Ka‘ū News Briefs Sunday, March 25, 2018

Midway Island, host to an estimated 3 million seabirds, is suffering under a House mouse infestation - and they are attacking the nesting birds. See full story, below. Photos from NOAA

"YOU MARCHED. NOW WE FIGHT FOR OUR LIVES," states the website, after the March for Our Lives March 24 events across the world. "Be counted this November. And if you've already registered to vote - register your friends. Be counted next week, and the next, by continuing to show up and speak truth to power. Demand action. Join us in this Fight for our Lives," it continues.

     The mission statement on the site says, "March For Our Lives is created by, inspired by, and led by students across the country who will no longer risk their lives waiting for someone else to take action to stop the epidemic of mass school shootings that has become all too familiar. In the tragic wake of the 17 lives brutally cut short in Florida, politicians are telling us that now is not the time to talk about guns.  March For Our Lives believes the time is now."

     March 24 events in Kona, Waimea, and Hilo and some Kaʻū High School students who participated in the school walkout on March 14 said they would attend.
      Damp Kona participants walked along the highway above the old industrial area, soaked Waimea participants walked along the highway across from Ace Hardware, and slightly moist Hilo participants stood outside a shopping center on a busy street. Many participants held signs, including one toddler in a stroller, whose sign read, #NotMe. Several students in Waimea made impassioned speeches in front of Parker School to a crowd of over 100. A performance art piece was in the vein of 60s and 70s protest poetry. The message was clear: No more. Never again. Enough. See the video here.

Tiny "marcher" solemnly holds his protest sign: #NotMe. Photo from March for Our Lives Kona Facebook

     Sen. Mazie Hirono, at Concert for Our Lives in Maui, said, "This is a movement that will inspire a generation. Activists from across the country and around the world came together today to demand sensible gun legislation that will close background check loopholes, eliminate bump stocks, and prevent anyone from owning assault weapons. If these bills pass, it will be because of you and the movement we are all joining. I stand with you because we are all in this together."

     In CBS News interviews on March 19, two of the founding members of the movement - students Emma González and David Hogg, who both survived the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida on February 14 - discussed their place in history, "We're going to make this change," and, "We're going to vote out the people who aren't acting," said González; Hogg said, "Since 1968, more people have died in America as a result of gun violence than they have fighting in war." They discussed the walk-out: "Those kids are walking out of school, but they're going to be walking into the polls come November," said Hogg. On the bill that Floridapassed in the wake of the shooting, González said it was positive, but, "it's just the beginning." Hogg said there were too many loopholes in the bill that was passed: "It doesn't cover so many basic things that have widespread support on both sides of the aisle, and that's the part that I hate most about it."

Waimea saw many dozens of participants in their march event, including tourists from New York, which was organized by Parker School Senior Riley Herendeen. Photo from Big Island Video News video

     Regarding the death threats they have received, González said, "There's always been people who are going to want to harm us... I'm not going to pretend this opened my eyes to a cruel and heartless world." She added, "They're attacking us personally because they can't find fault in our message." They discussed the role of the National Rifle Association: "The way they've been reaching out to us is basically threatening us," and "The people at the top of the NRA are no longer working for the people that are in their organization. They're working on behalf of the gun lobby," said Hogg.

     Hogg said, "Make sure you get out and vote, that you're registered to vote so you can vote in the primaries and stay educated for the rest of your life because the seeds of corruption are always being sowed."

People of all ages in Kona braved rain yesterday to join the worldwide March for Our Lives event. Photo from March for Our Lives Kona Facebook

     The NRA was silent on March 24, unlike on previous days with more than ten tweets daily. But the day before, they tweeted, "YouTube banning videos on the installation is now in the business of political posturing and censorship. Millions of Americans watch YouTube videos every day to learn more about the safe and responsible use of firearms, and those videos show law-abiding gun owners participating in lawful behavior. By banning this content, YouTube is engaging in politically motivated censorship and alienating the millions of people who turn to the website for education and training,"

     The tweet was in response to YouTube's recently updated policy: "YouTube prohibits certain kinds of content featuring firearms. Specifically, we don’t allow content that:

   ● Intends to sell firearms or certain firearms accessories through direct sales (e.g., private sales by individuals) or links to sites that sell these items. These accessories include but may not be limited to accessories that enable a firearm to simulate automatic fire or convert a firearm to automatic fire (e.g., bump stocks, gatling triggers, drop-in auto sears, conversion kits), and high capacity magazines (i.e., magazines or belts carrying more than 30 rounds).

