Physiographic features

This ecological site occurs on basic igneous rock deposited as lava flows on sloping mountainsides of shield volcanoes.

Table 2. Representative physiographic features

Climatic features

(Unless otherwise cited, the information in this section is derived from Western Regional Climate Center, cited 2020).

General principles

Air temperature in the Hawaiian Islands is buffered by the surrounding ocean so that the range in temperature through the year is narrow. This creates “iso-“ soil temperature regimes in which mean summer and winter temperatures differ by less than 6 degrees C (11 degrees F).

The islands lie within the trade wind zone. Significant amounts of moisture are picked up from the ocean by trade winds up to an altitude of more than about 6000 feet (1850 meters). As the trade winds from the northeast are forced up the mountains of the islands their moisture condenses, creating rain on the windward slopes; the leeward sides of the island receive less of this moisture, depending on the height of the mountains.

Hawaiian indigenous understanding recognized two seasons: Kau or Kauwela (dry season) when the sun was directly overhead, days are long and warm and tradewinds are stronger and more consistent; Kau started on the first new moon in May when the Pleiades set at
sunrise (Handy, 1991). During Ho’oilo (wet season) the sun is declined toward the south, days are shorter, temperatures cooler and winds more variable and generally started with the first new moon in November. Ho’oilo is also the season when extensive low-pressure systems often approach the islands from the west, producing heavy rainstorms that primarily affect the leeward sides, but can envelope the entire island. (Malo, 1903, Handy 1991, Sanderson, 1993). These seasons are mostly consistent with modern observations today. These phenomena of pressure systems and seasonal differences interact with the islands’ topography which together creates the various climate zones and patterns observed in the islands. One such general pattern can be seen in the differences in rainfall amounts between winter and summer; in low elevation dry areas the differences are greater whereas wetter areas exhibit less seasonal variation in rainfall.

Summary for this ecological site

Average annual precipitation in this ecological site ranges from 10 to 20 inches (250 to 500 mm). Extremes of average annual precipitation may range as high as 40 inches (1000 mm). In these extreme high rainfall areas, the ecological site probably grades into another ecological site. Most of the precipitation occurs from October through April. Average annual temperatures range from 72 to 75 degrees F (22 to 24 degrees C). Conditions typically are dry. Rainfall occurs as light trade wind showers that drift over or around the mountains from the windward side of the islands and as heavier rainfall during major winter storms. Major storms are important for soil moisture recharge, and the number of major storms is highly variable; drought can result from a winter with few or no storms. Due to the latitude, daylength varies little during the year, resulting in only about a 50 percent variation in solar energy input between June maximum to December minimum; this variation is somewhat less than that found in the continental United States. Conditions are generally clear to lightly cloudy. The Hoolehua plains on the windward side of west Molokai are subject to severe wind erosion by trade winds funneled between the highlands of east and west Molokai.

Table 3. Representative climatic features

Influencing water features

Mostly ephemeral streams flow through small gulches during periods of heavy rainfall. These gulches are associated with the areas of alluvial soils occurring in this ecological site. The narrow zones through which water typically flows are often associated with higher kiawe density than surrounding areas. Broader alluvial zones sometimes have higher kiawe density throughout, but typically in these broader zones the higher kiawe density occurs only in the narrow areas in streambeds and down at the shoreline.

Soil features

The soils in this ecological site are mostly Oxisols and Mollisols, along with two Aridisols, one Inceptisol with oxic properties, and one Andisol formed in alluvium, residuum, volcanic ash, or a combination of parent materials. Soil depths vary among the series. The unifying factors that groups them into this ecological site are low annual rainfall amounts and soil characteristics that limit the plant available water holding capacity.

Soil temperature regimes are isohypothermic (very warm). Soil moisture regimes are torric (in normal years, dry for more than half of the growing season and moist for less than 90 consecutive days during the growing season) or, in Waiakoa and Waiawa soils, moister than torric, being intergrades between ustic and aridic (aridic is similar to torric). Wainee soils are classified as ustic (not as dry as torric or aridic) but have factors (discussed below) that limit soil moisture. All the soils are well drained except Alae series, which are excessively drained.

