Mission Statement
The Plant Extinction Prevention Program preserves Hawaii’s rarest plants through teamwork.
Geranium arboreum
Background
The Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated land masses on Earth. This isolation has created a biological hotspot where approximately 90% of native flora is endemic (found nowhere else in the world). Hawai‘i’s unique flora is at risk of extinction due to a myriad of threats. Now, Hawai‘i has the regrettable distinction of being “the endangered species capital of the world,” home to 40% of all endangered plants in the United States.
The Plant Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP) was established as the implementation arm of the Hawai‘i Rare Plant Restoration Group (HRPRG). With guidance from the HRPRG, PEPP conducts in-the-field (in situ) management actions to preserve the rarest plants statewide. PEPP's primary targets are “PEPP species” most which have fewer than 50 plants remaining in the wild. This designation signifies their imminent risk of extinction and a heightened need to protect all remaining plants. The Plant Extinction Prevention Program operates as a project of the Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and is supported by State and Federal funds, grants, and donations from public and private institutions.
The Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated land masses on Earth. This isolation has created a biological hotspot where approximately 90% of native flora is endemic (found nowhere else in the world). Hawai‘i’s unique flora is at risk of extinction due to a myriad of threats. Now, Hawai‘i has the regrettable distinction of being “the endangered species capital of the world,” home to 40% of all endangered plants in the United States.
The Plant Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP) was established as the implementation arm of the Hawai‘i Rare Plant Restoration Group (HRPRG). With guidance from the HRPRG, PEPP conducts in-the-field (in situ) management actions to preserve the rarest plants statewide. PEPP's primary targets are “PEPP species” most which have fewer than 50 plants remaining in the wild. This designation signifies their imminent risk of extinction and a heightened need to protect all remaining plants. The Plant Extinction Prevention Program operates as a project of the Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and is supported by State and Federal funds, grants, and donations from public and private institutions.
The PEPP Approach
5-pronged design to prevent the extinction of Hawai‘i’s rarest plants:
|
1. Manage Threats to Protect Founders:
Founders are the remaining wild plants from which PEPP strives to collect propagules. With the loss of each founder, genetic diversity is lost, and the species takes one step closer toward extinction. Threat Management Activities:
P2. Monitor Founders and Outplantings:
The PEPP team routinely visits PEP species founders and outplants to assess the health of the plants. Monitoring PEPP species’ vigor, threats, population size, and phenology (flowering and fruiting season) allows PEPP to judge the effectiveness of our conservation program and plan for future management. 3. Collect Propagules:
The PEPP team collects propagules (fruit, seed, cuttings, pollen, spores, leaf buds, etc.) from as many individuals of PEPP species as possible and preserve them at off-site (ex-situ) propagation and storage facilities. Ex-situ preservation of plant material is an essential tool that allows land managers time to plan and execute habitat protection and restoration programs, and, ultimately, recover PEPP species that could otherwise become extinct. Propagules are in the expert care of partner ex-situ facilities. 4. Population Reintroduction and Augmentation (Outplantings):
PEPP and its partners outplant nursery-grown stock of PEPP species to establish new populations (reintroductions) or less frequently, to bolster already existing populations (augmentation). The goal of outplanting is to create uneven aged populations that have balanced genetic representation from as many founders as possible and a balanced sex ratio (i.e. maximizing genetic diversity). 5. Survey for New Founders:
The discovery of additional founders can greatly increase a PEPP species’ chance of recovery and, therefore, surveys are high priority activities. Surveys are commonly near current or historical populations in areas with similar terrain, climate and community composition. |
|
PEPP's Awards
On May 16, 2014, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the Plant Extinction Prevention Program was a 2013 Recovery Champion! Recovery Champions are U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff and their partners whose work is advancing the recovery of endangered and threatened species of plants and animals. We are truly humbled by this great honor. For more information on fellow 2013 Recovery Champions, please click here for the website, or here for the press release.
At the Center for Plant Conservation annual meeting in May, 2017, Statewide PEPP Manager, Joan Yoshioka, gave the keynote address which highlighted the grassroots formation of PEPP, the partnerships developed for successful rare plant conservation, and the overwhelming success of the program. Afterwards, Joan was presented with the 2017 CPC Star Award for her service to ending plant extinction. See photos from the CPC annual meeting and the presentation of the CPC Star award here.
|
|
|
