The Elfin Forests of Kaua`i

Endangered Species Bulletin, Nov, 1998 by Barbara Maxfield

Stuart Wellington, owner of the Wellington Fence Company, is a hunter himself and provided valuable expertise as well as an excellent means of communication with the local hunters. He takes pride in the fact that his company has helped protect these unique bogs and their rare plants for future generations.

We also worked with the National Tropical Botanical Garden to fund a videotape that has run repeatedly on public television channels on Kaua`i. It also has been used in Hawaiian classrooms to tell the story of these elfin forests and their importance to Kaua`i.

While it is a little early to see extensive improvements in these centuries-old communities, biologists are encouraged that the first bog fenced for protection is showing regrowth. In May 1998, they saw for the first time in years the flower of Astelia waialealae, a species known only from three bogs within the Alaka`i Swamp and numbering only 35 individual plants. In the past, feral pigs had repeatedly eaten it almost to the ground.

Kaua`i's elfin forests indeed have a magical spirit about them, for one cannot visit without feeling awe for their ability to adapt and thrive in such harsh conditions. It is now our job to ensure that they survive and flourish in this, the wettest place on Earth.

Barbara A. Maxfield is a Public Information Specialist with the FWS Pacific Islands Ecosystem Office in Honolulu, Hawaii.