Surface horizons have pH ranging from 5.8 to 7.5 except for Pakala series, which has a natural pH of 5.0. Extreme pH in subsurface horizons within 30 inches (75 centimeters) of the surface range from 6.4 to 8.2 (5.8 in Pakala series). The Five Islands Soil Survey shows surface horizons of some soil series as having unusually low pH compared to subsurface horizons; these series include Holomua (pH 5.6) and Hoolehua (pH 3.9). The pHs of these two soil series were measured in fields cultivated for pineapple, which was common when the survey was performed (late 1960s to early 1970s); pHs of other soils that were measured under sugarcane or pasture do not exhibit such intense acidity. This phenomenon has been studied in locations around the world and is due to factors involved in pineapple cultivation. The Five Islands survey indicates that Hoolehua soils under pasture had surface pH of 5.8; Holomua soils under pasture would likely be higher than pH 6. It is possible that surface pH has reverted to normal in the decades since pineapple cultivation ended. If planning to establish crops, forage, or trees on these soils or in areas that had been cultivated for pineapple, a pH test is advisable.

HOLOMUA and HOOLEHUA soils are classified as Oxisols. PAKALA soils are Inceptisols with oxic properties. Oxisols are more highly weathered than other soils. These two soils have a deep subsurface oxic horizon dominated by clay-size particles of iron and aluminum hydrous oxides and kaolinite clay. Plant nutrients have been largely leached out of the soil. At low pH, phosphorus is adsorbed onto the oxides, making it largely unavailable to plants, and the ability to retain cation nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium against leaching is low. However, these two Oxisols have subsurface soils with near neutral or neutral pH, which would counteract the more extreme problems of phosphorus fixation and low nutrient cation retention otherwise found in Oxisols. Also, these two soil series are classified as Eutrotorrox. “Eutro-“ indicates higher (>35%) base saturation and higher fertility than typical Oxisols. Much of the soluble silica, which is an important element for grass tissue stability, has been leached out of the soil. Cementation of clay-sized minerals by iron oxides create a stable, well drained, workable soil, but the cemented, sand-like (pseudosand) particles often create droughty conditions as well. Maintenance of soil organic matter will help to counteract this characteristic.

Hoolehua occur in depressions and drainageways. They naturally have an umbric (thick, dark, high in organic matter, low base saturation, good water holding capacity) surface horizon that is like a low fertility mollic horizon (see below). However, they occur in the dry, windswept northwestern part of Molokai, where they are susceptible to soil erosion and deposition by wind. Rehabilitation of soils here, once eroded, is difficult.

Soils of the PULEHU, WAHIKULI, WAIAKOA, and WAINEE series are classified as Mollisolls. Important properties of Mollisols are a relatively thick, dark surface horizon (mollic epipedon) that does not become hard when dry, a dominance of calcium among the extractable cations, and a dominance of crystalline clay minerals of moderate or high cation-exchange capacity. Although Mollisols usually form under grass in seasonally dry climates, they can form under a forest ecosystem.

Waiakoa soils are very stony to extremely stony, moderately deep (typically 33 inches or 82 centimeters), and well drained, and have an isohyperthermic soil temperature regime and an aridic/ustic intergrade soil moisture regime. Slopes range from 3 to 25 percent, and runoff is slow to medium. Surface and subsurface pH is neutral. Their subsurface has undergone intense weathering in the past that created an oxic horizon (see above) with kaolinitic clay and iron and aluminum oxyhydroxides. Their neutral pH largely counteracts the possible negative effects of those soil minerals.

Wainee soils are very stony to extremely stony, deep (typically 56 inches or 140 centimeters), and well drained. They have an isohyperthermic soil temperature regime and an ustic soil moisture regime. Their mollic horizon on the surface is pachic, meaning it is thicker than typical, being 20 inches (50 centimeters) or more thick. This horizon is fertile and has good water holding capacity. However, annual rainfall is low (generally 10 to 20 inches or 25 to 50 centimeters).

KEAHUA and WAIAWA soils are Aridisols, which are soils with a light-colored surface horizon that has low organic matter content. They are moist for only short periods during the year. The soil moisture regime is an intergrade between aridic and ustic, so is not as dry as most other Aridisols. These clay soils are extremely rocky, which reduces their potential water holding capacity. Soils are very shallow (14 inches or 35 centimeters) and have a lithic contact, which in this case is soil, continuous rock that has few cracks that can be penetrated by roots. Annual rainfall is 20 to 40 inches (50 to 100 centimeters), which is high for this ecological site, but slopes are 30 to 80 percent and runoff is very rapid.

