Preserving public lands: HVNP offers free entry, stewardship opportunities

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is offering free entrance and two opportunities to help protect Hawaii on Saturday by removing invasive plant species in the park and in the Ocean View community.

In observance of National Public Lands Day, the largest single-day volunteer effort for public lands in the United States, on Saturday, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is offering the Stewardship at the Summit program from 9 a.m.-noon. Meet volunteers Paul and Jane Field at 8:45 a.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center, then head into the forest to remove Himalayan ginger from the summit of Kilauea.

Himalayan ginger is one of the most invasive plants in the park, and on Earth. It is listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as one of the world’s 100 worst invasive species.

The park strives to protect the rain forest habitat of native birds and plants, but Himalayan ginger takes over the native rain forest understory, making it impossible for the next generation of forest to grow.

Wear sturdy, closed-toe shoes and long pants. Bring a hat, sunscreen, rain gear, snacks and water. Loppers/gloves provided. No advance registration required.

Volunteers for Stewardship at the Summit on Saturday will receive a free park pass to use another date of their choosing.

In Ocean View, volunteers are needed to remove invasive fountain grass from roadsides in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates. Meet at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Ocean View Community Center. Bring lunch, water, a hat and sun protection. This noxious weed increases the risk of wildfire. In 2005, fountain grass was responsible for a 25,000-acre fire that forced evacuation of Waikoloa Village.

For more information about this project, contact park ecologist David Benitez at 985-6085 or david_benitez@nps.gov.