KILAUEA — Friends of Kaua‘i Wildlife Refuges Executive Director Thomas Daubert announced Saturday that National Wildlife Refuge Week starts Tuesday and continues through Sunday at various North Shore locations.
“We currently celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge,” Daubert said. “But, starting Tuesday is the National Wildlife Refuge Week that offers special treats for everyone.”
Daubert was joined by award-winning writer and photographer Hob Osterlund in greeting shoppers at Kukui Grove Center, where a special National Wildlife Refuge display was exhibited behind locked doors until Saturday, when Daubert and Osterlund brought the display to life by answering questions and explaining the various wildlife that exist in Kaua‘i’s refuges.
Osterlund will be available for signings of her “Holy Moli, Albatross and Other Ancestors” book Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center as part of the National Wildlife Refuge Week festivities.
Daubert said Osterlund will also talk story about the history of Hanalei, and has information on a lot of the birds that live in the refuge. He also reminded people that reservations are needed to enter the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.
On Thursday, people can ask questions of the refuge’s rangers at the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge from 8 to 11 a.m., and then again from 2 to 4 p.m. by meeting a refuge ranger along Ohiki Road in Hanalei, where people are able to spot endangered Hawaiian waterbirds, including the Koloa duck that Daubert says about 90 percent of the population resides in the Hanalei NWR.
Spotting scopes and binoculars will be provided. The rangers will also share information and field questions about the Hanalei Wildlife Refuge.
On Saturday, everyone is invited to celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week at Kilauea Point with no entry fee required at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors planning to attend must still make reservations at www.recreation.gov/ticket/facility/300018 due to the limited capacity of the Kilauea Point NWR to visit the Kilauea Point facilities that will be enhanced with displays and exhibits from the Kilauea Point NWR conservation partners.
Jennifer Waipa, the Hanalei National Wildlife Visitor Services manager, will celebrate the Hanalei NWR 50th anniversary by presenting information about how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages Hawai‘i’s premiere wetland, Saturday from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Princeville Community Center. This event is being hosted by the Princeville Community Association.