ALAE soils are classified as Andisols. They developed on basaltic volcanic ash and alluvium derived from basaltic rock. Andisols have these general management characteristics: ion exchange capacity that varies with pH, but mostly retaining anions such as nitrate; high phosphorus adsorption, which restricts phosphorus availability to plants; excellent physical properties (low bulk density, good friability, weak stickiness, stable soil aggregates) for cultivation, seedling emergence, and plant root growth; resistance to compaction and an ability to recover from compaction following repeated cycles of wetting and drying; and high capacity to hold water that is available to plants. These characteristics are due to the properties of the parent material, the clay-size noncrystalline materials formed by weathering, and the soil organic matter accumulated during soil formation (Shoji et al. 1993). Alae soils are medial, which means their water holding capacity is relatively low compared to other Andisols. They are vitric, meaning they are relatively coarse in texture and have a high content of unweathered volcanic glass. This gives them the characteristics of lower phosphorus retention, lower contents of aluminum and iron, much lower water holding ability than other Andisols, low bulk density, some remaining plant nutrients in easily weatherable materials, and some cation holding capacity in the pH range (6.8 to 8.2) found in this soil series.

Adjoining the soils described above are areas mapped as MISCELLANEOUS AREAS. By definition, they have little or no soil and support little or no vegetation. In the Five Islands Soil Survey upon which this ecological site is based, Miscellaneous Areas are extensive, and most were mapped by low-intensity reconnaissance methods that provide less-detailed information than that presented for soil series and their phases. In many cases, however, Miscellaneous Areas in Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Oahu, and Kauai are moderately- to well-vegetated and/or contain plant and animal species of interest to conservationists. They are either extremely difficult to access or were not considered important enough at the time of this survey to warrant full expenditure of resources. They are described in the following paragraphs.

BADLAND (BL) adjoins this ecological site on Kauai. It consists of soft or hard saprolite. Runoff is very rapid. These sites are nearly devoid of vegetation; they support ironwood (Casuarina spp.).

ROCK LAND (rRK) occurs on parent materials of basalt or andesite. Rock cover on the surface ranges from 25 to 90 percent; soils are very shallow (less than 10 inches or 25 centimeters). Near this ecological site it occurs mostly in gulches created by ephemeral streams. Vegetation is generally sparse, but in some spots, vegetation is dense due to localized accumulations of soil and extra moisture from seasonal stream flows. Common plant species are kiawe (Prosopis pallida), klu (Vachellia farnesiana), pili grass (Heteropogon contortus), uhaloa (Waltheria indica), and koa haole (Leucaena leucocephala).

ROCK OUTCROP (rRO) has exposed bedrock covering more than ninety percent of the surface. Small areas of lithified coral sand occur on Kauai, Oahu, Lanai, and Molokai. Gulches on Kauai support sparse vegetation on steep sides and denser vegetation in gulch bottoms. Gulch sides on Maui, Molokai, and Lanai are sparsely vegetated; bottoms can be sparse or moderately vegetated.

ROUGH BROKEN LAND (rRR) occurs on very steep sides of gulches and mountainsides. Soil amounts and characteristics are variable; beneath the soil is soft weathered rock. Most occurrences in the vicinity of this ecological site appear to support substantial vegetation cover. Common plant species are common guava (Psidium guajava), Natal redtop (Melinis repens), bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon), koa haole (Leucaena leucocephala), and molassesgrass (Melinis minutiflora). Active soil erosion is common.

ROUGH BROKEN AND STONY LAND (rRS) occurs on Maui in very steep, stony gulches. Some soil is present in variable amounts. It generally supports shrubs, small trees, and grass with a significant amount of bare ground.

RUBBLE LAND (rRU) is found on western Kauai at the base of very steep slopes. Ninety percent of the surface is covered by stones or boulders. It typically is well vegetated by koa haole.

STONY ALLUVIAL LAND (rSM) consists of stones, boulders, and soil deposited by streams along bottoms of gulches and on alluvial fans. Much of it appears to be well vegetated, especially in gulch bottoms, although the driest gulch bottoms are sparsely vegetated. Common species are kiawe (Prosopis pallida), sweet acacia or klu (Acacia farnesiana), ilima (Sida cordifolia), pili (Heteropogon contortus), and lantana (Lantana camara).

VERY STONY LAND (rVS) occurs near this ecological site on Maui and Molokai. On Maui, parent materials are aa lava with volcanic ash. On Molokai, it consists of stones and boulders over soft weathered bedrock; in a few places there is shallow clayey soil among the stones and boulders. On both islands, 50 to 90 percent of the surface is covered with stones and boulders. Some occurrences of Very Stony Land adjoining this ecological site support vegetation as dense as, or denser than, some of the soil series. The array of plant species is probably similar to that found on soil series.

VERY STONY LAND, ERODED (rVT2) occurs near this ecological site on Molokai. Fifty to 75 percent of the surface is covered with stones and boulders. It is common in shallow gullies and a few deep gullies. Soil material is similar to Holomua, Molokai, Pamoa, and Waikapu series. Slopes are 3 to 40 percent. It contains more soil material than Very Stony Land (rVS) and appears to support more vegetation than Very Stony Land. Soils are clayey and shallower than 24 inches (60 centimeters) but is deeper in low areas where soil can accumulate. It is mostly vegetated but has some bare spots and areas; common species are kiawe, ilima, pili, fingergrass (Chloris barbata).

Table 4. Representative soil features

Table 5. Representative soil features (actual values)

Other references

Other Information

Definitions
These definitions have been greatly simplified for brevity and do not cover every aspect of each topic.

Aa lava: A type of basaltic lava having a rough, jagged, clinkery surface and a vesicular interior.

Alluvial: Materials or processes associated with transportation and/or deposition by running water.

Aquic soil moisture regime: A regime in which the soil is free of dissolved oxygen because it is saturated by water. This regime typically exists in bogs or swamps.

Aquisalids: These are salty soils in wet areas. Although wet, the dissolved salts make the soils physiologically dry (the chemical activity, or effective concentration, of water is low). Aquisalids typically support plant species that are adapted to these conditions.

Aridic soil moisture regime: A regime in which defined parts of the soil are, in normal years, dry for more than half of the growing season and moist for less than 90 consecutive days during the growing season. In Hawaii it is associated with hot, dry areas with plants such as kiawe, wiliwili, and buffelgrass. The terms aridic and torric are basically the same.

Ash field: a land area covered by a thick or distinctive deposit of volcanic ash that can be traced to a specific source and has well defined boundaries. The term “ash flow” is erroneously used in the Physiographic section of this ESD due to a flaw in the national database.

Ashy: A “soil texture modifier” for volcanic ash soils having a water content at the crop wilting point of less than 30 percent; a soil that holds relatively less water than “medial” and “hydrous” soils.

Available water capacity: The amount of soil water available to plants to the depth of the first root-restricting layer.

Basal area or basal cover: The cross sectional area of the stem or stems of a plant or of all plants in a stand.

Blue rock: The dense, hard, massive lava that forms the inner core of an aa lava flow.

Bulk density: the weight of dry soil per unit of volume. Lower bulk density indicates a greater amount of pore space that can hold water and air in a soil.

CaCO3 equivalent: The amount of free lime in a soil. Free lime exists as solid material and typically occurs in regions with a dry climate.

Canopy cover: The percentage of ground covered by the vertical projection downward of the outermost perimeter of the spread of plant foliage. Small openings within the canopy are included.

Community pathway: A description of the causes of shifts between community phases. A community pathway is reversible and is attributable to succession, natural disturbances, short-term climatic variation, and facilitating practices, such as grazing management.

Community phase: A unique assemblage of plants and associated dynamic soil properties within a state.

Dominant species: Plant species or species groups that exert considerable influence upon a community due to size, abundance, or cover.

Drainage class: The frequency, duration, and depth of a water table in a soil. There are seven drainage classes, ranging from “excessively drained” (soils with very rare or very deep water tables) to “well drained” (soils that provide ample water for plant growth but are not so wet as to inhibit root growth) to “very poorly drained” (soils with a water table at or near the surface during much of the growing season that inhibits growth of most plants).

Electrical conductivity (EC): A measure of the salinity of a soil. The standard unit is deciSiemens per meter (dS/m), which is numerically equivalent to millimhos per centimeter (mmhos/cm). An EC greater than about 4 dS/m indicates a salinity level that is unfavorable to growth of most plants.

Friability: A soil consistency term pertaining to the ease of crumbling of soils.

Gleyed: A condition of soil from which iron has been reduced (in the redox chemistry sense) and removed during soil formation or that saturation with stagnant water has preserved a reduced state. If iron has been removed, the soil is the color of uncoated sand and silt particles. If iron is present in a reduced state, the soil is the color of reduced iron (typically bluish-gray). Redox concentrations (spots of oxidized iron, formerly called mottles are often present.

Hydrous: A “soil texture modifier” for volcanic ash soils having a water content at the crop wilting point of 100 percent or more; a soil that holds more water than “medial” or “ashy” soils.

Ion exchange capacity: The ability of soil materials such as clay or organic matter to retain ions (which may be plant nutrients) and to release those ions for uptake by roots.

Isohyperthermic soil temperature regime: A regime in which mean annual soil temperature is 72 degrees F (22 degrees C) or higher and mean summer and mean winter soil temperatures differ by less than 11 degrees F (6 degrees C) at a specified depth.

Isomesic soil temperature regime: A regime in which mean annual soil temperature is 47 degrees F (8 degrees C) or higher but lower than 59 degrees F (15 degrees C) and mean summer and mean winter soil temperatures differ by less than 11 degrees F (6 degrees C) at a specified depth.

Isothermic soil temperature regime: A regime in which mean annual soil temperature is 59 degrees F (15 degrees C) or higher but lower than 72 degrees F (22 degrees C) and mean summer and mean winter soil temperatures differ by less than 11 degrees F (6 degrees C) at a specified depth.

Kipuka: An area of land surrounded by younger (more recent) lava. Soils and plant communities within a kipuka are older than, and often quite different from, those on the surrounding surfaces.

Major Land Resource Area (MLRA): A geographic area defined by NRCS that is characterized by a particular pattern of soils, climate, water resources, and land uses. The island of Hawaii contains nine MLRAs, some of which also occur on other islands in the state.

Makai: a Hawaiian word meaning “toward the sea.”

Mauka: a Hawaiian word meaning “toward the mountain” or “inland.”

Medial: A “soil texture modifier” for volcanic ash soils having a water content at the crop wilting point of 30 to 100 percent; a soil that holds an amount of water intermediate to “hydrous” or “ashy” soils.

Mollisols: Soils with relatively thick, dark surface horizons, high cation-exchange capacity, high calcium content, that do not become hard or very hard when dry. Mollisols are conducive to plant growth. They characteristically form under grass in climates that are seasonally dry but can form under forests.

Naturalized plant community: A community dominated by adapted, introduced species. It is a relatively stable community resulting from secondary succession after disturbance. Most grasslands in Hawaii are in this category.

Oxisols: Soils characteristic of humid, tropical or subtropical regions that formed on land surfaces that have been stable for a long time. In Hawaii, they typically occur on islands or parts of islands that have been volcanically inactive for a long time. Oxisols are highly weathered, consist largely of quartz, kaolin clays, and aluminum oxides, and have low ion exchange capacity and loamy or clayey texture.

Pahoehoe lava: A type of basaltic lava with a smooth, billowy, or rope-like surface and vesicular interior.

Parent material: Unconsolidated and chemically weathered material from which a soil is developed.

Perudic soil moisture regime: A very wet regime found where precipitation exceeds evapotranspiration in all months of normal years. On the island of Hawaii, this regime is found on top of Kohala and on parts of the windward side of Mauna Kea.

pH: The numerical expression of the relative acidity or alkalinity of a soil sample. A pH of 7 is neutral; a pH below 7 is acidic and a pH above 7 is basic.

Phosphorus adsorption: The ability of soil materials to tightly retain phosphorous ions, which are a plant nutrient. Some volcanic ash soils retain phosphorus so strongly that it is partly unavailable to plants.

Psamments: Sandy soils that have low water-holding capacity, are susceptible to wind erosion, and typically have ground water deeper than 20 inches (50 centimeters).

Reference community phase: The phase exhibiting the characteristics of the reference state and containing the full complement of plant species that historically occupied the site. It is the community phase used to classify an ecological site.

Reference state: A state that describes the ecological potential and natural or historical range of variability of an ecological site.

Residuum: Unconsolidated mineral material that has chemically and physically weathered from rock and has not moved from its place of origin.

Restoration pathway: A term describing the environmental conditions and practices that are required to recover a state that has undergone a transition.

