 |
Hawaii
Volcanoes National Park
After Dark In The Park |
Co-sponsored by the Hawai'i Natural History Association
For program information, call the Division of Interpretation at
(808)985-6014.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Your $1.00 Donation Helps Support After Dark in the Park
Programs.
Park Fees May Apply ($10 for 7 days, $25 for 12 months) |
Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. in the Kilauea
Visitor Center Auditorium
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
AFTER DARK IN THE PARK
Kahuku
History Hike
Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park offers a hike to celebrate the human
history of its Kahuku district. Entitled
“People and Land of Kahuku,” the hike is on Sunday morning, September 16 and
October 14 from 9:30 to 12:30. The Kahuku gate
(mountain side of Highway 11 near the 70 mile marker in Ka’u) will be open from 9 to 9:30 am.
There is no need to sign up for this hike and four-wheel-drive vehicles are
not required.
The guided hike, “People and Land of Kahuku,” explores ways
people have lived on the vast Kahuku lands from the earliest Hawaiian settlements through
the Park’s current and future projects. This moderately difficult hike traverses 2 ½
miles of rugged terrain including lava fields, pastures and historic ranch roads. Boots, long pants, and raingear are recommended.
A treasured home and rich resource from traditional times, a working ranch
since the 1860s,
a WWll radar station and now part of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park,
the varied landscapes of Kahuku tell stories about the past and offer promise for the
future. For information, call 985-6014.
-NPS-
July 17 - “The
Angkor Archaeological Park: A Kindred World Heritage Site” Cambodia’s Angkor
Archaeological Park extends over 200 square miles and contains the magnificent remains
of Khmer Empire capitals from the 9th to the 15th century. Due to its tremendous
significance, the Angkor Archaeological Park, like Hawai’i
Volcanoes National Park,
is World Heritage
Site. And, like our park, Angkor is an important
tourist attraction as well as a place
of great
environmental and heritage value. William
Chapman, Director of the Graduate Certificate Program in Historic Preservation at
UH-Manoa, has consulted on projects in Cambodia, Thailand and Laos over the past
fourteen years. Join Chapman to learn about the World Heritage Convention that underlies
the special recognition enjoyed by World Heritage parks and the difficult challenges
facing park managers in Cambodia.
July 24 - “Bringing
Preservation Home: Historic Preservation Program Uses Local Expertise” Hawai’i’s historically
significant, architecturally distinctive and culturally relevant places are tangible evidence of our rich heritage and provide a
sense
of continuity with the past. Recognizing that
local communities are critical partners in preserving historic sites, the National Historic Preservation Act established its Certified Local
Government program, which offers valuable technical assistance and small grants. Lahaina’s Front Street historic district and other sites
on Maui and Kaua’i already benefit
from this program. Join Kiersten
Faulkner, executive director
of Historic Hawai‘i
Foundation, to learn how communities can use grassroots knowledge, build local expertise
and involve the public in stewardship of historic resources.
August 21 – “Park Plants: The
Good, the Bad and the Endangered” Native plant
communities in Hawai’i are unlike any others
on earth. In these remote islands, an
unusually high rate of endemic species (90%) evolved in a setting of unique geologic and
climatic variability and extreme isolation. Unfortunately,
Hawai’i’s native plants
are increasingly besieged by non-native, invasive weeds, which have dramatically reduced
their abundance and even contributed to their extinction. Invasive species specialist
David Benitez discusses the impacts of alien weeds on native flora and how Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park manages this
problem. Then, botanist and
rare plant specialist Thomas Belfield offers behind-the-scenes views of the rarest of the
Park’s native plants, including newly-discovered treasures surviving in Kahuku’s
gulches and craters.
September 18 - “The Breath of Kilauea:
Volcanic Gases and Their Environmental Effects” While
producing enough lava to fill up a football stadium every week, Kilauea’s current
eruption also releases huge amounts of trapped gases. Our
spectacular lava fountains and flows are driven by the expansion of these magmatic gases
as they rise from the Earth’s mantle to reach the surface. Join USGS Hawaiian Volcano
Observatory geochemists Jeff Sutton and Tamar Elias to hear what they have learned from
years of collecting and studying Kilauea’s volcanic gases. They also provide an
update on studies examining health and environmental effects of volcanic smog (vog) and
insight on how gases from Kilauea and other volcanoes contribute to global
climate change. Program highlights include the ever-popular "gas tasting" party
to help identify your favorite volcanic gases by smell.
September 25 – “Climate Change
in Pacific Parks: Learning from the Past and Planning for the Future” Archeology
provides a long-term perspective on the interactions between humans and their environment. In the Pacific Islands,
archeology illustrates a history of human colonization leading to drastic alteration of
pre-existing ecosystems and landscapes. Now we face climate change on a global scale. Although local impacts are difficult to predict,
rising sea levels, warmer temperatures and alterations in weather patterns are likely to
result in cascading effects on the natural systems of Pacific Islands.
Parks in Hawai’i,
which have long faced immense natural resource challenges, may be able to lead the way in
tackling these profound changes. Join Hawai’i
Volcanoes National Park archeologist Jadelyn Moniz-Nakamura and NPS
Pacific
Islands
ecologist Darcy
Hu. During Public Lands Week, they discuss
examples from the past and provide insights into current and future park stewardship.
October 9 - “The
Kahuku
– ‘Ainapo Trail: Accessing Mauna Loa’s Vast Uplands” The Kahuku-‘Ainapo Trail traverses Mauna Loa’s uplands along its southwest slope.
Climbing this trail, people traveled through recent lava flows, pastures, and forests rich
in native birds and plants. When Parker managed the ranching operation, paniolo (cowboys)
drove cattle along a segment of this trail between Kahuku and the Saddle area. Now
considered for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, the trail marks the
human history of Kahuku Ranch from 1861 through 2003. Park
archeologist Christopher Quiseng walked more than 20 miles of this fascinating trail in
2004 for the Kahuku-‘Ainapo Trail Reconnaissance Survey. Join him to hear about
cultural and natural resources already identified and possible clues about Hawaiian
history yet to be discovered.
October 16 - “Early
Spontaneous Vegetation Development of Volcanic Pioneer Surfaces” In
November and December of 1959, repeated eruptions of spectacular lava fountains created a
deep lava lake in Kilauea Iki Crater and buried more than a thousand acres of rain forest.
Soon
afterwards, Dieter Mueller-Dombois and Garrett Smathers began a study of plant life as it
returned to this
stark landscape of cinders and scorched trees. Together,
they have authored a new book entitled Hawai`i - The Fires of Life. Join Dr. Mueller-Dombois for an illustrated talk on
vegetation development in the Devastation Area. He
offers a historic overview of this long-term ecological study with its 46-year focus on
plant recovery, invasion and succession, explained in relation to preconceived
expectations and unexpected results.
October 23 -
“Half a Century of Atmospheric Observation High on Mauna Loa” This year, Mauna Loa Observatory, one of the
world’s premier sites for background measurements of our planet’s atmosphere,
celebrates its 50th anniversary. Part of NOAA’s
Earth System Research Laboratory, MLO’s half century of continuous records include
the famous Keeling curve which documents the steady increase in atmospheric CO2 levels
since 1958. To
hear about current projects at this famous high-altitude observatory, join Mauna Loa
Observatory director Dr. John E. Barnes. His
program focuses on two key issues -- the depletion of the ozone layer and the increase of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Co-sponsored by Hawai'i Natural History
Association. For
information, call (808) 985-6014.
Your $1.00
donation helps to support Park educational programs. Park
entrance fees apply.
| 
