On February 2, 2009, Hokule'a will sail past Kilauea Lighthouse on the island of Kauai to kick-off a commemorative year honoring Hawai’i’s first National Wildlife Refuge, which is now established as Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. (Photo below: Hokule'a sailing past Nihoa in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Click photo to enlarge.)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is planning a very important milestone: the upcoming Centennial year for the Nation’s 12th and Hawai’i’s first National Wildlife Refuge. To do so properly, Hokule`a, sponsored by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, will voyage past Kilauea Lighthouse on the island of Kauai February 3, 2009 to kick-off a commemorative year of activities honoring the kūpuna who sailed before us while celebrating a century of conservation efforts and honoring the generations of mālama `āina. 

For more information: contact Ann Bell at 808-792-9532.

Background: On February 3, 1909 Theodore Roosevelt set aside the islets and reefs from Nihoa to Kure (except Midway) as Hawaiian Islands Reservation.  Later renamed the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, the site was established to provide a form of legal protection for the millions of seabirds inhabiting the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, at a time during our past when seabirds were being slaughtered by the thousands for their plumage and eggs.  Albatross and other seabirds were an easy harvest for poachers, even as far away as the shores of our Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, harming the very essence of this productive marine ecosystem.  One hundred years later, on February 3, 2009, we are beginning a commemorative year for the centennial of this conservation achievement with a gathering of conservation leaders, kūpuna, volunteers, and the past and present caretakers of this special place. Hōkūlea will arrive carrying a symbol of  hope, inspiration and to honor those who sailed before us to this special place.  This celebration will honor not only the conservation efforts of the past, but for setting the stage for the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument today, and to share in the vision of a healthful future for the wildlife and culture intrinsic to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
 
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is hosting the event below the Kīlauea Lighthouse at Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge to recognize the care and commitments from those who voyaged before us to the northern part of the archipelago and also to respect families that have direct connections to Kauai's neighboring island of Nihoa. The Service chose to hold this event on the island of Kauai because of this genealogical connection, as well as its biological and management connection for our agency.  Kilauea Point is alive with seabirds and marine life and it was the site for the earlier administrative operations for Tern Island, a remote island station in the midst of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge.