A non-profit Friends Group supporting the three national wildlife refuges located on Kauaʻi.
Together, Friends can do so much…
Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges (FKWR) serves as a nonprofit “Friends Group,” supporting the environmental and wildlife conservation, historic preservation and community education programs of the Kauaʻi National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Complex, which are administered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and includes Kīlauea Point NWR, Hanalei NWR and Hulēʻia NWR.
Our organization helps to fill in the gaps in the programs administered by the Refuge team by providing funding and Friends Group staffing to support a variety of refuge priorities. Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges also manages the Friends Nature Store and Visitor Center at Kīlauea Point NWR, supports environmental education programs, administers an annual scholarship, conducts community outreach and much more!
Current Events, News and Activities
Kīlauea Point NWR Seabird Monitoring and Invasive Predator Eradication: Project Updates
Presented by:
Dylan Blanchard of Pacific Rim Conservation
For more than ten years, Pacific Rim Conservation has been involved in seabird conservation at Kīlauea Point NWR. Between 2015 and 2020, nearly 200 endemic seabirds were translocated to artificial burrows within the Nihokū exclosure and, after assisting with hand-rearing the chicks and watching them fledge, Pacific Rim is monitoring the return of birds as the seabird colony grows by generations.
In 2023, a much larger predator-exclusion fence was completed, enclosing nearly the entirety of the refuge, as well as Nihokū, ensuring the security of the refuge in perpetuity. Pacific Rim has led efforts to remove invasive mammalian predators from within the fence, as well as assess how the fence and predator removal efforts affect the reproductive rates of the native seabirds nesting across the refuge.
Free Lecture: Tuesday, September 16th, 5:00-6:30pm
Princeville Community Center and on Zoom.
Hawaiian waterbirds are facing an extinction crisis.
It has recently been estimated that state-wide waterbird counts are falling at alarming rates. We need to act now to ensure that our refuges have the resources they need to support these critically endangered populations. Our partners at Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture recently published an info sheet detailing this crisis.
Ka Pae ʻĀina O Hawaiʻi Nei
“Ka Pae ʻĀina O Hawaiʻi Nei” is a culturally centered educational program and a community created mosaic mural that is being developed through a collaboration with the Garden Island Arts Council.
The place-based inspired mural is being developed through a series of community workshops, in which volunteers will help to create an 80-foot-long by 4-foot-high mosaic mural.
The mural will depict the topography of the entire Hawaiian Archipelago, helping us tell the geographic and cultural story of these islands and atolls, how the High Hawaiian Islands fit within this long history, and how these protected lands and waters serve as a refuge for a wide variety of native Hawaiian wildlife species.
The finished mural will be installed on the retaining wall that begins outside the Visitor Center at Kīlauea Point NWR.
Celebrating our mōlī
Kīlauea Point NWR is honored to host two mōlī (Laysan albatross) nesting colonies. Together, with a team of dedicated volunteers, we provide a safe place for these majestic seabirds to nest, rest and thrive. This year, we are pleased to share that a record 105 mōlī chicks fledged from within the two colonies at Kīlauea Point NWR!
Click HERE to enjoy an inspirational video of a mōli chick fledging, captured by Hob Osterlund.
Follow our journey on Instagram
