Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is nearly done fencing the lower Kahuku unit, part of its efforts to make the land acquired in 2003 free of mouflon sheep and other ungulates.
The 116,000-acre Kahuku lands are located next to Hawaiian Ocean View Estates in Ka‘u. Much of the land was used as a ranch.
But the sheep pose a serious threat to native plants in the area, and the park has killed more than 7,000 in the past 15 years, said Rhonda Loh, the park’s natural resource management chief. She said the park uses helicopters and hunters on the ground. Meat is harvested when possible through the voluntary hunter program.
So far, about 60 miles of fence have been built and about 70 miles will be in place when fencing of the lower unit is finished in a couple of weeks, Loh said. She said that costs upward of $150,000 per mile.
The upper Kahuku unit became free of sheep about a year ago and the ecosystem is rebounding, Loh said.
“Even one animal can do a lot of damage to a rare plant,” she said. “It’s really exciting to see the changes going on in a lot of the area.”
Ungulate removal will intensify in the lower unit when the fence is complete.
Loh estimates there’s a couple hundred or more sheep in the lower unit, though thick vegetation makes it difficult to know for sure. She said it’s hard to estimate when the eradication effort there would be complete.
“You can get the animal numbers down pretty quick in the first year,” Loh said. “It’s getting the last half dozen which took us awhile.”
Hunting will occur during days when the lower unit is closed for hiking, she said.
The upper area remains off limits.
Additional fencing might take place in another area above the 7,000-foot elevation, Loh said.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.