Sodium adsorption ratio (SAR): A measure of the amount of dissolved sodium relative to calcium and magnesium in the soil water. SAR values higher than 13 create soil conditions unfavorable to most plants.

Soil moisture regime: A term referring to the presence or absence either of ground water or of water held at a tension of less than 1500 kPa (the crop wilting point) in the soil or in specific horizons during periods of the year.

Soil temperature regime: A defined class based on mean annual soil temperature and on differences between summer and winter temperatures at a specified depth.

Soil reaction: Numerical expression in pH units of the relative acidity or alkalinity or a soil.

Spodosols: Soils with a spodic B horizon that has an accumulation of black or reddish amorphous materials that have a high pH-dependent ion exchange capacity, coarse texture, and few base cations. Above the spodic horizon there often is a light-colored albic horizon that was the source of the amorphous materials in the spodic horizon.

State: One or more community phases and their soil properties that interact with the abiotic and biotic environment to produce persistent functional and structural attributes associated with a characteristic range of variability.

State-and-transition model: A method used to display information about relationships between vegetation, soil, animals, hydrology, disturbances, and management actions on an ecological site.

Torric soil moisture regime: See Aridic soil moisture regime.

Transition: A term describing the biotic or abiotic variables or events that contribute to loss of state resilience and result in shifts between states.

Udic soil moisture regime: A regime in which the soil is not dry in any part for as long as 90 cumulative days in normal years, and so provides ample moisture for plants. In Hawaii it is associated with forests in which hapuu (tree ferns) are usually moderately to highly abundant.

Ultisols: Soils that have been intensively leached and weathered. They have a B horizon that has accumulated clay that has translocated there from higher horizons. They have moderate to low cation exchange capacity and low base saturation. The highest base saturation normally is in the few centimeters directly beneath the surface due to cycling of bases by plants.

Ustic soil moisture regime: A regime in which moisture is limited but present at a time when conditions are suitable for plant growth. In Hawaii it usually is associated with dry forests and subalpine shrublands.

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Contributors

David Clausnitzer
John Proctor
Carolyn Wong
Mathew Cocking
Mike Kolman
Kendra Moseley
Amy Koch
Jennifer Higashino
Michael Constantinides

Approval

Kendra Moseley, 4/17/2025

Acknowledgments

Assistance, advice, review, and/or insights:

David Kormomorowski, NRCS
Butch Hasse, Molokai Land Trust
Ken Miranda, Kaonoulu Ranch
Megan Miranda, kaonoulu Ranch
Jordan Jokiel, Haleakala Ranch
Greg Friel , Haleakala Ranch
David Duvauchelle, NRCS
Andrea Buckman, Leeward Haleakala Watershed Restoration Partnership
Kekai Kapu
Kaipo Kekona, Ku’ia Agricultural Education Center & HFFU
Ke'eaumoku Kapu and Ohana, Lahaina Cultural Center
Dr. Richard Ogoshi, NRCS
John "Koa" Colon, NRCS
Lexus Kalawe, SWCD
Dohna Bicoy, NRCS
Elena Dosamantes, NRCS
Hanohano Naehu
Kip Dunbar, Dunbar Ranch
Randy Bartlett, Puu Kukui Watershed Preserve
Alison Cohan, The Nature Conservancy
Gordon Cran, Kapapala Ranch
Diana Crow, Ulupalakua Ranch
Lance DeSilva, Hawaii DLNR
Kerri Fay, Waikamoi Preserve, The Nature Conservancy
Alex Franco, Kaupo Ranch
Ranae Ganske-Cerizo, NRCS
Jason Hew, NRCS
Carl Hashimoto, NRCS
Bob Hobdy, consultant, Maui
Wallace Jennings, NRCS
Mel Johansen, The Nature Conservancy
David Leonard, volunteer
Penny Levin
Reese Libby, GIS - NRCS
Hannah Lutgen, Maui SWCD
Joseph May, NRCS
Scott Meidel, Haleakala Ranch
Anna Palomino, Hoolawa Farms Inc.
Jon Price, USGS
Tamara Sherrill, USFWS, Maui Nui Botanical Garden
Amber Starr, Hana Ranch
Kahana Stone, NRCS
Mark Vaught, Water Resources, Alexander & Baldwin
Jacqueline Vega, NRCS
Rich von Wellsheim, Whispering Bamboos, Kipahulu