04-15-2026, 04:30 PM
This is much, much bigger than Ohia trees and ROD on F Road in the Acres.
Look downstream in 25 years if this closure lasts.
Snipped from the article HOTPE originally posted: (I have emphasized a few parts in bold for consideration)
"The Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry has been working on all these issues and more. Closing the station will have enormous ramifications for local communities who depend on that research to protect the islands’ watersheds, prevent wildfires, and conserve the native forests for wildlife and the tourism economy."
Rapid ohia death is just one example of how quickly threats to forests can emerge. First reported in 2010, the disease quickly spread, leaving hundreds of thousands of ohia trees dead in its wake. It was identified as a fungus in 2014, but research into how it spreads and how to protect against it is still ongoing.
“Forest Service research has revealed that it tends to be attacking larger, older trees, which is unfortunate because it means our old growth forests are the areas predominantly hit by this,” said Jonathan Price, a geographer at the University of Hawaii, Hilo. Trees that have been damaged by storms, or by feral pigs, or by beetles boring into the wood, seem to be most susceptible.
Ostertag said researchers are studying the genetic diversity of the fungal pathogen and developing disease-resistant strains of trees—all long-term projects that require specialized laboratories and greenhouse space.
“When you have a watershed made up mostly of a single native tree species and that species starts dying off, this has implications for flooding, it has implications for water resources,” Price added. “I can’t underscore how unique our situation is, and maybe a little bit out of the public view. People come here—they see paradise. They see these beautiful, lush, green forests without realizing they’re almost entirely made of invasive species, or they hear these beautiful birds without realizing that they’re not even native to this area. And there’s this silent extinction crisis going on that may not be evident to the general public.”
I am sure we can all agree that we should "focus on whether there is something to be done about Hilo losing another research facility" but, again, what? Who is going to take this over? Who is going to pay for it? What is the worthwhile goal?
And to my original point, the closures of these research stations is just a minor fallout from the overall intended goal to turn the U.S. Forest Service's focus from environmental conservation towards vastly increasing domestic timber production.
How much longer before they come for the Koa wood?
Look downstream in 25 years if this closure lasts.
Snipped from the article HOTPE originally posted: (I have emphasized a few parts in bold for consideration)
"The Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry has been working on all these issues and more. Closing the station will have enormous ramifications for local communities who depend on that research to protect the islands’ watersheds, prevent wildfires, and conserve the native forests for wildlife and the tourism economy."
Rapid ohia death is just one example of how quickly threats to forests can emerge. First reported in 2010, the disease quickly spread, leaving hundreds of thousands of ohia trees dead in its wake. It was identified as a fungus in 2014, but research into how it spreads and how to protect against it is still ongoing.
“Forest Service research has revealed that it tends to be attacking larger, older trees, which is unfortunate because it means our old growth forests are the areas predominantly hit by this,” said Jonathan Price, a geographer at the University of Hawaii, Hilo. Trees that have been damaged by storms, or by feral pigs, or by beetles boring into the wood, seem to be most susceptible.
Ostertag said researchers are studying the genetic diversity of the fungal pathogen and developing disease-resistant strains of trees—all long-term projects that require specialized laboratories and greenhouse space.
“When you have a watershed made up mostly of a single native tree species and that species starts dying off, this has implications for flooding, it has implications for water resources,” Price added. “I can’t underscore how unique our situation is, and maybe a little bit out of the public view. People come here—they see paradise. They see these beautiful, lush, green forests without realizing they’re almost entirely made of invasive species, or they hear these beautiful birds without realizing that they’re not even native to this area. And there’s this silent extinction crisis going on that may not be evident to the general public.”
I am sure we can all agree that we should "focus on whether there is something to be done about Hilo losing another research facility" but, again, what? Who is going to take this over? Who is going to pay for it? What is the worthwhile goal?
And to my original point, the closures of these research stations is just a minor fallout from the overall intended goal to turn the U.S. Forest Service's focus from environmental conservation towards vastly increasing domestic timber production.
How much longer before they come for the Koa wood?