Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, with about half its 323,421 acres located in Ka`u, marked 100 years of history in August in tandem with the centennial of the National Park Service on Aug. 25. 

      She pointed to the two eruptions ongoing on Kilauea, with one at 4,000 feet within Halema`uma`u Crater, with the dramatic glow at night, seen since 2008, and the lava lake, vibrant and visible from the overlook at Jaggar Museum. Kilauea has been continually erupting since 1983.
      The newest eruption has sent lava, which can be seen 4,000 away, down on the coast. When traveling to the shore, she said, the view is inspired by dramatic lava fields that represent the birth of new land. On the way, the human story is evident at Pu`uloa Petroglyph Field where 23,000 carvings date back to between the 13th and 15th centuries.
      Orlando provided some caution to visitors and urged them to be prepared and to check in with rangers before heading out on more than 150 miles of trails to hike. “Walking on hardened lava is not easy,” she said. She explained vog and the SO2 gases that sometimes require shutting down sections of the park. She noted that lava “is glass” carried in small particles in the air extending away from the volcano.

      Orlando reminded listeners that “the lava represents the birth of Pele. This is her sacred cultural landscape, and Pele is mesmerizing and beautiful, but she is also an active volcano, and there are associated hazards. You not only have seismic events. You have eruptions, the lava and volcanic gases. We can also have explosions.” She also talked about lava forming new land benches that can fall into the sea. Orlando said one of the challenges is visitor safety. “We are a model worldwide for providing safe access to lava viewing. Volcanoes are a natural wonder and many are drawn to them.”

      Concerning plants and animal life, Orlando described the park as having an ecosystem that has evolved, adapted and flourishes on a volcanic landscape and that the park offers many educational and volunteer programs. “But let’s not forget that we also have a Hawaiian culture linked to Kilauea and Mauna Loa not only historically but today. Remember, this is the home of the volcano goddess Pele.”

      Orlando said that three elements describe Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park: culture, biology and geology. Listen to the interview at http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2016/08/16/national-parks-hawaii.

THE  100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE saw celebration by locals and visitors at the 36th annual Hawaiian Cultural Festival & BioBlitz. Held at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, the festival featured Hawaiian performers, including musician Kenneth Makuakane, the band Ho`onanea, and Aunty Diana Aki. Halau o Akaunu, Halau Ulumamo o Hilo Paliku and Haunani’s Hula Expressions danced hula, and more than a dozen cultural practitioners shared traditional Hawaiian culture, games and food. 

      A dozen firefighters from the National Park of American Samoa, on their way home from fighting fires on the mainland, delighted the crowd with a spontaneous haka and other traditional dances.
      Artist-in-residence Rick San Nicolas, a master Hawaiian feather worker, hosted an open house at the park’s `Ohi`a Wing and presented the park with a beautiful lei kamoe in honor of its own centennial, which was Aug. 1. He will display his work through Aug. 31, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
      For the second year in a row, scientists and cultural experts, or alaka`i, conducted field inventories at locations around the summit of Kilauea, from rainforest to old lava flows. Families and individuals, intent on discovering the biodiversity in the park, documented 91 different species that included native creatures like the endemic carnivorous caterpillar, and non-native species like the Japanese white-eye, or mejiro, a small bird.
      Families and visitors discovered how science and culture combine and visited the BioBlitz science and cultural booths at the festival. Representatives at the forefront of Rapid `Ohi`a Death, the `Alala Project, Mokupapapa Discovery Center and others shared conservation efforts to protect Hawai`i’s native species.
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A tropical storm and a hurricane could impact Ka`u later this week. Map from University of Hawai`i

Nani Soares and helper groom a horse at Punalu`u Livestock Ranch. Photo by Julia Neal

Youngsters make friends with a baby goat at the ranch. Photo by Julia Neal

 THE HERD OF GOATS above Hwy 11, below Makanau, photographed recently with concern from conservationists, belong to Punalu`u Livestock Ranch, according to its operators. Nani Soares and Kyle Soares have run the livestock operation for decades, and goats are part of their meat-producing business and also their youth programs. Children come to their ranch to interact with farm animals and take care of them. They also learn to ride ponies and horses.
       Kyle Soares said this morning that the goats are managed, go out during the day and come home at night. He said they are like family and many have been bottle-fed. He said they are domestic, far from being wild goats that would run off into the rainforest and damage native habitat. “They are tame. We take care of them,” he said. “When it rains, they even take shelter in our garage.”