Natural
Resources
The
natural history resources of the Pacific Islands' National Parks have an extensive
and exceptional remnant of Pacific island and marine native biota. These islands'
isolated biologic life is duplicated nowhere else on earth. Though these ecosystems
are well on their way to massive destruction with continuing extinctions of many
species, there are opportunities at these parks to preserve and restore a sample
of natural biota including representative major communities from the 13,680-foot
summit of Mauna Loa Hawaii to deep marine environments at American Samoa.
To
that end, managing these parks' resources requires a composite effort of biologic
research, propagating rare and endangered plant and animal species, reintroducing
rare species into former range, protecting rare endemic biota from depredation
by species introduced by modem man, and reaching out to provide avenues for public
knowledge of these unique island ecosystems.
HPI-CESU
home Preserving
the Pacific Parks' Natural Resources
Preserving,
and where necessary restoring, such native isolated ecosystems required new knowledge
and experimentation. Seeking better science to guide park management, in the early
'70s the National Park Service entered into a Cooperative Study Agreement with
the University of Hawaii--the forerunner of this present CESU. This Cooperative
Science endeavor has developed science and strategies which today form the basis
for managing to preserve native island ecosystems. Among the study products are
more than a hundred technical reports
funded
by the NPS and others. Several books are fundamental to island ecosystem management
worldwide. These latter CESU books are:
Cuddihy,
L. W. and C. P. Stone. 1990. Alteration of native Hawaiian vegetation-Effects
of humans, their activities and introductions. Distributed by University of
Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Stone, C. P., C. W. Smith, and J. T. Tunison (eds.). 1992. Alien plant invasions
in native ecosystems of Hawaii: Management and research. Distributed by University
of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Stone,
C. P. and D. B. Stone (eds.). 1988. Distributed by University of Hawaii Press,
Honolulu, Hawaii. 252 pages.
Stone,
C. P. and M. K. Scott (eds.). 1985. Hawaii's terrestrial ecosystems: Preservation
and management. Distributed by University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu. 584 pages.
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