least. IF you are on Maui and want to lend a hand please email Amanda.hwf@gmail.com to get started as an HWF turtle volunteer.

Photo by Curtis Geary of one of the few resident hawksbill sea turtles found around Maui. Hope was captured here foraging in a coral reef habitat.

#keephawaiiwild #seaturtles #maui #hawaii #honu #honu'ea #volunteer

Update on MOLOKINI! @SaveMolokiniNow is a campaign that a small group of conservationists and tour boat operators and community members launched to intervene on the Navyʻs plan to detonate UXO in this sacred place. HWF Exec Director joins a panel convened by South Maui Rep Tina Wildberger in this important update. Link to listen is saved under the Molokini highlight #savemolokininow #therehasgottobeabetterway #wildhawaii #savesomething #Repost @savemolokininow with @make_repost
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Cool! Facebook live tonight to talk about #molokini #savemolokininow #therehasgottobeabetterway #savemolokini

We wanted to inject some Aloha into your Friday as we had an Aloha filled week here on Maui. We watched over Mama Honu as she laid another nest, we led a youth group all week and taught the keiki about our beloved honu, her nests, what is threatening her and we took action by removing ocean plastics from a local beach. West Maui sunsets are breathtaking. Enjoy

#alohafriday #mauinokaoi #protectwhatyoulove #keephawaiiwild #hawaii #nestingseason #sunset #beachlife #turtles #honu