People holding signs along a busy street in Hilo yesterday as part of the March for Our Lives event. Photo from Bob Smith's Facebook

   ● Provides instructions on manufacturing a firearm, ammunition, high capacity magazine, homemade silencers/suppressors, or certain firearms accessories such as those listed above. This also includes instructions on how to convert a firearm to automatic or simulated automatic firing capabilities.

   ● Shows users how to install the above-mentioned accessories or modifications."

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MICE ATTACKING NESTING ALBATROSS ON MIDWAY are endangering the largest albatross colony in the world and the most important and successful breeding ground for black-footed albatross and Laysan albatross, reports NOAA. In just a few years, mice attacks have increased from just a few incidents to hundreds of widespread attacks on albatross that result in injury, nest abandonment, and death, states the release. In order to protect the colony, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to remove the invasive house mouse from Midway Atoll. A draft environmental assessment for the project is available for public comment from March 21 through April 20.

     According to the NOAA statement, "Within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial supports over three million birds from 30 different species. Nearly 40 percent of all Black-footed albatross and 70 percent of all Laysan albatross in the world rely on the approximately 1500 acres of islands that comprise the remote atoll. Seabirds face a myriad of threats - from fishery interactions and marine debris to invasive species and shrinking habitat. Safe places like Midway Atoll, where seabirds can rest and raise their young, are critical for their ability to survive into the future."

     Non-native, invasive house mice and black rats became established on Midway Atoll's Sand Island more than 75 years ago, before it was a refuge and memorial. House mice persisted after black rats were eradicated in 1996 and are now the sole rodent and non-native mammal present in the Monument.

     Biologists do not yet know what triggered the mice to begin preying on the albatross. Mice are omnivores - meaning that they will eat any source of food they can find in their quest to survive - and although they had been present on Midway Atoll for decades, there had never been a documented case of predation on adult albatross by mice before the 2015 hatching season.

     The majority of seabird extinctions around the world have been caused by invasive mammals, in particular, non-native rodents. For most of the island's history, there were no rodents on Midway Atoll. Pacific seabirds like the albatross evolved without any fear or defense mechanisms against mammalian predators like mice, rats, cats, dogs, or humans.

House mouse, poised to attack an adult nesting albatross.

     Part of the danger to the colony is that mice reproduce very quickly compared to albatrosses, which have a very slow reproductive cycle. Albatross pairs only have one egg every one to two years, and both parents invest a lot of energy into hatching and raising that chick. The incredible amount of time and work necessary for albatrosses to survive to adulthood, find a mate, and become a successful parent means that each adult bird is incredibly important to the overall survival of the colony.

     Their lack of defense mechanisms and complete dedication to their eggs has left albatrosses vulnerable to predation. Their slow reproductive cycle means that losses to the colony from being preyed on by mice will continue to impact the population for decades to come.

     "This was something we had never expected to occur. Mice preying on adult albatrosses simply hasn't been recorded here," said Matt Brown, Superintendent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Papahānaumokuākea. "Regardless of what caused them to start this behavior, it has the potential to cause an incredible amount of damage to this colony. And it's a problem that we have to address."

Wounds from a House mouse attack on an adult nesting albatross.

     The proposed action to remove mice from Midway Atoll and the alternatives considered are evaluated in a draft environmental assessment. To date, there have been more than 500 successful projects to remove invasive rodents from islands, and the proposed project on Midway Atoll models similar, successful projects elsewhere.

     The Service has coordinated with the Monument co-managers and worked with Island Conservation, American Bird Conservancy, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other members of the conservation community in the synthesis and development of the science that contributed to the development of the draft environmental assessment.

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SECOND HALF OF THE TROJANS BOYS VOLLEYBALL season opened with Ka‘ū hosting Pāhoa, and dominating three of the four games played; game three, they score a strong 20, with their opponents ending the game at 25.

     The next scheduled game is a ways off: Tuesday, April 3.

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