Nurturing Nene

Nestled up against her egg, waiting for it to hatch, a Hawaiian nene (Hawaiian goose) mother at Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), Barking Sands, is unknowingly helping bring her species back from near extinction.

The Hawaiian nene is Hawaii’s state bird and is currently considered endangered by the state of Hawaii. As new infrastructure and predators were introduced to the Hawaiian islands, the population reached an extreme low of roughly 30 birds in the 1950’s according to the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, but with the help of state-wide conservation efforts the birds have made a significant comeback with as many as 637 individual nene documented on PMRF alone.

“The nene is federally protected under the Endangered Species Act,” said Daniela Casillas, a biologist for the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii (RCUH). “Our mission is to facilitate the nene population's co-existence with Navy activities, where safe and manageable. Our goal is to monitor and protect the nene on-base from predators and to contribute data to our partners and regulatory agencies to better understand the population recovery and challenges.”

Nene often make their nests away from humans, and PMRF’s wide open fields, tree lines and areas with low levels of traffic make for an inviting home to these birds. 

“One of the reasons we see so many nene on base is the lack of predators,” said Casillas. “One potential predator for the birds on other islands is an invasive species of mongoose, which thankfully isn’t present on Kauai.”

Good Samaritan hazing is one method the Natural Resources team implements in an effort to ensure the nene have a safe, habitable environment. When hazing nene, Casillas simply walks near the birds, guiding them away from hazardous areas such as roadways. 

The goal of using hazing techniques is not for the birds to leave entirely but for them to choose nesting locations away from operational areas that could be harmful for the birds or to personnel. 

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for all hazing efforts other than good Samaritan hazing. One valuable member of the USDA team is the nene hazing dog named Sweep who implements similar hazing techniques to encourage nene to make their homes away from the airfield while ensuring the safety of nene, goslings, eggs and nests.

Casillas and her team make roves around the base, always on the lookout for nene not previously sighted in the area as well as for new nests and eggs laid each breeding season. Documentation and reporting of these sightings to outside agencies helps paint a better picture of how the nene population is changing year after year. The team's current numbers for the nene population on base are at least 76 nesting adults that hatched 81 eggs with 35 of the goslings already identified.

“Another reason we rove is to look for sick or injured nene,” said Casillas. “We are required to report these sightings to the Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service so that we can have the birds put into a rehabilitation program.”

Casillas and her team members play an integral role in the installation’s goal to be good stewards of the environment and encourage all members of PMRF to join in on the effort to protect the native animals. A great first step to helping their cause is to take the good Samaritan hazing techniques class offered in person on base. If you would like to go a step further, Casillas volunteers at the Kawai ele Waterbird Sanctuary and says that there are more opportunities for individuals looking to help. If you are interested in volunteering, reach out to Daniela Casillas at daniela2@hawaii.edu or call (808) 343-1302.